So, a few weeks ago I said I wasn't going back to Wisconsin for a Packers game this year. Turns out I was wrong. I wasn't lying. When I wrote it, it was true. And then a few days later, LJ, my Packer friend, told me she had tickets to the Lambeau home opener (Packers-Bills) if I wanted to go. I found a reasonably-priced flight, stressed out over the cost and flight, but realized I had to go. I've been homesick, and I really wanted to see the Packers play a regular season game. Lambeau is still one of my favorite places on the face of the earth.
So, Sunday, LJ and I took off for Lambeau. I woke up at 5:00 AM after an afternoon of heavy drinking (more on that later) and little sleep. There are very few things that will get me out of bed that early, but Packer football is one of them. We had packed the car the night before so we hit the road early enough to get to my favorite tailgating spot: The Kmart parking lot next to Lambeau. I can't think of one thing more Wisconsin than sitting in a Kmart parking lot at 8:30 in the morning drinking beer (New Glarus) and grilling food.
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| Kmart parking lot about 9:00 AM. There were some Bills fans next to us, and one of them had a mullet so great, I thought it was a wig. It wasn't. I tried to get a picture of it, but couldn't. |
We had the same seats as last year but different people around us. There was a couple behind us who decided this was the time to bring their kids to their first Packers game. Too bad the kids were more interested in the snacks they were getting at the end of the first quarter--that and kicking me in the ass. This family had some of the strongest Wisconsin accents I have ever heard. They kept talking about some "stop and go light" (aka, a stop light). I was waiting for them to start talking about a bubbler (drinking fountain). LJ and I started keeping a mental list of all the things they said, "Look through the binoculars! You can see the quarterback punting the ball." Uh, lady, the quarterback doesn't punt anything.
A younger couple with their parents sat in front of us. They were fun. We talked about the myth of the "dry campus" and wondered if the crazy guy in the green-and-gold wig dancing on the stairs was like that at home or was this was a release.
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| Packers coming on the field |
They game was good. The Packers were pretty sloppy during the first half, and I really thought there was a chance they could lose to the Bills. The Bills! But during the second half they came onto the field and tore the place up. During the first half, the crowd was only half into it, but the second half? Lambeau was rocking. Thing is, there is very little that could compare to the Packers-Bears game I saw last year. The energy in the crowd was electric.I also lost my voice after that game. I only lost half my voice this year.
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| Packers offense, second half |
Once again, it proved to me why the Packers are the best team in the NFL. Why Packer fans rock. Why Lambeau Field is sacred ground. And why I love Wisconsin so damn much.
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