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Frozen Tundra experience something truly unique

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Also by Tyler Mason:

Miami could ruin Pats' perfect mark (December 13, 2007)
Wisconsin hockey continues road woes in Mankato (December 10, 2007)
Hot stove season best time of year (December 6, 2007)
Engel finds niche at new position (December 6, 2007)

by Tyler Mason

Thursday, October 11, 2007

I can't believe I am about to say this, but here it goes: Lambeau Field is actually a pretty sweet place.

Growing up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it was in my nature to hate the Packers. I bled purple and despised the green and gold (especially that Brett Favre fellow).

Now that I am living in the Land of 100,000 Cheeseheads, I am subjected to Packer Backers all the time. This hasn't changed my feelings toward the team, but a recent trip to the famous Lambeau Field did make me realize that the football culture in Green Bay is truly something special.

As a member of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, I had the chance to perform at Lambeau during last Sunday's Packers-Bears game. The only other time I had been there was for a hockey game, which just didn't seem right. After all, I go to school just a few hours from the house that Favre built, yet never had seen him play in it.

Granted, as a Packer hater, I had mixed feelings about going to the game. I didn't want to have to cheer for either team, and as any die-hard sports fan knows, it is tough to be at a game and not choose sides. So for perhaps the first time in my life at an NFL game, I was simply an observer Sunday, not a fan. (OK, so maybe I was cheering that the Packers would lose. Oh, and I booed Brett Favre when he came onto the field. Don't hate me…)

It's easy to tell right away when you get into Green Bay that it is Packer territory. The streets are lined with green and yellow flags, fans sporting their team jerseys (mostly No. 4) roam the streets and numerous Favre shrines are likely to be found in every corner of the town.

When you enter Lambeau, this becomes even more obvious. Just like any other sporting event, these people have come together to support one common cause. But there is something different about Packer fans that is hard to describe. You just get a different feeling around them.

Part of it may be the abundance of alcohol. If you think Badger fans get a little inebriated during football games, you haven't seen anything until you experience the Lambeau drunks. People will come up to you in the concourse, slurring their words and attempting (and failing) to give high fives. Watching them get hauled away for being too drunk is even more entertaining, especially when they resist arrest or yell at the police.

Aside from the drunkards, however, the Packer fans are great. At times, it seemed as if Lambeau was louder than I had ever heard Camp Randall. When Favre was announced before the game, their cheers were so loud that the PA announcer was inaudible. The only way anyone knew who was next to come through the tunnel was because his picture was shown on the big screen. Otherwise, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought maybe it was Gilbert Brown.

Apparently, games in Green Bay are a big enough deal to draw celebrities, too. Justin Timberlake (whom I disliked until he did a certain SNL skit involving a special Christmas present) was supposedly seen tailgating outside the stadium before the game. Also, Ashton Kutcher, the famous prankster himself, stood on the Chicago sidelines for part of the game and received boos when he and his Bears hat were shown on the Jumbotron. If those names aren't big enough for you, how about — drum roll please — Taylor Hicks, former American Idol winner. Yep, all three of these big shots decided to drop on by for a little Sunday Night Football at Lambeau.

As much as it hurts to admit, Lambeau left a lasting impression on me. So much, in fact, that I decided to finish my visit by jumping into the stands behind the end zone for my own Lambeau Leap, just like so many have done before.

And when the final score read Chicago 27, Green Bay 20, I was one of the few that walked out of the House of Favre with a smile on my face.

Tyler is a junior majoring in journalism. If you want to talk about how awesome Favre is, he might not listen, but you can try reaching him anyway at tmason@badgerherald.com.

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Anonymous (October 11, 2007 @ 11:02am):

And here I was thinking you were talking about the wisconsin hockey game there, now that would have been an article I would have read.

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