Packer Fans Are Second To None

I was delighted this past weekend to catch an airing of the Packer's scrimmage on the NFL Network. As I sat their with a green and gold glow about me, I started to process the fact that I will be able to view EVERY Packer game this season!! You see, the past 10 years have found me in locations that sprinkle a game in here and there to tease the local Packer faithful. Our swiftly approaching return to the "Dairy State" will most certainly mend the wounds of the past decade.

Another realization surfaced as I cheered on the Packers against, well, the Packers. This was an intrasquad scrimmage that feels more like a juiced-up practice than a game. Yet, LAMBEAU FIELD WAS SOLD OUT!! That's right, almost 60,000 fans poured into the historic stadium to see the Packers "practice." Are you kidding me? Where else does that happen? I defy anyone to name a professional sports team that sells out 60,000 seats for a scrimmage.

It was interesting to view other scrimmages that aired later in the week. The Seattle Seahawks did theirs in a college stadium that seats 7,000 people. Matt Hasselbeck was in "awe" of their fan turnout for the event. He could not believe the devotion of such fans. This coming from a man who started his career in Green Bay. I can assure you that he has seen more devotion.

Then there was the two team scrimmage that included the Baltimore Ravens and the Washington Redskins. They used Ravens stadium in an apparent attempt to make room for those hoards of insane Ravens and Redskin fans. Let's just put it this way, they would have had a tough time filling up those high school sized bleachers at their practice fields.



The bottom line is that there is no fan base that compares to that of the Green Bay Packers. Unfortunately, people are a little bit confused about the definition of a true, loyal, fan. Anger and legal insanity does not make one a superfan. You will hear about the Philadelphia Eagles, Boston Redsox, or the New York Yankees. What exactly makes these people good fans? Is it their belief in curses? Maybe it's the fact that they boo their star athletes for breathing wrong? Or maybe it is because they have an actual jail within the walls of their stadium (that's no joke. The Phil. Eagles have a space in their stadium to hold law-breaking "fans")? If these people are fans, than I am Brett Favre.

I'm not even going to stop at our national borders. What about all of those insane futbol fans around the world? Oh, you mean the ones that start riots and literally kill eachother? Those people aren't fans, they're "insurgents."


I've heard it for ten years now. Many of my friends in Minnesota and South Dakota insist that Packer fans are the devil. Why, because we actually love and support our team? After spending a few years surrounded by so-called Vikings fans, I came to a very simple realization, they're jealous. It sounds childish, but it is unmistakably true.

Then there are the Broncos fans here in Denver. Though they don't foam at the mouth like our Minnesota rivals, they certainly live in a "best fan dreamland." A couple of years ago I was listening to a local sports radio station on which they were asking the question, "who are the NFL's greatest fans?" After enduring an hour of, "Broncos fans all the way", and, "Bronco fans are by far", or, "no fans are as loyal as Bronco fans", I finally had enough. I called in and made my case by posing questions to the hosts and listeners:

"Do the Bronco fans own stock in the organization? Do they attend a shareholder's meeting every year where the organization's administration and coaching staff make a "state of the team address" and answer questions? Packer fans do."

"Do Bronco fans have to wait over 30 years in some cases to get their hands on season tickets? Packer fans do."

"Do Bronco fans have a 'Bronco Hall of Fame' to go to and observe a section dedicated to the greatest individual Bronco fans? Packer fans do."

"Do Bronco fans live in a state that identifies itself almost entirely by its professional football team? Packer fans do."

"Do Bronco fans paint their houses according to team colors and plaster the team logo on their garage doors? Packer fans do."

"Do young Bronco fans bring their bikes to training camp so that the Bronco stars can ride them to practice? Young Packer fans do."


"Do Bronco fans remember events in their past by hilighting the corresponding Bronco season? Packer fans do. For example, a Wisconsin man will remember how many years he's been married because the wedding took place the same year as, say, the 'Ice Bowl' in 1967."

Today, I would add one more question to this Perry Mason-like dissection:

"Do Bronco fans fill a 60,000 seat stadium for a Bronco scrimmage?"

PACKER FANS DO!