Football Widow

Cheeseheads Unite - The Green Bay Packers Play the Seahawks

January 10, 2008 7:52 PM | 1 Comments

The Green Bay Packers play the Seattle Seahawks in Green Bay, Wisconsin, at Lambeau Field this weekend. I've lived in Seattle, WA, for nearly 20 years, but I'm originally from Wisconsin, hence the fetching cheesehead photo of me. You can best describe me as A Cheesehead Without a Cause (since Packers fever never infected me, but claimed the lives of nearly every male I ever encountered in the state of Wisconsin). But, in the spirit of finding ways to rise above my disenfranchisement, tomorrow we've invited some Green Bay Packers fans to our house for a tailgate party. Believe it or not, on my block alone there are two Green Bay Packers fans, one from Wisconsin and one from Townsend, Montana. I'm intrigued: How does a guy in his 40s from Townsend, Montana, become a Packers fan? So, I chatted with Mike last night about it.

Here's what a found out. It's a blind stroke of the obvious, but Mike has had a lifelong relationship with the Green Bay Packers. He explains it as hereditary. "I was born into it. My Dad was a lifelong Packers fan because his Dad was." Apparently, Mike's grandfather admired Curly Lambeau, who was both renowned as a great coach and a ladies' man, and led the Packers in the 1920s.

Mike's first sports memory was of the Ice Bowl, when Green Bay played Dallas in Green Bay, just before the second Super Bowl (which the Packers won). The wind chill was -520 degrees (hyperbole, but it sounds really dramatic) and Bart Starr, with the help of some guy named Jerry Kramer, who was a right guard, scored a winning touchdown, which decreased the wind chill factor to -100 degrees because the fans were all really excited and emitting phenomenal amounts of body heat. Mike remembers this because his 7-year-old brother, who was two years his senior, couldn't bear the nervousness and had to go upstairs, missing the entire play, which is replayed over and over and over again in the sports world.

Sacrifice: Mike's daughter fell asleep in his lap when he was watching the Packers play the Hawks about four years ago, which prevented him from having any of the typical visceral and auditory reactions he would have had.

Mood Ring: Mike's wife Maggie can read his moods by looking at the final score of a Packers game.

Busted: After the birth of his son, Mike was chastised by his wife, when she discovered he'd turned the hospital room TV on mute so that he could watch the Packers playing the San Francisco 49'ers.

Most Cherished Possession: A pillow Mike's daughter made him this year from Green Bay Packers-patterned flannel.

Smart Guy: Mike ordered Sports Widow Wear for his wife this past Christmas.

The Defense: Whenever Mike's wife Maggie gives him any trouble for his passion for the Packers, he retorts: Count your blessings. You could be trying to call me and fish me out of the local bar. Now, that's worth an entirely new blog posting.

So this week, my advice is to have a tailgate party, drink beer, eat cheese and pretend you are rooting for the Packers.

The Sports Widow
(aka Nan Hall)