Vince Lombardi: From Green Bay to Broadway

NEW YORK - From a football point of view, the story of Vince Lombardi is a great story to tell - a coach who took the Green Bay Packers to five championships in seven years.

A legendary leader whose words live on. And whose coaching style is revered in the NFL.

After all, they did name the Super Bowl trophy after him.

But what about Lombardi off the field? Is that a compelling story to tell?

Many people think so… and they took it to Broadway!

Vince Lombardi, 40 years after his death, has come to life on stage.

The new Broadway play Lombardi opened in October. But it got its start long before, in the pages of David Maraniss’ bestseller, "When Pride Still Mattered."

“It's thrilling for me because I never got to meet Lombardi. He died when I was 20. So when I started to research the book, it was 25 years after that. So to see Dan Lauria bring him back to life with Eric's words and to see Judith Light do a brilliant Marie, it's so different than when I'm alone writing a book. I'm thrilled by it," said Maraniss.

From the pages of the book, playwright Eric Simonson picked one week of Lombardi's life to work with.

"The winning was a big deal to him. Had never been head coach before and it became kind of an addiction of sorts. Really wanted to win in a big way and the time I picked for the play is that moment after the two second place finishes and before he went on to win three championships and that was an interesting time. I wanted to get him at this crux in his life. Trying to figure out if he was going to keep winning. Because not winning was unacceptable to him," said Simonson.

With that setting, Simonson focused on Lombardi's relationships with his wife and his players. And wrote about the complicated man you thought you knew.

That is what makes this play appealing to everyone according to director Thomas Kail.

"I think this represents a chance to spend time with the man we didn't get to see. That he wasn't just the person patrolling the sidelines. Was not just the person doing his instructional videos. It's a chance to see what he was like at home with his wife. With his players off the field. I think it gives us a chance to spend time with people we're read and heard about but for 95 minutes…can be in their world," said Kail.

As soon as you walk into the lobby you'll start to feel the energy of the Lombardi-era Packers. There are larger than life photos from game day. Championship footballs even a bench the players sat on during Coach Lombardi's last game at Lambeau.

The NFL put its muscle into the play providing memorabilia from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and allowing actual game day footage of Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers to be shown during the performance.

“He demonstrated that the principles of football go well beyond the field. They go into life in general. You see that from the men who coached and played with him and you see the principles applied to business and I think that's what Vince Lombardi was all about," said Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner.

What's good for the NFL is good for the Packers too.

“Having the backing of the NFL play gives the play credibility and I think it's gonna help NFL too. Whole new group of people learning about Vince Lombardi. Learning a lot about perhaps the greatest coach in the NFL,” said Mark Murphy, Packers President.

In the first few weeks of the show, a few Packers jerseys have been spotted in the audience.

Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke to name a few.

A sign that true Packers fans are intrigued to learn more about the coach "they thought they knew."

"He was not a saint. His flaws are shown and yet that only makes him look even larger," said Maraniss.

"Lombardi " is playing at the Circle in the Square Theater in New York City. Tickets are between $115 and $200 and are being sold through Feb. 20.