Packers Fans Deserve Respect
During the first half of Sunday’s NFC Championship game, the FOX television cameras displayed downtown Green Bay … empty. Not a single vehicle, person or bird were in view, indicating that Green Bay natives were a) at the game; b) watching the game in the comfort of their own home; or c) incredibly nervous about experiencing ridicule for being somewhere other than a) or b).
Listening to the FAN yesterday, one caller called in and threatened Joe Anderson, simply because of this argument: Packers fans have an edge over Vikings supporters. Those freaks that didn’t have a ticket, but would have been at Lambeau if it had been twenty degrees cooler, deserve our praise.
But it’s not the mere fact that these fans are exceedingly loyal or the fact that you and I will have to remain content in front of a television instead of pursuing the craziness in person … for life.
What we need to commend is how these fans go about their business. When you go to a Packers game, you don’t see a Reggie White jersey. At a Vikings game, the chances of seeing a Daunte Culpepper jersey are about 1:1. Packers fans move on, roll with the punches, stick around. Packers fans enjoy football, offer constructive criticism and are stuck in the present, which happens to be a hard-to-swallow loss. Come training camp, however, that loss will be done. Erased. Vikings fans, conversely, are still stuck in a bitter trance over their NFC Championship loss, ironically to the Giants, eight years ago.
Vikings fans hate. Packers fans respect. Vikings fans show up to argue and ridicule. Packers fans are football fans, show up to have a good time, watch the game, demand improvement and set reasonable expectations. And sure, cheer against their rivals.
Vikings fans envy the Green Bay football experience. It’s not to say that the Vikings have bad fans, but they trance around the circle of hate because they will never match what Packers fans bring to the table each and every Sunday.
Disclaimer: I’d be remiss to omit those that are delusional.
Carl Gerbschmidt: Gerby, the frequent Packers voice and contributor to KFAN. From his blog:
Oh, hello.
I almost forgot about you here. After all, I was thinking about the NFL, and I really haven’t spent much time thinking about teams that aren’t good enough to keep playing when the big boys play.
I almost forgot that you were well on your way to overtaking the New York Giants, making the playoffs as the 5 seed, crushing Tampa Bay and coming to Lambeau to get your revenge on the Packers.
I almost forgot that Tavares “It Only Takes A Minute To Blow A Game” Jackson was going to claim his place as the greatest QB in the NFC North and not be the worst starting quarterback since the Bears trotted out Kyle Orton (and he even might be better that TJoke.)
I almost forgot that Adrienne “All Day Except When The Wind Blows In My Face” Peterson was going to break Eric Dickerson’s rookie record and think that he could even CARRY Ryan Grant’s lunch.
I almost forgot the legendary defense of Kevin and Fat Williams who can stop any running back, not to mention one of those Toyota Trucks that can stop an airplane. (Unless the game really matters, of course.)
I almost forgot that Brad Childlike was going to prove to everyone how smart he was, how we were all wrong in thinking he was nothing more than a blowhard who couldn’t coach ink out of a panicked octopus. Brad was going to be right there with Ziggy “I Love L.A” Wilf, holding up the Lombardi trophy, which would have been renamed the “Brad” trophy because he’s so much smarter than anyone else.
But I saw some old footage of the Hindenburg and it reminded me of the only disaster that lasts season after season, the Vi-Queens.
I keep hearing how the Vikings would have beaten the Packers because it’s tough to beat a team 3 times in the same year. Especially when one of them doesn’t even qualify for the 3rd matchup.
I’ll check in next week after the real football teams play and we spank that naughty little boy Matt Hasslehoff, and we play our last two games. You can either jump on the Packer bandwagon now, before your team moves to LA (and then you will have to), or you can go and check on the draft. That’s what the losers do.
Hey, Darren Sharper, I’m looking at you now, looking at you now. And I’m laughing at you.
He’s a Viking hater, and delusional in suggesting the untouchable nature of his one and only love. Packers fans (should) take issue with Gerby’s delusions. He paints Green Bay fans in an inaccurate and negative light, while fans of green and yellow as well as their media are reasonable … and unlike this ridiculous sports nut, wouldn’t have bet the house on a trip to Glendale.
Mathew Kowald: Oh isn’t it funny when adults act like children. This Packer fan taped and tied, taped and tied, his child after he refused to wear a Packers jersey during the Packers’ divisional playoff win. The man seriously restrained the boy and taped the jersey onto him and then tied him to a furnishing. He is now faced with a restraining order and a Prozac prescription expense after Sunday’s defeat.
By default, I cheer for and enjoy watching the Vikings. I hope like hell that one day, football in this state could somehow compare to the experience likened to a few hundred miles east.
We should respect and appreciate Brett Favre and the effort he brings each and every time he sets foot on a football field. Do I hope that Favre tears the Vikings’ defense to shreds when the teams collide? No. But how can you, as a sports fan, bash and ridicule someone that discreetly goes about his business, plays hard, and has never been in a courtroom?
But just that I respect and envy Favre and the Packers organization doesn’t make me not a Vikings fan or a lower-level fan than another fan that is bitter and hateful. The two - respect and excessive fandom - are not mutually exclusive.
Respect - rather than hate - can go a long way in a sports world caught up in negativity and bitterness.