It has been 14 years since the Packers won a Super Bowl and while it is an exciting feeling, it is not the same type of exciting feeling we experienced on the 1996 trip to New Orleans and Super Bowl XXXI. It’s different and I can’t put my finger on the reason why, although I do have some theories. Here are just a few:
- I have not been subjected to non-stop playing of parody Packer songs every time I turn on the radio. I’d rip on the Lady GaGa YouTube song but it was made by 9-year olds and I can’t be that cruel.
- This lag between Super Bowl appearances was not as brutal as the 1968-1995 dry spell where we were forced to elevate marginal players to “hero” status because we didn’t have anyone good. For example:
o Eddie Lee Ivery
o Harlan Huckelby
o Terdell Middleton
o Kittrick Taylor
o Randy Vataha
o Steve Odom
o Estus Hood
o and of course…Mossy Cade
- I no longer fit into my circa 1975 John Hadl jersey, so I have no apparel
- I haven’t seen Zubaz pants at church. Then again, I haven’t been to church.
- We’ve only had 2 quarterbacks since 1992—Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Between 1968 and 1995 we went through three former Bear QB’s; one former Super Bowl QB; a Heisman Trophy winner whose non-Heisman winning brother became a better player; the prides of Green Bay West High School and the Wisconsin Badgers and a replacement player.
Do you remember these great Packer playcallers?
o Rich Campbell
o Carlos Brown
o Anthony Dilweg
o Don “Majik” Majkowski
o Scott Hunter
o Jerry Tagge
o Mike Tomczak
o David Whitehurst
o Randy Wright
o Blair Kiel
o Vince Ferragamo
o Chuck Fusina
o Jack Concannon
o Bobby Douglass
o Frank Patrick
o Alan Risher (Our beloved “replacement” QB)
- Aaron Rodgers didn't take us on the “white knuckle ride” the Hillbilly QB did.
- I am 48 years old and don’t get liquored up on Sundays like I did in the 90’s. For that matter, in the 80’s also.
- This Super Bowl snuck up on us. We didn’t have Super Bowl aspirations like we did in the mid-90’s, so getting there was more of a surprise than anything else.
Think about it.
The Packers HAD to win that game. If they lost, Chicago would always have the upper hand on us. They would have been unbearable (pun intended). If you think they are rude and obnoxious now, imagine had they won. It’s one thing to call Miller Park Wrigley north, but that’s baseball. This is football. This is the Packers. Losing wasn’t an option.
Face it, a lot of Chicago sports fans are bad winners. Not ALL of them, but a lot of them. It’s not enough for them to win. They have to rub your nose in it and demean you. They park in handicapped spots because the fine is cheaper than lot parking around Wrigley. Granted, they don’t wear cheeseheads, but they do have bad moustaches and wear Blue Blockers. Had the Bears won, we would have been their sports bitch for generations to come.
But we won. We beat them in their crappy, duct taped together Solider Field. We watched as a city turned on their QB in the days that followed. And while they were griping, we were exorcising the ghost of the Hillbilly and watching a rock star . We were doing the Raji, and ripping off imaginary championship belts. We were wearing cheeseheads proudly, WITH jean shorts. We were so elated with our victory and happy with our heroes, we didn’t have time to put Bear fans down. That, my friends, is why I love Wisconsin.
What a great day to be a Packer fan.
Posts
