Did Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst troll the Detroit Lions for hanging division championship banners? NFL fans react.

Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn't talk much publicly during the regular season.

But during the NFL scouting combine, this week in Indianapolis, it's his time to be front and center. That means besides evaluating college talent, he's doing a lot of interviews.

And one comment he made is generating a lot of attention, particularly from Detroit Lions fans.

There's no question, the Lions have overtaken the Packers in the standings the last two years.

With an aggressive head coach, young core and resurgent quarterback, the Lions were the winners of the four-team NFC North for the first time last season. Overall, it was their first division championship since 1993. That was cause for celebration in Motown and the Lions hung a banner inside Ford Field to commemorate the occasion.

Certainly, nothing wrong with that. We see the Milwaukee Brewers around here hang pennants inside the stadium to highlight their division titles or playoff berths.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said his team doesn't hang banners for division championships, which appeared to be a dig at the Detroit Lions.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said his team doesn't hang banners for division championships, which appeared to be a dig at the Detroit Lions.

The Lions' new banner hangs alongside one that notes the three times the Lions won the NFC Central, a division that was reconfigured from five teams to four in 2002.

So, when asked this week about the Packers looking to chase down the Lions in the division, Gutekunst, whose Packers have won an NFC-North-leading 12 division titles over the years, delivered a not-so-subtle shot at the Lions — intentional or not.

"Around here, we’ve never hung banners for division championships, so it’s never been about that. It’s a nice starting point, but I think we’re always looking for bigger things," said Gutekunst, via The Athletic's Matt Schneidman, while meeting with local media earlier this week.

Of course, social media, especially Lions fans, took notice of Gutekunst's comments. Many were quick to note that the Packers don't have many "bigger things" like Super Bowl banners to hang in recent history. While they have the most NFL championships, they had just two Super Bowls during the Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers era.

Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu celebrates after he intercepted a pass against the Vikings late in the fourth quarter of the Lions' 30-24 win on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023, in Minneapolis, to clinch the NFC North Division.
Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu celebrates after he intercepted a pass against the Vikings late in the fourth quarter of the Lions' 30-24 win on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023, in Minneapolis, to clinch the NFC North Division.

"One of my favorite quotes is losers focus on winners, winners focus on winning," the Woodward Sports Network radio broadcast out of Michigan noted this week. "The Packers are focusing on the winners what does that make them they’re the losers. When you’re looking up you’re going to have sour grapes. The Packers have never really felt this before.

"To take a shot out of nowhere for no reason just shows you’re already in this dude’s head."

Are the Lions in the Packers' heads and will the 2023 NFC North champs use Gutekunst's comments as more motivation?

Lions fans fired up over Brian Gutekunst's comments on division banners

Some Packers fans like what Brian Gutekunst had to say about division banners

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Did Packers' Brian Gutekunst troll Detroit Lions with banner comment?

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