Ownership of Your Fandom

[Redt]

Hi All,

I bought my silly piece of paper this week and started to reflect on how and why I became a diehard Packer fan. I know we all come to this site to express our emotions (yes, this is all emotion) related to how our team is playing and what we think is the problem (yes, we all think we can solve the "problem"). I would like to hear from everyone on how you became a Packer fan and why you care so much about this team. Let's try and keep our histories short and gain a better perspective of our fellow posters. I know some of the prolific posters have probably shared their histories, but maybe this thread can provide a home-base for those who are curious.

Born in Northern Illinois (1965 ) and moved to a border town (on the right side)at age 4. Too many Bear fans in the family to mention and needless to say was not part of the 60's Packer History to identify with winning. My dad was a Packer fan until they traded Ted Hendricks, then Bears fan and hated Packers management. He would take me to Lake Forest to watch Bears training camp.  Grew up football wise in the 70', 80's, and 90's. Never thought I would see a Superbowl or even a winning team until Harlan, Wolf, Holmgren, Favre, and Reggie came along. Needless to say, struggled with the Favre debacle, but this singular event solidified my love for team and not player. Don't get me wrong I have my favorites, but Green and Gold forever. It has been hard to build trust after going through my formative years in the Judge (Parins?) era, but we have had solid organizational leadership for quite awhile.  We are currently in good hands and I may criticize, but will always support the Green and Gold.

 

[ThatJerkDave]

Born in Green Bay in 1982.  Packers stunk on ice while I was a child, but that was our team.  Then I moved around a few times, and visited less and less.  The Packers are all I really have of my home town.  I have more loyalty to my Packers than I do my high school or college.  And I always have.  I bought the piece of paper last time that it was offered, and I have zero regrets about doing it.  I mean, I was paying tax money already to the Rams, and couldn't care less about them.  Why not donate to my favorite team?

[40Year Pack Fan]

Being that both my parents were from Wisconsin, I would say our yearly visits helped mold my allegiance to the Packers...It also helped that we were able to get Wisconsin television stations here in Michigan, so that further cemented my interest by being able to watch them....I barely remember the Lombardi teams and suffered through the seventies and eighties....Wrote a letter to Bart Starr while he was HC and GM, and received a signed picture from him....Bought stock during the last offering and also absolutely have no regrets....

[Ripline]

Dave Hampton, Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson, Ray Nitshke and Travis Williams bought my Dad and I breakfast once when I was six years old...

Starstruck

[Zycho32]

Never ever lived more than thirty miles from Green Bay- just moved into the city outright this past September. Took to the Packers- and football in general- surprisingly early. I'd say five or under. Main culprit seemed to be a Packers yearbook, 1989 edition(which naturally was about the 4-12 '88 season). Probably could've been watching games as early as '90 or '91, but I was scared off by this Diet Coke commercial starring Boomer Esiason and involving players melting.
 

Anyhoo, finally ended up watching Packers games starting in '93, which lasted until we finally no longer had normal TV channels, but by then we finally hooked up to the World Wide Web, so I could get updates there... and so things progressed. I missed out on the '97 stock sale because I was twelve, and the recent ones because I kinda balked at the price tag. Attempting to make the purchase this time around, but I have yet to get a final confirmation e-mail.

[Lodestar]

I'm Canadian and inherited my fandom from my father and grandfather. They're farmers and say they identified with Green Bay because of the small town working-class connection, but I bet it had more to do with the Packers being good as hell in the 1960s.

[Dubz41]

First memories were the two SuperBowls.  Remember Lombardi making players wear different numbers at practice (to confuse the spys) then Lombari dying. Then Dan DeVine breaking his leg and the dark ages of the 70s-80s. They were conversely the most fun games I remember going to.

My favorite cousin used to babysit for Willie Davis and I have sat and listened to Chester Marcol tell dirty jokes.

Grew up on the western front and moved to Duckland for employment reasons when I was 19.  Raised kids wearing green n gold in purple land.

Used to throw away the kids purple crayons and markers.  Have half of my neighborhood flying Packer flags now. Represent my team with class and dignity which the bruises (purple fans...get it?) cannot understand.

[Norse65]

Lifelong Northern Wisconsinite.  When I was eight my dad took me to my crazy uncle from Green Bay’s house to watch the 1960 NFL Championship.  My uncle tore up a pillow, almost knocked the TV off the stand with another one.  He was jumping and cursing.

 It was just great fun for a young kid and I decided there must be something to this. Became a Packer fan for life.

Ive been around long enough to know that the first two Super Bowls were absolutely anticlimactic.  The NFLchampionship was it. The big game. Lombardi himself called the first one an exhibition. 

I saw  the 70s and 80s close up.  The good and the bad.  I came to believe if you looked up tough in the dictionary there would be a picture of Lynn Dickey. 
 

Ron Wolf and Bob Harlan changed everything.  We are now among the best and most beloved Professional sports franchises in the world.  

[Mr Bad Example]

On 11/23/2021 at 10:17 AM, Dubz41 said:

.....I have sat and listened to Chester Marcol tell dirty jokes.

I share a wall with Chester, and one of the stories I tell about him is the former head of our clinic was a pastor and at a meeting he was talking about using "proper" language. Being new to the field I was thinking about how I was going to adjust, the I went to my office after the meeting and heard Chester exclaim "what the ******* ****" through the wall and thought "well, maybe I'll be ok"

[BluePacker]

Early 80's western Wisconsin kid here. Vaguely remember the late 80's. Cemented as a Packer fan by my dad and grandpa watching the games, and then my dad taking me to a card store in Eau Claire and buying a Sterling Sharpe poster for me. I was crushed when he had to retire. I remember screaming for joy with my dad when Buckley picked off Detroit in the playoffs, when Thigpen dropped that TD and the Packers got the division, seeing the first Lambeau leap, listening to the Packers beat SF in the playoffs while driving back from a basketball tournament, and watching Reggie manhandle a 300+lb grown man. Myvfirst ever NFL game was at the Metradome with my dad and his Viking friend (who was gracious even after they won) where we had to play our 3rd string QB TJ Rubley after Favre and Detmer got hurt. So many memories.

And yes, I bought stock this time. For myself and my children. Hopefully I can develop memories with them and Green Bay like my dad did with me. 

[OneTwoSixFive]

I watched the NFL from 1984/85 onwards, but after a few years I decided I'd get more from American Football if I picked one team to follow.

Brits love an underdog, so when I chose a team at the end of 1988, it wasn't the then-dominant Bears or a long-term good team like the 49ers. Instead, I picked the Packers, who had been awful for, well, ages. What a time to pick them ! From the Majik year onwards, they have consistently been one of the better teams in the NFL. I have been spoilt............ and as they never said when choosing the grail cup in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "He DID NOT choose.....poorly".

Edited November 29, 2021 by OneTwoSixFive

[FinneasGage]

half my family's from wisconsin. dad would always have the game on when i was super young, but i didn't really start to care until the '04 playoff game against the vikings. dad told me if they lost the season was over and i suddenly became invested and started to care really out of nowhere for some reason. they lost that game but i started like researching and reading the forums trying to see what the team was doing over the offseason. then i was all-in. waking up at 6am game days, watching pre-game ****, eagerly awaiting

got stock like 10 years ago as a christmas gift 

 

 

[Joe]

My fandom is partially due to a family hatred of Jerruh. I was born and raised in Denison, TX. My father was in corporate marketing(I've sort of followed in his footsteps) with a degree from Madtown and my mother was a lawyer who grew up in Kunesh(let's see how many people know where that is...). One of my aunts on my father's side married into a Wisconsin family as well from Tomahawk and settled down there. While the family had a soft spot for the Packers for obvious reasons, my dad worked with Jerruh about the time I was born in 1980 until the mid-80's when there was some sort of falling out. I was in kindergarten at the time and still haven't gotten a firm answer as to what happened. I'll never forget the time when Jerruh bought the Cowboys; we were eating TV dinners and once the local affiliate came on with the news my dad nearly froze, put his fork back on his tray, swallowed his bite, then looked at my mom and calmly said "we're now all Packers fans because I'm not cheering for a team owned by that SOB."

Said aunt from Tomahawk cross-stitched me a circular Green Bay Packer helmet with the team logo on it back in '95 and I got it signed by 9 Packers players(one of which I forget) during the '96 TC including Freeman, Koonce, Hentrich, Earl Dotson, and Levens. That was the only time I saw Reggie who wasn't doing autographs after being dead tired after practice; I've never seen someone breathe that hard before - thought he was going to pass out. I also carried Bob Kuberski's helmet that year only to later do business with his daughter's husband in Delaware back in 2019 - small world. Now my career has taken me to South Jersey where Iggles fans clearly have a soft spot for us and us alone as the only non-Philly football team not to catch too much $#!^ from their fans and cheer for us once their team begins to suck; Giants fans have proven to be similar. I wore my Packer hoodie and ball cap grocery shopping after the Arizona win recently and got several "go Packers" nods, comments, and winks; there are a ton of us out here as well including the old @$$ evergreen colored Chevy I saw the other day with Packers stickers all over it.

I may be quite critical about management, players/coaches, and other related stuff but I'm damn proud to be a Packer fan.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Joe