Titletown eager for Super showdown
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John O'Neill (also known as "St. Vince") poses with fans prior to a Green Bay Packers game against the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 19, 2008, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.
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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- If you got on the waiting list for Green Bay Packers season tickets today, you could expect a just-won-the-lottery call from 1265 Lombardi Ave. in, oh, about 955 years.
Unless you're into cryogenics -- maybe Ted Williams was a Packers fan? -- it doesn't make much sense to sign up.
But people do. Though the season-ticket waiting list is 86,000 deep and the Packers estimate only 90 tickets turn over each year, the list continues to grow. It's more kick-the-bucket list than bucket list, but here's the thing: People sign up for season tickets because their spot on the list can be passed down to heirs. There's nothing wrong with planning ahead.
Each year, the Packers send out postcards to those on the waiting list, updated to reflect their new position on it. Imagine the excitement when that postcard arrives: "Wow, I moved up 82 spots to No. 72,116!"
What other team, besides the Rolling Stones, is guaranteed to sell out every home game for the next 10 centuries? The NFL will have expanded to Mars by then and players will be genetically engineered, but fans will still be sitting on aluminum bench seats at Lambeau Field, chanting, "Go, Pack, go!"
Gotta love cheeseheads.
With apologies to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have an incredibly rabid and supportive fan base, there is nothing quite like Packers fans.
They don't bleed green and gold, but they sure do wear it. Go into any bar, restaurant or shopping mall and if you don't see someone in Packers colors within 30 seconds, you've made a wrong turn somewhere and are probably in Nepal.
Come to think of it, there are undoubtedly Packers fans in Nepal. They're everywhere. Season ticket-holders reside in all 50 states and several foreign countries, including Australia and Japan. Now that's a commute.
The most over-used cliche in sports these days is "(Fill-in-the-blank) Nation." As in Cubs Nation, Red Sox Nation, Boise State Nation, et al. Just because a team has expatriate (or even Patriot) fans sprinkled across the country doesn't mean that team has a "nation."
First Published January 30, 2011 12:00 am
