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Green Bay Packers Pride

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Words by Dalene Heck / Photography by Pete Heck

What is it about the Green Bay Packers?

How is it that they are one of the most popular sports teams in the world?

Sure, it helps that they have won the most NFL championships (13) than any other team, but there is definitely something else. The fans certainly have a lot to do with it. They have unparalleled amounts of pride and passion for “their” team.

Packers Pride

Packers Pride Collage

Look at the waiting list for Packers season tickets. If you apply today for season tickets there will be 100,000+ fans in front of you. Your great-grandchildren may have a shot at getting them and you had better hope they are Pack fans. There have been people on the waiting list since the early nineties and they still have 10,000+ people waiting eagerly in front of them. A spot on the Packers waiting list is so valuable that they are willed in family estates and highly contested in divorces.

If you get a chance to see a Packers game on TV, look into the stands at the fans. 95% of attendees are wearing some sort of Packers garb. There are countless painted faces, symbolic cheeseheads and posters explaining why ‘they are the #1 fan’.

But what I think is most important is the strong leadership behind this team. Vince Lombardi, one the most successful and popular coaches in history once said: “The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.” The players routinely leave everything they have on the field.

This quote has resonated with me for a long time, and I believe it is the reason I had the chance to see the historic frozen tundra of Lambeau Field with my own two eyes as our own hard work and passion had been instrumental in getting us there. I have no clue if in my old life I would have ever had the chance to see the Packers play, but this mantra led me down this path to do so now.

Welcome to Lambeau Field

When I was a kid I regularly watched the Packers on TV. I don’t know what drew me to follow them. My family understandably never watched NFL, being from a diehard CFL nation. I’ve remotely cheered the Packers to win two Superbowls (1996 and 2010). I’ve seen countless Lambeau leaps, the crazy body painted fans braving the sub zero temperatures and the great Packer players throughout the years. But to see them in person was a little childhood dream come true.

Even though the game was a total blow-out and in a very chilly stadium, the fans were unrelenting. They cheered and bounced until the final seconds ticked off the clock, and the boisterous atmosphere was everything I expected it to be.

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20 Comments

  1. Wow! What a blow out!! The coolest thing is…the fans love ‘their’ team because it truly is their team! They are the ONLY one in all of American prof. sports that is community-owned…shares are owned by the people. I think that’s another reason they feel such a part of this amazing team. (And I’m not even a Packers fan!)

    1. Yes, of course! It’s still so hard to fathom that the Packers do so well in such a small market. Our neighbours told us that every year, they sell off squares of the turf to fans. I can imagine there is a wait-list for that too. 🙂

  2. Great article! I would love to go there if I wasn’t a diehard Minnesota Vikings fan. But it truly is a compelling and fabled story about the history of a pro sports team.

  3. I don’t always care to watch sports on tv, but seeing a game live, especially something like football, is always a lot of fun. Packer fans seem pretty passionate, which usually means great football (and entertaining people watching).

  4. GB is in my top 5 list of teams I usually cheer for and yesterday’s game was awesome!!

    I’d love to a watch a game in Lambeau field some day, hopefully in a warm month because I don’t think I could handle the freezing temps there in the winter.

    1. We got lucky – we had MUCH colder days surrounding the actual game day, and were sitting in a section that we had quite a bit of sun to keep us warm(ish).

  5. I’m from Germany. “What are the Green Bay Packers?” …I would have asked, BEFORE I watched all seasons of “That 70s show”. Now I know. They are the team Red supports. And now anyone tell me again how you don’t learn anything valuable from TV. Duh. 🙂

  6. I think its pretty awesome you did made a post about the Green Bay Packers, I am from Green Bay and have been to many games, it is a true expierence I wish everyone could have! My girlfriend and I are both from the USA, we are currently in the process of selling we own (1/2 way there, and the clock is ticking!) and starting a “RTW (Round the World” 14 month (or more) adventure in July!! If you or anyone would like to meet some new fun friends let us know, If we are in your town, or maybe our paths cross in another country. We would be happy to make some friends around the globe!!!!!!!!!! And if you want you can follow along on our blog http://www.wanderlustjunkies.com or our FB page
    https://www.facebook.com/WanderLustJunkies
    Our Blog is brand new, so its not as informational as and exciting as yours, but when the adventure starts we should have great stories to tell!
    Cheers!!!
    Chad and Misti

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