Packers v Saints

I have so many things to say about my trip back to the Midwest. It involved so many different aspects of my life and looking back I feel like I was there for about a month. But I figured I'd start with the Packers game.

The Packers-Saints game opened the NFL season. The last two years I have gone to the Lambeau home opener and both times were great. The Packers-Bears game in 2009 was electric, and the Packers-Bills game last year was drunken fun and a blow out. This game? The Packers-Saints? It was the last two Super Bowl Champs, two teams with dynamite quarterbacks, playing in the most historic stadium in the most rabid football town in the country. It was awesome.

LJ and I purchased a package for this game so we knew we'd have a hotel room and a ride to and from Lambeau. We also knew this was the biggest thing to ever hit Green Bay. Why? Because no one was sure there would be a season. And this was two great teams playing each other. There was a ton of hoopla and press coverage of the entire thing. And then there were bands and crowds and all kinds of stuff. Green Bay will never host a Super Bowl, not because it's freezing cold in February, but because Green Bay has a population of 100,000, and it can't accommodate the crowds associated with a Super Bowl. So, this was the closest Green Bay would ever see to a Super Bowl. And I was there.

It's fake. But I would totally get a Packer's tattoo.
I wore this thing until I got home.

We left West Bend early to avoid the crowds. We ate lunch at GB's only vegetarian/vegan restaurant. The nice thing is that is moved to a bigger space and it was always busy. I had some amazing carrot curry soup and a hummus wrap that was lovely in it's simplicity. LJ is from Green Bay and had some family stuff to take care of, and then we went to our hotel. It wasn't fancy, we knew that before we got there. But then our room was next to Ceaser's Palace. Ceaser. That kept us amused the whole time we were there.

Ceaser's Palace. As opposed to Caesar's Palace.

So, let's see.... We began drinking at 1:00. We got on the shuttle bus that took us to the circus that was Lambeau. Y'all, it was insane. We were dropped at, wait for it, Brett Favre's Steak House.

Yes, I was a vegan at not only a steak house, but Brett "still dead to me" Favre's Steakhouse. What did I do? Drink a whole bunch of free screwdrivers. I was pretty sure they were just orange juice, but LJ told me there was indeed vodka in them. Yeah, whatever.

There were some Saints fans mixed in with the bunch. I'll have to say, seeing the Saints fans mixed in with the Packer fans was interesting. It was a great example of southern football versus northern football. The southerners dressed for the game--as they do. Women wore heals. Men wore suits. There were Mardi-gra-style hats. The Packer fans? Well, we're Midwesterners. We were there in tshirst, jerseys, and sensible shoes.... all of which were probably beer-stained. None of us really give a shit what we looked like. We're there for some football. And beer. Lots of beer.

Gilbert "The Gravedigger" Brown.
A woman behind me asked me who he was. *sigh*

Anyway, Gilbert "The Gravedigger" Brown was signing. And you know what? I adore Gilbert Brown. Love him. I have wanted his jersey for the longest time--and I finally found one over the summer that was not child-sized or Gilbert Brown-sized. Did I wear it? No. At the least minute, I decided to wear my Tauscher jersey. Did I find a way to shake his hand and tell him this? Hell, yeah. Did I get his signature? Yes. On my hat. I was ecstatic. Later we stumbled on Antonio Freeman signing--he also signed my hat. For those of you who don't know, Antonio Freeman is known for one of the best reception/touchdowns ever... even better it was against the Vikings. I still remember it--it was a Monday night game. I fell asleep with the TV on and woke up just in time to see this play.

My hat, signed by Gilbert Brown and Antonio Freeman. This is a big deal. 

See that: 2010. Meaning world champs in 2010.
They revealed it while I was there. 

Anyway... the game. Awesome. A shootout. Fun. Tense. Too close at the end. I wish I'd DVR'd it because I would like to hear the commentary. From our point of view, the Packers offense was past the point of amazing. Rodgers was 9 for 10 in the first half. He scored on their first two possessions. But... the defense couldn't stop the Saints on third down--although the Packers defense stopped them in the red zone, especially in the final seconds of the game to keep the Saints from possibly forcing the game into overtime. But still, there were issues.

First drive. 

First Touchdown!

We got back to the hotel late. We had a few more beers. And I woke up the next morning with very little voice and a headache. And losing one and gaining the other were totally worth it.

I love me some Packers football.

There really is no place better to watch football than Lambeau Field.