MILWAUKEE — Thirty years ago, on Dec. 26, 1993, LeRoy Butler took a lateral from defensive end Reggie White, scored a touchdown and jumped into the stands at Lambeau Field. From that moment on, the Lambeau Leap was coined and Packers players have been jumping into the stands for the last three decades after touchdowns.
On the 30th anniversary, LeRoy Butler sat down with Dennis Krause to talk about the moment no Packers fans will ever forget.
Dennis: All right, LeRoy, let’s go back to Dec. 26, 1993. [It’s] Lambeau Field, a cold day, game time temperature zero degrees, a 28 to nothing victory over the LA Raiders. The question I always wanted to ask you was that did you plan that Lambeau Leap or did it just happen in the moment?
LeRoy: Obviously, it was spontaneous. I think the biggest thing is Dennis, to me, it felt like we’re on the cusp of becoming a pretty good team and something had to come from somewhere to kind of catapult us on this national scene because it was pretty much Dallas and San Francisco going into the nineties, going to be the two best teams. But I also remember, as being you know, I’m from Jacksonville, Florida. I remember getting over there to the game and asking Lee Remmel, do they forfeit the games? Because I never heard a wind chill before and it was like -20 or something. But I kept seeing all the fans coming to the game. It was amazing.
Dennis: Why did you do it?
LeRoy: I think for me, the biggest thing I remember in our defensive meetings, Holmgren would always say, never lateral the ball because you’re on defense for a reason. And, you know, it was one of these things where you never thought you’d be put in that position. But in that particular moment, when I caused the fumble, I remember looking around for the ball and I see Bryce Paup … I see Tony Bennett … and I see that they fail Dennis because the field was frozen. And this is what I know: God was good. I didn’t fall as I ran toward Reggie because everybody just kept slipping. And when I ran toward Reggie, I kind of knew he was going to do it, and I wanted to be prepared. But the main thing is, when I get the ball, I just remembered the loudest roar I’ve ever heard. And as I’m running down about the five yard line, I said to myself, to myself, I’m going to jump in the stands. I can imagine the fans sitting there like, why isn’t he stopping, and he just scored. I keep going; I throw the ball down and I just never forget the fact that jumping up there in the stands and people had beers in their hand. I said, People in Wisconsin love beer. I remember that guy because he spilled his beer. He said, Man, you owe me a beer. It was just the funniest thing. But after that, I never really knew how I would impact the culture, impact celebrations, impact and our fan base.
Dennis: So you went back to the sideline. Did Mike Holmgren or Reggie White say anything to you?
LeRoy: Well, I think Reggie thought it was cool. And Holmgren said that they’re going to fine you for that. I’m like really? I don’t know. But it was it was at the time. It just felt like we needed something good. We’ll, of course, beaten them, but it was just a discussion of we’re the only fan base that can do this. And the reason why, humbly, I think it’s the best celebration, Dennis, is it has to do with the fans. Without the fans, there is no leap. No one would even care if I did some weird dance. But to jump up and shake a shareholder, hug a shareholder to tell them how much we love them and we appreciate them, it’s pretty remarkable.
Dennis: You kind of touched on this. We’d all like to be remembered, but that leap will go on long after you’re gone. Your name is now inside Lambeau Field. You’re a Packer forever.
LeRoy: Yeah, I think one of the things that you think about is the moment in time. Where were you 30 years [ago?] And I think about the 30 years when we won the Super Bowl. It said 30 years of misery has ended. And now this is coming about. And I remember my biggest moment, probably one of my biggest moments, Robert Brooks made a song called Jump in the Stands, and President Clinton comes in to Lambeau Field. And I told Robert, do you have the CD for Jumping the Stairs? And oh, yes, millennials, we had CDs, okay. It was it links back then. He said, Why do you want it? I said, I’m to give it to the president. He said, You can’t do that. He gave it to me and I went over to President Clinton and I gave it to him. And I said to myself, I don’t think he’ll listen to it. But the fact of doing that made something huge. And Robert Brooks played a big part in that, the whole branding of it and actually getting out for somebody to hear how it all started. So it was awesome.
Dennis: So, the final question for you. When I say the words Lambeau Leap, I can’t help but smile. And so, that has to be a great legacy that you’re leaving.
LeRoy: Yeah, that’s a good question, because I think about legacy. That’s the reason why I stayed with the Packers all 12 years. But now, when I’m at Pick N’ Save and Metro Market, ‘Leap what’s up, what’s up Leap?’ They hardly call me Leroy anymore. They can’t decide, Leroy or LeRoy, but we do know Leap and you can go anywhere. I was in California, San Francisco, Texas, Florida. They all know the leap. And mainly, it’s because of the branding of the Green Bay Packers. What they’ve done for our fanbase.