Behind the Scenes with FOX’s NFL crew: Brady, Lombardi and the specialness of Lambeau Field

By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer

Editor’s Note: Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as the lead producer. He has more than 40 years of experience covering the league and has produced seven Super Bowls. Throughout the 2024 NFL season, he is providing an inside look as FOX’s new No. 1 NFL team, including NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey toward Super Bowl LIX. Read more behind-the-scenes stories from Richie Zyontz here.

There’s a sameness to traveling around NFL cities. For those of us covering the games, it’s mostly airports, hotels and stadiums, a somewhat humdrum pattern in what many consider a glamorous business.

But there is one place that swims against the stream, that maintains its charm among all 32 NFL stops. And that’s Green Bay, Wisconsin, where virtually all food is drenched in butter or cheese, and where life revolves around their beloved Packers.

Reminders are everywhere. Lambeau Field sits on Lombardi Avenue not far from Holmgren Way. Packer banners and signage are omnipresent, adorning front yards, backyards, and storefronts. Our hotel is blanketed in Packers history. In fact, I had Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke glaring down at me from the bathroom wall. It’s a little discomforting stepping out of the shower feeling nice and clean and seeing old No. 66 covered in mud and looking primed for a fight!

Packers memorabilia is everywhere, including this photo of Ray Nitschke in a hotel bathroom. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

The house that Vince built … and Madden loved

It takes only a 10-minute ride from the stadium to take you to a modest ranch-style home adjacent to the Fox River. Constructed in 1959 by Vince and Marie Lombardi, it became their residence throughout his 10-year tenure in Green Bay. To football historians, it has become a shrine, a prime stopping point for a quick snapshot.

About 30 years ago, the house came on the market and there was one notable interested buyer. His name was John Madden. Madden idolized Lombardi. As a young fledgling coach, John once sat through a six-hour dissertation on the famous Green Bay “power sweep” given by the great man himself.

One year, we hosted his All-Madden Team show from Lombardi’s former home on Sunset Circle. There in the basement where Marie would mix her famous cocktails, and Vince would watch his game film, stood John Madden and Pat Summerall, filming our show with a nod to NFL royalty.

So a few years later when Madden heard the house was on the market, he expressed interest in buying it and turning it into a Lombardi museum. In the end, no bid was made, but the memories of that day in Lombardi’s basement stayed with Madden for the rest of his life.

When Vince Lombardi’s house went on the market, John Madden — a huge Lombardi admirer — expressed interest in buying it. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

That’s Green Bay, a small city steeped in a proud history. With a population of 107,000, this football crazed community fills an 81,000-seat stadium. And that’s been the case since 1960, when Lombardi was in his second year as head coach. If you want season tickets today, you have plenty of company. There are 147,000 people on that waiting list. It is that type of passion, in this unique environment, which makes covering a game at Lambeau so special.

Lambeau Field is where special moments are made, including Tom Brady’s favorite

Those special moments have been plentiful in games we’ve covered through the years.

Brett Favre in 1995, playing on a severely sprained ankle and throwing five touchdown passes against the hated Bears. The championship game vs the Giants in 2007, when the wind chill was -23 and New York coach Tom Coughlin’s face was frostbitten and frightening to behold.

Legendary coach Vince Lombardi stands watch outside Lambeau Field. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

Future Hall of Famers Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady battling for the NFC title in 2021, won by Brady’s Bucs, and capped off with an emotional hug between Tom and his teenage son Jack.

Tom says he still tears up thinking about that moment and calls it the favorite of his storied career.

Behind the Scenes: Tom Brady hugs his son after winning the 2021 NFC Championship

That was the last of only three games Brady played at Lambeau Field. With the Patriots, head coach and football historian Bill Belichick would dust off the old film and show his team what Green Bay meant to the history of the NFL. Brady and his teammates would be treated to watching the old Packer greats like Don Hutson, Bart Starr, and the legendary “power sweep” that so intrigued John Madden many years ago.

It was the Lions who were at home in the bad weather

Unfortunately, on Sunday, all the tradition and history meant nothing as the Packers were schooled by the powerhouse Detroit Lions, 24-14.

Tom Brady, calling the game with Kevin Burkhardt, says that his favorite career moment happened at Lambeau Field. (Photo courtesy of Richie Zyontz)

The weather was brutal, with driving wind and rain, and would seemingly have favored the home team. But Detroit, playing its first outdoors game of the season, handled the elements to perfection.

So did our intrepid sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi. They do the unheralded work of observing and feeding information to the truck and booth throughout the game, come rain or shine. After the game they were all wet smiles and cold hands — Lambeau has that kind of effect on people.

Bad weather at Lambeau Field did nothing to slow down the Detroit Lions. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Next week we head back to Tampa as the Bucs battle the 49ers, who expect to have star running back Christian McCaffrey back in the fold. Visiting teams are 8-1 so far this season with our crew. And while bad weather has been following us around, Tampa’s forecast looks great for Sunday.

Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his 23rd season as lead producer. He boasts more than 40 years of experience covering the NFL.