Starr shines at ABS

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April 21, 2008

By Scot Beard The News Courier Mon Apr 21, 2008, 08:32 PM CDT

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr spoke about attitude and how it can help you achieve your goals at the Second Annual Athens Bible School Benefit Dinner.

Starr said he is impressed with what ABS has managed to accomplish in its 64-year history and is glad to see it adapting to the challenges of a growing student population.

“The morals and values that have been part of this great school are to be commended,” Starr said.

He spoke about topics such as talent, enthusiasm, teamwork, innovation and courage and how the right attitude can turn those words into powerful tools to accomplish whatever goals you set.

“I remember the first meeting I had with (new Green Bay Packers coach) Lombardi,” Starr said. “It was powerful.

“He said, ‘We are going to relentlessly chase perfection but we will not catch it because perfection is unattainable. We will relentlessly chase it so that we can catch excellence. I am not remotely interested in being good.’”

It was that kind of attitude Starr was promoting as Athens Bible School sets forth with its expansion plans. The goal of the benefit was to raise money to expand the school.

ABS has been growing for years and currently has its largest student body in 30 years.

The school is in the first phase of expanding to a new campus off U.S. 31. That phase should be completed by the end of the school year. It will include new athletic fields.

The second phase of the project will begin soon. The ABS administration hopes to have the project completed by 2020.

Starr makes a perfect guest speaker because he is from Alabama and played college football for the University of Alabama.

During his college career, Starr did not see much playing time. The Crimson Tide went 20-20-5 in his four years in Tuscaloosa. After his Alabama career came to a close, Starr was drafted by the Packers in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL Draft.

Starr had a 9-1 playoff record, including five NFL titles and wins in the first two Super Bowls — he was named Most Valuable Player in both Super Bowls.

From 1960-67, Starr was an incredible 62-24-4.

Perhaps the most memorable win was the 1967 NFL Championship game against Dallas.

The game is known in NFL lore as the Ice Bowl because the temperature at game time was 13 degrees below zero.

The Packers trailed 17-14 with 4:50 remaining in the game. Starr led Green Bay to the Cowboys’ 1-yard line.

Two running plays had failed to gain, so Starr called the Packers’ final timeout with 16 seconds remaining in the game.

After talking with Lombardi, Starr returned to the huddle and called another running play.

Starr took the snap and dove across the goal line to give the Packers the win.

“Coach Lombardi told me to get in there and win it so we could go home,” Starr said. “I was laughing as I ran back onto the field.”

Starr played a total of 16 seasons with the Packers, and completed 57.4 percent of his attempted passes, led the league in passing three times and was the NFL’s MVP in 1966.

He had 24,718 yards passing in his career and threw 152 touchdowns.

He retired from playing after the 1971 season and became the Packers quarterback coach before taking over the head-coaching job in 1975.

Starr is pleased with the recent changes at Alabama.

“I’m very excited about the new coach,” Starr said. “He did a remarkable job. He inherited a weak team.”

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