Where were the Packer fans? My first-hand account.
by NobleSavage on Oct 7, 2009 3:31 PM CDT
45 comments
As I entered my hotel Sunday afternoon there was one thing missing I had become much too accustomed to seeing at the many other home Viking/Packer games I had attended, the presence of loud obnoxious Packer fans sitting in the lobby bar. As I waited for my room to become available I continued to watch the entrance, knowing that at any minute a gang of fans dressed in green and gold would soon invade the lobby. This unexpectedly never happened. In fact, the only Packer fan I encountered before checking in was sitting right next to me, my wife. I pointed out this observation to her. She frowned.
After cleaning up, we headed over to our favorite watering hole to see the many friends we had made throughout the years of making the annual trip. As we entered the bar I scanned the room, once again expecting a common view. Throughout the mix of Gophers, Twins, and Vikings fans, I again saw not one Packer fan. Was it too early? Having never attended a Monday night game, I thought maybe they would arrive tomorrow. I then proceeded to inform my wife of the lack of fan support. She elbowed me.
Waking the next morning in a semi haze from the previous evening, I decided to do some internet surfing. Had there been a gas tanker accident on I94 at the border? While browsing through the Trib's site I found the answer. Mike Nowakowski, part owner of a ticket broker in Minneapolis and Green Bay stated that sales for the game from their Green Bay office were down about 50 percent from a normal Vikings-Packers game at the Metrodome. He was quoted as saying, "My gut tells me that true Packers fans don't want to come to the Dome and watch Favre rip their hearts out." Ah yes, that made perfect sense. I explained this to my wife. She threw her shoe at me.
At 2:00 we decided it was time to head back to the bar for lunch and some pre-game refreshments. 5 hours til game time, but hey, we were anxious. I donned my Allen jersey and my wife donned her Kampman. As we stepped out the hotel door, again the absence of green on the streets was obvious. I explained again to my wife how the Packer fans were afraid to see Favre rip their hearts out. She kicked me in my ankle.
The bar was unusually quite as we entered. There were a few Viking fans, but no Packer fans. As we selected our barstools, I noticed a couple sitting across from us. She had a yellow sweatshirt on and he was wearing normal street clothes. Maybe they were Packer fans, but maybe not. It was too hard to tell. "I'll bet they are Packer fans, but too nervous to show it," I told my wife. She pulled my stool out as I was sitting.
2 hours til gametime, finally a group of 5 Packer fans entered the bar. "There they are! We are playing the Packers tonight!," I exclaimed to my wife as she gave me a smile that I never want to see again. The lady with the yellow sweatshirt saw the group walk in as well. She then proceeded to take off her sweatshirt, revealing a Packer shirt underneath. I turned to my wife with a proud expression of "I told you so" and she got up and headed for the door. I guess it was time to walk to the stadium.
I won't continue with our experience at the game, as everyone saw it. Sure there were many Packer fans there, and yes, they did try to start their "Go Pack GO" chant, but it did not seem to me that there were as many as usual. It was a pleasurable experience watching Favre rip out the hearts of the Packer fans in attendance. As the final time ticked off the clock, I turned to my wife and said..."I love you." She kissed me. Ah yes, all is well.
This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.
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You have a GREAT WIFE!
There is no doubt in my mind about that. Great Post. I Rec’d it.
I BELIEVE...
by ArizonaVikingsFan on Oct 7, 2009 3:38 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Loved it NobleSavage!!
Sounds like you had a great time, especially with the lack of green & gold walking around Minneapolis!!
I had figured going into this game that there would be even more Packers fans than usual… very interesting/funny that they didn’t go out to all the local bars in hoards like they usually do!! HAHA!!
If you can't laugh at yourself... Who can you laugh at?
The Packers, that’s who.
-- The almighty Manimal
by TheViking83 on Oct 7, 2009 3:58 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
praise be the vikings
I always got so irritaded with packer fans walking around my twin cities. Seriously, keep those overweight people in Wisconsin and keep Minnesota clean. Is really so hard to eat less, shower every once in a while, and brush your teeth. Man Wisconsinites are so gross.
Here I come to kill the packers
by packerslayer on Oct 7, 2009 4:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I love reading people's experiences from games
before or during. So thanks for sharing your story…rec’d. Glad you had a good time. Oh and I found a picture of you from the game…
wait no because you were wearing an Allen jersey.
Thanks for the story.
Don't question my fandominium.
"the notorious D.I.B."- samdaman
by dolphinsinbuffalo on Oct 7, 2009 4:45 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
me gusta Deadspin, tambien
and I have that same horn.
If you can't laugh at yourself... Who can you laugh at?
The Packers, that’s who.
-- The almighty Manimal
by TheViking83 on Oct 7, 2009 4:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I found this one on nfl.com
from fans of 2009 or something. I always like to look to see how decked out some people get for games.
Don't question my fandominium.
"the notorious D.I.B."- samdaman
by dolphinsinbuffalo on Oct 7, 2009 4:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m surprised to see you back here, what’s new!?!?!?
by dsludo on Oct 7, 2009 7:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol well I'm hoping you really missed me.
I’ve came around and saw the way. If you need proof, you might just want to read this fanpost I wrote over at the Phinsider. You should be happy lol
Don't question my fandominium.
"the notorious D.I.B."- samdaman
by dolphinsinbuffalo on Oct 7, 2009 9:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ok, so at first I’m thinking WHAT THE FUCK???
Then, I’m thinking…naaaa, lol, he’s just messing with us.
Then I’m looking at over 200 posts.
Now I’m just confused. Seriously?
by dsludo on Oct 7, 2009 11:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It is for real.
I gained a Favre addiction when he decided to come back. I gave in.
Don't question my fandominium.
"the notorious D.I.B."- samdaman
by dolphinsinbuffalo on Oct 8, 2009 8:58 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
And then.....
I glance at your history and see:
Voted for I’m going to kill someone if I hear the F word one more time! on Acme Packing Company – 10/06/09 3:15 PM PDT
So that leaves me at still confused….by dsludo on Oct 7, 2009 11:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
yeah that was about during the game
the announcers would not stop talking about him so I selected that pick. There wasn’t a “I was rooting for him but the announcers wouldn’t shut up” option.
Don't question my fandominium.
"the notorious D.I.B."- samdaman
by dolphinsinbuffalo on Oct 8, 2009 8:58 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dude is riding the shortbus to Valhalla
Not mine…comment from deadspin… but damn funny!
I BELIEVE...
by ArizonaVikingsFan on Oct 7, 2009 5:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ha Ha
Nope, not me. I think I did see that guy later that night…under a table with gum in his hair :)
"Skol pa fiskande"
by NobleSavage on Oct 7, 2009 8:09 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol or in his horns.
It is good you had a good time. When I was reading it I thought you were just going to stay at that bar the whole time and I was like “he flew there to go to some bar?” but luckily I kept reading. Good post.
Don't question my fandominium.
"the notorious D.I.B."- samdaman
by dolphinsinbuffalo on Oct 7, 2009 9:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Headline in Beloit, WI newspaper, where I work...
Picture of Favre and Taylor celebrating with the headline:
Doesn’t it make you sick?
BWA HA HA HA!!
If you can't laugh at yourself... Who can you laugh at?
The Packers, that’s who.
-- The almighty Manimal
by TheViking83 on Oct 7, 2009 4:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Sometimes I laugh so hard I feel a little sick :)
"Skol pa fiskande"
by NobleSavage on Oct 8, 2009 2:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Fun post to read. Oh how wish I could of been there.
You picked a good one to attend…. I too have the allen jersey one for home and one for the away games haha.but not the horn and the helmet …. not yet anyways
by AHHHWoooooo on Oct 7, 2009 9:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Noble..
How did U end up with a Packer fan for a wife ??? I guess everyone has their faults !!! LOL
by WVVikings on Oct 8, 2009 1:02 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I live on the Illinois/Wisconsin border.
The women here are raised either Bears or Packers. Most of the Viking women here have been converted by a boyfriend or husband. I fortunately found a good woman that unfortunately was raised a Packer and I have been unable to convert. But hey, skol to good women!
"Skol pa fiskande"
by NobleSavage on Oct 8, 2009 2:21 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Excellent post!
Very well written, NS, thank you :)
My wife is an EX-Steeler fan, I’m afraid Big Ben’s off-field controversies turned her off on any ‘Steeler Goodness’ and I took advantage of her momentary disaffection to seduce her to the Purple Side :)) .
Now we’re much better matched in matching purple togs, I in my original (I like that better than ‘throwback’, lol) #10 jersey and she in her Viking gear. After she watches a few more games we’ll see who’s jersey she wants to sport.
This week was the first Viking game she’d watched in years (we didn’t get to watch the game together), and two things caught her attention.
1) She was extremely unimpressed by the Packers behavior on the field, apparently the feed she had actually played audio of the taunts that were slung at AP and the Vikings and she thought it was appalling and disgusting and there’s zero chance she’ll ever like Green Bay in foreseeable future.
2) She was impressed by the way the Vikings handled the taunting, with discipline and composure and professionalism. She also really enjoyed the post-game interviews with the Vikings players because they all seemed so quiet and humble and decent to her.
What a change from the Love-Boat years!! The Vikes made me proud too, because they’re demonstrating that high-profile, high-powered professional athletes making millions of dollars can decent human beings who are more focused on being a team than they are on self-aggrandizement. We haven’t had that in a long time and Chilly gets the credit for this. I may not agree with all of his play-calling, but both my wife and I like the stamp he’s put on this Vikings team.
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
by DCPurple on Oct 8, 2009 8:12 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Could not agree more
The last piece of the puzzle = better play calling? Or is it an improved scheme for covering the middle in the cover 2?
TiggerSr
by TiggerSr on Oct 8, 2009 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Puzzle Pieces
The more I think about it, it’s not so much the individual play-calling but rather, the overall strategy I’d dispute. There were a number of plays that I didn’t agree with, but I’m thinking that might be more a product of the game-strategy. You fit the play-calling to the strategy, and while I like what Chilly generally does early, he has a bad habit of trying to lay back and protect the lead towards the end, it results in the conservative play-calling and ‘prevent-D’.
I can understand a couple reasons for it; you don’t want to stress your team if you don’t have to, and you don’t want to provide the other team with ammo for a later revenge-match by ‘piling on’ the score. But here’s the thing; at the end of the season, if it comes down to a tie-match, the PF and PA suddenly become extremely important. We’ve been hosed that way in the past and when it’s avoidable by padding the wins a bit, I think you need to do that. No letting up. No need to brutalize the other team, but no need to let up until the game is thoroughly out of reach.
I’m actually pretty comfortable with the Vikings coverage over the middle at the mid-range, it’s solid unless they’re playing prevent. It’s the deep coverage that worries me, that’s where we tend to get burned. There, or the horizontal seam between mid and long range (about 30-35 yards). I’m not sure the problem can be easily fixed…
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
by DCPurple on Oct 9, 2009 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Very good points
I noticed those things too from what I saw of those particular issues (crappy sportsmanship from the Packer players). It unfortunately jives all too well with the typical behavior we’ve all seen time and time again from Packer fans – the most entitled, arrogant, cocky, disrespectful fans you’ll meet (with the occasional decent one in the mix). Who hasn’t had to hear all about how great it is that the fans own the team (nevermind how rude and cocky they are) and how they’re somehow magically better fans than any other team’s fans, and blah, blah, blah.
It’s ironic that it’s mostly the fans who make most Vikings’ fans hate the Packers (and the random classless cheap-shot players like Al Harris, as well).
SKOL VIKINGS!! PACKERS SUCK (though I’ve admired Aaron Rodgers at least – it seems that once again they’ve found a QB who is classier than their entire organization).
by Wytefang on Oct 8, 2009 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
? I’m not at all a Cubs fan – not sure what you’re implying there. Die-hard Twins’ fan, here. :)
by Wytefang on Oct 13, 2009 7:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Deep inside thier hurting hearts they were afraid
Packer fans are becoming less loud, less seen, and less brave. They have come to know that Brett is great (they just can’t say it) and even over here in WI I don’t hear much banter anymore. They seem to hate the Vikings but they don’t know why, other than the obvious better team, Favre, better city, prettier women etc. They hate what they don’t have but they don’t know why. they don’t know why they don’t have these things but believe they are entitled.
THOMPSON IS A MORON
by 4 where-ever on Oct 8, 2009 12:00 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
If you face East...
and listen very carefully, you can hear the lamentation of their women.
"What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."
by cryhavoc on Oct 8, 2009 1:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1000!!!
LOL, love that line, justifies the entire movie!
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
by DCPurple on Oct 9, 2009 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not everyone in Wisconsin hates vikings
you might be very, very surprised how many were cheering for Vikings to win Monday. Yeah, just because Favre was on team, that is true … it probably won’t last. But still, I think many long time Vikings fans would be surprised at the extent of the turmoil going on in the Packers fan base right now. there are a sizable number who have concluded that Packers are goingin no where this year anyway, so they are pulling for Favre to get his second ring, and … hopefully … football contentment.
Now, if Favre were on the Bears, that might be something totally different ;)
by puddnhead on Oct 8, 2009 1:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I realize that...
I just wanted an excuse to use the Conan line.
"What is best in life?"
"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."
by cryhavoc on Oct 8, 2009 1:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
your correct
Many are smart enough to recognize what took place 18 mos ago. And they remember what he gave us. As the year goes on more and more will change thier tune. It will really change fast if the Rodgers gets sacked again or the Packers lose to the Lions.
THOMPSON IS A MORON
by 4 where-ever on Oct 9, 2009 1:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
nicely written, entertaining
rec from me as well
by puddnhead on Oct 8, 2009 1:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Umm... minor quibble
but what early games were being played in the bar on Monday? Were there any sports at all on Monday besides the MN/GB game?
by archie2227 on Oct 8, 2009 4:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Correction...
It was Sunday when I went in that the early games were airing. Good catch.
"Skol pa fiskande"
by NobleSavage on Oct 8, 2009 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Very nice story Noble
I had to combat Wisc. relatives since I was a kid.
Now if I could get my DN gang down to our little town for the Vikes/Steelers game. We have the 2nd largest contingent but not near as big as the Steelers group. They take about 3 big tables. We have one. We have a war to get in front of the main TV before them and request the Vikes game. I try to get in there right after church and grab their main table and they hate it! We are trying to get our whole clan together for that game and call in a few extra fans that stay home with their direct ticket. Not like the Pack rivalry but in2 weeks Were going to call on the others to jam the table right in the middle of their "claimed spot.
I’m bringing Vikings stuff to decorate our area.
It is one game I really want to see us romp and shut those Steeler fans up!
Not as good as being in Minn and rubbing it in to Packer fans bu tit is the best I have going here.
by CitrusFLViking on Oct 13, 2009 7:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Ooooof brings back memories....
I was in Army Basic Training in Ft Jackson, SC during the time of the Super Bowl X between Steelers/Vikings…had just turned 18, completed the obligatory last party at Holiday Inn with friends prior to shipping out, and of curse (oops Freudian slip LOL) COURSE bet on the Vikes against half of the company members that were from the Steelers area…..
We all know the outcome of THAT one, and for me was just one more disappointment, and some hard earned bucks too (my basic pay was I think $180 a month, and I lost like $60 – a fortune in those days lol?)….But as we can all see, I am still here, still a fan, and always looking for that W in the big one….34 almost 35 years ago now for THAT game…..and that (bad) memory has never left….
Good luck to you in grabbing that table…Sounds like fun….watch your betting though!
SKOL!
; )
I would rather be IN the Arena than watching from the stands...That is my life!
* Read Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" if you need further explanation...
by vikingfanfrom afar on Oct 13, 2009 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
your wife...
is clearly less competitive than mine. We are the opposite of you two (I am the Packer and she is the Viking) but she gets SO worked up for the games that we can barely talk. I am much more mild mannered about it, if my team loses I am bummed but life goes on. It was refreshing to hear that you still got the kiss in the end…I wish it was always that way for us.
Very nice story though, you are right in that many packer fans didn’t want to see Favre in purple though. I live in the Twin Cities and I certainly wasn’t going to pay the money…plus the ticket prices were disgustingly high.
by TrevorR on Oct 16, 2009 11:36 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
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