He worked the crowd like a seasoned emcee.
Only this emcee happened to have a Super Bowl ring as a player and another as the Green Bay Packers president.
Mark Murphy seemed in his element Thursday night at Stoney Creek Hotel in Onalaska, weaving around the crowded room full of green and gold, during a Packers bus tour event to support the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse.
He took every random question from the crowd like a live town hall La Crosse has yet to have. The best question coming from one of the youngest fans there — who asked the team president who the Packers are going to take when they host the draft in two weeks.
The crowd roared in delight.
Murphy laughed and gave the classic front-office answer: “The best player available.”
A few groans followed, but the team president told the boy, “If I told you who we were going to draft, I’d get in big trouble.”
Seven Packers — past and present — joined Murphy on stage for the event. Tucker Kraft was the fan favorite, coming off a stellar sophomore season.
Ahman Green was the most notable — the Packers all-time leading rusher. And Bill Schroeder got a warm welcome home — the UW-La Crosse alum, who excelled at both track and football.
But if it wasn’t the kids asking their heroes questions, it was the 70-year-old Murphy, who will retire in July at the NFL’s mandatory retirement age, who stole the show.
It was a surreal sight, this legend walking through all the fans, cracking jokes and roasting his players.
He gave Marco Rivera a hard time for leaving Green Bay for Dallas — and the crowd happily joined in. Murphy gave Green some grief about playing college ball at Nebraska, noting they haven’t really been good since.
Murphy didn’t let everyone have it, though. There were heartfelt moments. As he introduced his players on stage, telling personal stories about each and their notable time with the Packers, he came to John Michels, the first-round pick who protected Brett Favre to a Super Bowl championship.
Murphy talked of how knee injuries cut Michels’ career short, but that didn’t stop him from excelling in life. Murphy noted that Michels was forced to stop playing football, only to become a physician.
Also on that stage, was current defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness and former running back Tony Fisher.The night consisted of laughs and nostalgia but — most importantly — it was for a good cause with proceeds going to the Hunger Task Force of La Crosse, in urgent need of community support.
