BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Brett Favre's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame triggered an old punchline for Tim Krumrie, who has always jested that he was responsible for Favre's trip to Canton, Ohio.
There's some truth to that.
On Sept. 20, 1992, Krumrie, the starting nose guard for the Cincinnati Bengals, sacked Green Bay Packers quarterback Don Majkowski on the second series of the game at Lambeau Field.
Majkowski, who suffered ligament damage to his left ankle, was replaced by an unproven Favre, who joked afterwards, "I was shaking. I felt like I took a laxative. Thank God I held it."
Favre turned out to be a godsend by rallying the Packers to an improbable 24-23 win capped by his 35-yard scoring strike to wide receiver Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining. Favre was no longer viewed as a sub or backup after throwing for 289 yards and his first two touchdown passes. He replaced Majkowski as the starter and the rest is history — NFL history.
Majkowski never got his job back. Favre never missed a start for Green Bay.
Maybe it's only fitting that Krumrie is going into the Hall of Fame, too — the College Football Hall of Fame — the same year that Favre put on the fabled gold jacket for his enshrinement in Canton.
Krumrie, a Mondovi, Wisconsin, native, is the first UW defensive player to be inducted. Like Favre, he was all about durability and toughness — never missing a start in 46 career games for the Badgers.
A two-time All-American, Krumrie is still the third leading tackler in school history with 444, an improbable total for someone who lined up over the offensive center and was usually double-teamed.
As a member of the 2016 Hall of Fame class, which features 14 players and two coaches, Krumrie will be honored on Dec. 6 at the National Football Foundation's Annual Awards Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.
On Saturday night, the 56-year-old Krumrie, who lives with his wife Cheryl in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will be recognized during the Nebraska-Wisconsin game at Camp Randall Stadium.
"I know what type of player Tim Krumrie was," said UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez, who was enshrined as a coach in 2010. "I'm now on the selection committee for the Hall of Fame.
"As we went through the list of candidates, I brought up his name for nomination. And his biggest supporter in the room was Archie Griffin."
Griffin, the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner, played seven seasons for the Bengals and retired the year before they drafted Krumrie with the 276th pick overall in the 10th round of the 1983 draft.
Griffin knew all about Krumrie's impact. "Anybody who played with Tim and anybody who played against him," Alvarez said, "knew what type of competitor he was and how tough he was."
Since the Hall of Fame announcement, nobody has been more impacted than Krumrie.
"It has just been phenomenal," he said of the reaction to his induction. "I'm humbled, of course. I just didn't realize that it would be that big of a deal. You know me, I'm laid back on this type of stuff.
"But it has been fantastic how many people have come up and said, 'Congratulations. Well-deserved.' I just say 'thank you.' I don't know what else to say.
"It's an honor that you can't put into words."
While renewing friendships in Madison over the weekend, Tim and Cheryl Krumrie will be accompanied by their two children, Kelly, 32, and Dexter, 27.
The college game has obviously changed a lot since his playing days at Wisconsin.
"It has changed to a passing game," Krumrie said. "But what you still need is a foundation on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Look at the teams that are having success.
"They have great defensive linemen to get to the quarterback and they have great offensive linemen to protect the quarterback. If you don't have that, you'll struggle."
Could Krumrie play in today's game?
"Yes," he said, without seeing any need to enhance that answer.
Even at 56, even at 219 pounds, even with two new knees, even with that 15-inch titanium rod still holding together the tibia that was shattered in Super Bowl XXIII, he could definitively say yes.
"I can play the run like a bear," said Krumrie, who subscribed to an old Paul Brown saying: "A hungry dog will fight better than a fat dog."
When prodded about his success against bigger opponents, Krumrie would reply nonchalantly, "I guess I've always been able to fight a little better than the fat guys."
But 444 tackles for a college nose guard?
"People ask me about that all the time," said Krumrie, who's prouder of another number.
Zero.
"I never missed a game in high school, four years of college and 12 years in the NFL. You can take numbers and do whatever you want to do with them.
"But I never missed a game. Now that's a stat."
Deserving of a Hall of Fame induction. Deserving of a tip of a hat, a cowboy hat.
Can't imagine Krumrie won't stay in character here Saturday night when he's introduced.
Cowboy hat. Button-down shirt. Jeans. Cowboy boots.
"Jeans," he protested. "They're Wranglers."
Something else that he shares with Favre.
