Lombardi
WHO: "Vince: The Life and Times of Vince Lombardi"
WHAT: One-man show
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Dec. 18
WHERE: MHS Performing Arts Center
MONROE - Lombardi.
The name conjures up images of frozen football fields and the days when the Green Bay Packers dominated the National Football League.
Joe Pinero, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and who now lives in California, brings his one-man show about the legendary football coach to Monroe. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Monroe High School's Performing Arts Center.
Pinero has portrayed Lombardi in the show since 1996. He started his portrayal of Lombardi as part of a play about three great football coaches - Knute Rockne, Lombardi and Paul "Bear" Bryant. After portraying Lombardi in the play he decided there was more he wanted to do with the character.
Lombardi is a fascinating man, Pinero said. He was a disciplinarian who took a team that won one game, lost 10 and tied one the year before he arrived in Green Bay and turned it into one of the greatest dynasties in sports. During his nine years as coach of the Packers, Lombardi's teams won five championships and the first two Super Bowls.
A man has to have more than good players to be that successful, Pinero said. There has to be something special about him and his approach to life.
"He represented a different time," the actor said. "Lombardi believed that a man should stand by his word."
Pinero received praise for his portrayal of Lombardi from critics across the country. He's performed his show at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and in the Super Bowl pre-game show in 2006.
It was a performance before former Green Bay Packers players that stands out in Pinero's mind.
"Ray Nitschke (who played middle linebacker for Lombardi's teams in the 1960s) was in the front row and when he saw me he said. 'The S.O.B. is still alive.'"
He received a standing ovation from the men who knew Lombardi best, he said.
Pinero has performed his play overseas, and he said Lombardi's appeal is world-wide. People are drawn to what he stood for and what he expected from others.
Pinero is a Packers' fan who always loved football. And he admitted to being a little like Lombardi when he watches football, yelling the famous line from the coach when he sees something he doesn't like during a game.
"Sometimes I say it," he laughed. "Grab, grab grab. No one's tackling out there."
More information about Pinero is available at his website, vincelombardi.net.
The name conjures up images of frozen football fields and the days when the Green Bay Packers dominated the National Football League.
Joe Pinero, who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and who now lives in California, brings his one-man show about the legendary football coach to Monroe. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Monroe High School's Performing Arts Center.
Pinero has portrayed Lombardi in the show since 1996. He started his portrayal of Lombardi as part of a play about three great football coaches - Knute Rockne, Lombardi and Paul "Bear" Bryant. After portraying Lombardi in the play he decided there was more he wanted to do with the character.
Lombardi is a fascinating man, Pinero said. He was a disciplinarian who took a team that won one game, lost 10 and tied one the year before he arrived in Green Bay and turned it into one of the greatest dynasties in sports. During his nine years as coach of the Packers, Lombardi's teams won five championships and the first two Super Bowls.
A man has to have more than good players to be that successful, Pinero said. There has to be something special about him and his approach to life.
"He represented a different time," the actor said. "Lombardi believed that a man should stand by his word."
Pinero received praise for his portrayal of Lombardi from critics across the country. He's performed his show at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, and in the Super Bowl pre-game show in 2006.
It was a performance before former Green Bay Packers players that stands out in Pinero's mind.
"Ray Nitschke (who played middle linebacker for Lombardi's teams in the 1960s) was in the front row and when he saw me he said. 'The S.O.B. is still alive.'"
He received a standing ovation from the men who knew Lombardi best, he said.
Pinero has performed his play overseas, and he said Lombardi's appeal is world-wide. People are drawn to what he stood for and what he expected from others.
Pinero is a Packers' fan who always loved football. And he admitted to being a little like Lombardi when he watches football, yelling the famous line from the coach when he sees something he doesn't like during a game.
"Sometimes I say it," he laughed. "Grab, grab grab. No one's tackling out there."
More information about Pinero is available at his website, vincelombardi.net.