Packers legend Ahman Green — now an e-sports coach — in La Crosse for Scouts’ 20th annual fundraiser
A bit ironic, a fundraiser Thursday for the Scouts brought in a “video-game” coach to speak.
Less ironic, though, when that guest is the Green Bay Packers all-time leading rusher, Ahman Green.
He spoke at the 20th annual Golden Eagle Gala, a fundraiser for the Gateway Area Council Scouts, which serves eight counties in the La Crosse area.
As the e-sports coach at Nebraska, the irony wasn’t lost on the former Cornhusker turned Packer. But Green grew up right as video games were taking off and he understands the importance of what the Scouts help promote in getting outdoors.
“I learned from my mom and dad,” Green said. “The process was, I could sit and play — it was Super Mario Bros, at my age, for example — for 2-3 hours. But then, I had to go outside and play, being a kid. Go ride my bike, go get in trouble, go do something, but you gotta go outside.”
A dozen years as a running back, the most brutal position in the NFL, you sure wouldn’t know it looking at the 46-year-old. Asked how his body feels 14 years removed from the NFL, Green said he is not crawling, sore and limping out of bed each morning.
“My body feels great,” he said. “I still workout, probably five days a week on the minimum. I get cardio. I do them same workouts I give my e-sports athletes. Every now and then I throw a little weights in there.”
Green added that he wasn’t putting his e-sports athletes through an NFL running back regime, but he does stress the importance of being healthy, and balancing playing video games and being active.
Green also joked that his old teammates almost make fun of him for looking smaller now than back in his playing days.
They actually, they’re like,’Man, you look like you getting smaller,’” Green said. “They’ll tease me on that aspect. We all raz each other. I know another guy that does real well, who I do a podcast with, Dorsey (Levens). He is really pushed forward what he taught me when I got to Green Bay.”
Green said Levens, who is seventh on the Packers all-time rushing list, taught him about keeping his body healthy and fueled.
Green is one of many former Packers to have spoken — including Bart Starr — at the Golden Eagle Gala, which helps fund Scouts in an eight-county area that serves around 1,200 youth — including for the past five years, girls.
The Boy Scouts made one key philosophy change at that time.
Joe Carlson, Scouts Executive CEO, worked through that transition, as girls are now a big part of the program.
“It’s been neat to see families be able to get a son and a daughter get involved in Scouting or in some cases, young ladies excited to earn the rank of Eagle Scout or excited to do outdoor activities,” Carlson said. “It’s been a neat transition.”
Carlson said girls make up about 20 percent of the Gateway Area Council and, overall — both boys and girls — they see around 35 earn Eagle Scout honors each year.