FORT SMITH, Ark. — One former Northside Grizzly, Arkansas Razorback, and Green Bay Packer knows exactly what it’s like to play in the big game, and even has a ring to prove it.
Fort Smith native Brett Goode spent 11 years with the Packers as the long snapper. Three years after signing, he was part of the team that beat the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV.
"When you finally do it, you're like, 'Oh, my goodness, we won the Super Bowl.' And then it's like a party," Goode said. "It's everything that you've always worked for. You get to be a part of something special that very few people can do."
Winning the Super Bowl, according to Goode, is a magical moment that's tough to describe. "It's everything you can imagine times 1,000. It sets you apart from so many great athletes that you know, who played in the NFL for a long time and never got the chance to win. You realize how hard it is to do it. And it puts you in a special place," he said.
Although Goode has been retired for the last several years, he said he still misses it every day, specifically the relationships he formed with teammates away from the field.
"You miss the locker room. You know, it's fun to win games and everything else ... But the locker room experience where you talk to the guys... I miss those relationships. We still communicate now. But it's just not the same as the locker room every day," Goode said.
As for that massive championship ring? He keeps it in a safe place.
"I don't wear it out a whole lot. But I do take it to events. It's fun now that my kids are coming to an age where they're proud of me and they know what's going on, so I get to take it to their school and stuff."
He also said he does keep in contact with teammates from the championship team, but with families and busy lives, the way they all keep in touch is a group text.
"It's hard to talk on the phone all the time because we've all got different lives and families and everything going on. But we have group text messages where we still get to get onto each other a little bit," said Goode.
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