Why the Green Bay Packers are the best team and franchise in the NFL
- Alexis Carden
- Jan 24, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 4, 2024
Have I ever even been to Wisconsin? No. Have I been a Cheesehead for over a decade? Yes! Why? Well, I have a lot of reasons.
Despite the fact that I live in the DFW metroplex area, I am not a Cowboys fan.
Y'all, I have real reasons as to why I'm a dedicated Packers fan. I promise... just "bear" with me... (just not the bears dealing with that Chicago team, cause we aren't talking about them).
So on a former blog, I wrote about this exact topic, but as a now older and wiser football fan, I really wanted to go more in depth into my reasoning. I'm doing this mostly because people are still, to this day, asking me WHY I'm a Packers fan. They ask me as if it's a crime or something.
Basically, I became a Packers fan after Super Bowl XLV. The one where the Packers beat the Steelers (yes, that was a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. reference) 31-25 at (ironically) Cowboys Stadium. My dad (who grew up a Cowboys fan) and I were watching that game together. I was only 15 years old, a sophomore in high school at the time.
Before then, I wasn't a fan of any specific football team, especially because my family wasn't a huge sports family. Most of the sporting events my parents attended with me were literally because of me. How? I was in my high school marching band AND on the dance team. My family ended up spending a lot of time under Friday night lights. But since I was a first-generation college student, I never attended specific college football games until I was a part of them (I was also in my college's marching band). So at the time of Super Bowl XLV, I had never even stepped foot into a professional football stadium.
After watching that Super Bowl, it pretty much solidified what my NFL fandom would be. Then after doing some research at the time (on my ancient 2008 laptop) about the team, the history, the ideals of the franchise, I was 100% sold. And presto! A new Cheesehead was born.
But you may ask, what were these ideals? Why would this Texan girl want to support a team in a state she's never even visited? Well... let's dive into it.
They've won more championships than any other team in the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers have won 13 championships, including 4 Super Bowl wins. And not only have they won the most championships, but they literally won the first two Super Bowls EVER played - beating Kansas City in 1967, and Oakland in 1968. The Packers are the only NFL team to win three straight titles as well, and they did it twice (1929-1931, and 1965-1967)!
They call Green Bay "Titletown, USA" for a reason.
Also, ever since the playoff system in the league was created, the Packers have played in the playoff deciding game more than a dozen times.
They don't have a Jerry Jones.
Sorry Cowboys fans, but I absolutely love the fact that the Green Bay Packers aren't privately owned by a random rich guy. In fact, the Packers are the ONLY major professional sports franchise in the country that is a non-profit entity, AKA they are publicly owned, and have been since the 1920s. What does this mean? The FANS literally own the team.
So back in the early 1920s, the Packers almost went into bankruptcy. The Packers didn't want to give up their status as a team, so instead of giving up, they sold shares to the community. Fans in the area gave mere dollars at the time to keep the Packers a team! This small act has turned into more than 530,000 stockholders to this day, owning more than 5,000,000 stock shares.
This fan-owned concept has created such a deep sense of community that no other professional sports team has. Because of the way the team is owned, fans know that the Packers will always and forever stay in Green Bay! And speaking of...
They have played longer in their original city (Green Bay, WI) longer than any other NFL team has played in their original city.
Many professional teams have, and will, switch cities. The owner of a privately held team can decide to change the team's location, and this happens more frequently when the ownership changes. With the Packers, since it's community-owned, this will never happen. The ownership will always stay the same, and it isn't privately held. This is why they've played in the same city for this long, and will continue to do so. Despite the size of the city (it's a small city - the smallest city headquarters of any professional sports team in the U.S.), the community spirit with this team is STRONG.
The Green Bay Packers are the smallest major professional sports market in the United States.
The Super Bowl trophy is literally named after their former coach.
The official Super Bowl trophy is named after the legendary Green Bay Packers coach from 1959-1967, Vince Lombardi. He was the most successful coach, in the least amount of time (only 9 Packers seasons), in NFL history; winning five NFL championships and Super Bowls I and II. In fact, when Lombardi came to Green Bay in 1959, the Packers had just had their worst season on record. But after his first year, Lombardi was named NFL Coach of the Year, and the team finished 7-5.
In other words, Lombardi isn't just iconic to the Packers, but the NFL overall. And every winter, one team in league wins this trophy, the Vince Lombardi Trophy. And it's all thanks to Lombardi's success with the best team - the Green Bay Packers.
How the history of the team name is unique
The name "Packers" is incredibly unique and one-of-a-kind. There's no other like it.
It all started with the Packers' field namesake. Back in 1919, in his hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the now-famous Curly Lambeau wanted to establish a local football team. During this time, Lambeau was working at the Indian Packing Company - a meatpacking plant in the area. Basically, Lambeau knew he needed money to form the team. Uniforms cost a pretty penny, and he also needed use of the company's football field. In order to rectify the financial situation, he went to his employer to graciously ask them if they could sponsor the team. Lo and behold, they agreed, and because of their kind act, Lambeau put the company name on the football jerseys.
Now in 1921, Acme Packing bought the "Indian Packing Company", and the names on the football jerseys were changed for the new company. The "Acme Packers" were the first jersey names that Lambeau's team wore when playing in their first year as a part of the American Professional Football Association (the predecessor of the NFL).
They eventually shortened the name of the team to be the "Packers", as well as adding the city where the franchise is based, Green Bay. Thus becoming the Green Bay Packers we all know, and love, today.
Lambeau Field itself
First of all, Lambeau Field (the home stadium of the Packers), is the proud title holder of being the oldest continuously occupied stadium in all of the NFL. The stadium opened its gates for Packers fans in 1957, and still hosts all the home games every season. Originally, the stadium had less seats, only 32,150. But after some seating renovations over the decades (that were built around the original existing seating bowl), the stadium can now host 81,441 fans! What's really cool is to think about how when you sit at Lambeau, you could be sitting in the same seats they were sitting in the 1960s!
Another cool thing about the stadium is that there's an engineering science behind it... or really I should say - under it. The entire field has an intricate heating system underneath the surface. Why? Because the field is a blend of 100% Kentucky bluegrass, meaning that it is a real-grass field! That's right, no astroturf. A heating system is needed in an open-dome stadium in an area of the world where temperatures can drop below freezing for almost half of the year (there's a reason it's called the "Frozen Tundra"!) Let's reminisce for a second on the legendary Ice Bowl game on December 31, 1967 where the game-time temperature at Lambeau Field was -15 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -48 degrees Fahrenheit. Because these conditions can, have, and will, occur, there are more than 30 miles of radiant heating pipes under the field, which keep the grass from freezing in the middle of winter. Originally, before the Ice Bowl, they had buried electric coils under the field, and they worked fine up until that match up - they ended up malfunctioning before the game began. In 1997, those coils were switched to the current boilers and pumps heating pipe system. The boilers heat a water and glycol solution that gets pumped through the tubes under the field, keeping the field playable all year. The stadium also uses a system of grow lights over the field between each game, to keep the grass growing green in the middle of winter. Basically, Lambeau Field is an incredible, massive feat of engineering.
Another random stadium fact is that several of their concession stands are themed! Some examples are: 920 Burger (920 is the Green Bay area code), 1919 (the year the team was established), and my personal favorite one, Meat Packing Co. (an ode to the team's name history).
The German influence is strong
This is special to me personally, because according to my ancestral heritage, I'm about 65% German. So this just adds a cherry on top as to why the Packers are the best.
Wisconsin has significant German heritage influence all over the entire state. It's the largest ancestry group in the state as well. From the ever-booming brewing industry, to ethnic festivals, to localized mainstream polka music, and history of working-class politics, the German influence in Wisconsin is strong! Back when the original German immigrants came to this area, they brought their culinary styles/foods with them. The one that really sticks out to this day, that you'll see all over Packers tailgating grills are bratwurst, or as Sconnies call them, brats! On an average game day at Lambeau Field, 7,900 brats will be consumed, sometimes up to 10,000!
Another activity, that is overflowing with German influence, you'll participate in at a Packers home game is 'rolling out the barrel'. No, not literally. But during the second half, at every home game, the entire stadium chimes in singing a polka song - yes a polka song! When the recording of the University of Wisconsin's Varsity Band begins, the entire stadium starts to sing the unofficial state song of Wisconsin, "Beer Barrel Polka" (also known as "Roll Out the Barrel"). The ritual started in 2007 as a beer sponsorship experiment, but is now a Lambeau Field tradition.
And funnily enough, there was a survey done by FootballR to over 3,000 respondents to find the country of Germany's favorite NFL team. They found that the most popular NFL team in Germany is the Green Bay Packers, accounting for one in every 10 German NFL fans.
The traditions are top notch
There are a ton of unique traditions when it comes to Packers games, in the stadium and out.
One of, if not the most well-known in-game Packers' players tradition is the Lambeau Leap. This tradition first happened back in 1993. Safety, LeRoy Butler scored a defensive touchdown and then immediately jumped into the stands in the end zone, landing in fans' arms that caught him. This same move has been happening ever since! When other teams' players try to do this, they usually get pushed back onto the field, which is why it's special to the Packers. This action eventually got named as the "Lambeau Leap".
A big tradition (that other teams LOVE to make fun of) is the Cheeseheads! Wearing a triangular foam slice of Swiss cheese at a Packers game is a huge, and well-loved, tradition. Why cheese you may ask? Wisconsin can be called 'America's Dairyland'. The original immigrants that came in the area established many dairy farms, and created a huge dairy industry in the state that, to this day, still reigns #1 in the country. The state of Wisconsin makes more than 3.5 billion pounds of cheese a year. Because of that influence across the state, and the fact that the Packers are THE home state team, cheese is something closely tied with Green Bay! Not only are people from Wisconsin called Cheeseheads, but so are fans of the Packers!
Another crazy thing (that feels like a tradition nowadays) that occurs outside the gates of Lambeau is the parking situation. When the stadium was built, it was before anything was really built around it. So residential neighborhoods surround Lambeau Field. Stadium parking is limited, and let's face it... expensive. Tons of homes located on the streets next to, or around, the stadium actually offer up their front yards and personal driveways as parking! So not only are you getting a better deal price-wise, but you can also make some friends to tailgate with!
Being the coldest stadium in the NFL, they have to get creative when dealing with the inevitable snow days, leading to another tradition. On snowy, winter, game day mornings, the Packers will announce that they need volunteering fans to assist with shoveling the snow out of the bleachers. So volunteers in the area will answer the call to come help! People will even take off work to do it! In 2020, volunteers typically got paid about $12 an hour for their help. They usually will get 600-700 volunteers to show up to help. Apparently compared to professional contractors, the volunteers helping out saves a lot of money for the team... and it would definitely be a memorable experience to be a part of!
And let's face it, the tailgating outside the stadium is a rite of passage tradition for any Packers fan. It's huge, it's fun, and you'll definitely make friends over a beer in one hand (if you drink), and a brat in the other.
There are several other traditions as well such as playing "Bang The Drum All Day" after touchdowns, the Go Pack Go chant, or the fact that the team uses the local college cheerleading teams to cheer at their games, but I'll leave it at this. The traditions... are all top-notch.
The loyalty and dedication the fans have to the team is unreal.
Even the legendary former quarterback of the Packers, Brett Favre agrees. He literally said:
"There is a connection with the fans here that you can't get elsewhere, and I played elsewhere."
The Packers fandom is huge, and is continuing to grow! Each year, since 2012, there has an increase in attendance in all Packers games. In the 2006 season, 565,749 people attended Packers games, but by the 2015 season, that number increased to 627,308, and is continuing to this day.
The community-owned aspect of the team also creates a close-knit, almost family-like, sense with fans! As mentioned before, no other professional team is like that, making it very unique. And no matter the weather: sun, rain, sleet, snow, or ice, Packers fans will be sitting in those bleachers to cheer on the team!
The Green Bay Packers are not just only a successful team historically, but they have a community-based spirit, great traditions, non-profit ideals, and overall embodies the true spirit of American football. Why wouldn't a fan be loyal to that?
Somebody has to beat the Bears, right?
Enough said.
So overall, this is why I think that the Green Bay Packers are the best team, and franchise in the NFL. I hope y'all got a better understanding as to why I'm going to stay a lifelong fan of the team! Go Pack Go!
Sources:
https://www.samford.edu/sports-analytics/fans/2016/reasons-why-the-packers-have-the-most-fan-loyalty
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