Game Trip Report Home Page

Home

You don't just go to Lambeau Field for a football game, you go on a journey. A journey of time, history, glory, defeat, and life. Yes, I'm going to Green Bay and Lambeau Field for the Bears game on November 7, and I have a pair of those precious little pieces of cardboard that grant you access into the most storied and legendary gridiron in all of sports competition.

You saw the game on TV, you know the score, you cheered and cursed the instant replays. Allow me to tell you what it was like to be there, my BROTHER and I starting our journey Saturday night from Milwaukee. BROTHER has never been to a Packer game or Lambeau Field. He now lives in Los Angeles but has come to Wisconsin for a two week vacation, planning the trip such that he could attend the game. Because of how hard it is to get tickets and BROTHER's inability to come out this way, we planned to experience Green Bay as much as a Packer Fan could.

We arrive in the evening, check into the SANDMAN motel in BRILLION, WI and then head up County Road PP into Green Bay. There's not a cloud in the sky and the stars out out in full force, at least as much as they could for the light pollution. All the hotels in Green Bay were booked long ago, but being familiar with the area, I knew about the SANDMAN, and it's only 30 miles from Lambeau Field. It's easier getting around too if you know the back roads around Green Bay.

There's a section of the road here where you crest a long high spot and you can see for miles, the whole Upper Fox Valley sprawled out before you. You can see every home lit up in the darkness, stretching into Green Bay and beyond the horizon. We can almost swear that there's one star brighter than the rest, it shining a beam of light down into Green Bay and onto Lambeau Field, but the car dips lower and our view is blocked by the rolling hills.

Being Saturday night we want to experience some of the pre-game warm-ups with other Packer fans, so our first stop is FUZZY'S SHENANIGANS. It's on the the east side of the Fox River on Highway 57, and the place is packed. This is the last year for Fuzzy's place (Editor's note: Fuzzy's has since relocated). It's getting the wrecking ball, but Fuzzy is relocating and should be going strong next year, albeit in a new location.

Fuzzy Thurston is one of the Packer Greats from the Glory Years, and as we move through the crowd, there he is! Fuzzy is signing autographs and kissing pretty young women. If this is what it's like to grow old, then Lord, let me age 20 years right here and now. BROTHER and I wait our turn and we get autographs and our picture taken with Fuzzy. It's not often you get to shake a hand with a Superbowl ring on it.

We soak up the ambience and then head over to my COUSIN's house. COUSIN lives in the shadows of Lambeau Field. He has friends up from Milwaukee for the game and they usually make a weekend of it, everyone staying at his house. We catch them at home, hang out for a while, and then it's back on to Brillion and the Sandman.

Along the way we stop to look at the stars. The Milky Way streaks across the sky and a meteor traces a line before disappearing into the blackness.

SUNDAY

Game day! After all the planning, anticipation and waiting, it's time! Time to take on the Evil and Hated Chicago Bears! We eat breakfast at RUDY'S, a Mom and Pop diner in Brillion, and then head on back to Green Bay. COUSIN makes extra money by having people park their cars on his lawn, and we take the corner of his front yard, I pulling in as close as possible to the bushes so there's plenty of room for paying customers.

I want to show BROTHER what Game Day is like so we jump right into the crowds. The tailgating. What can you say about the tailgating? It's just unbelievable. St. Vince! We run into St. Vince and BROTHER is blessed. We go into the Brown County Exposition Hall and listen for a while to the band that was playing. We stop by the scalper pit, and, well, get this: It's only 10:00 AM and the scalpers are holding up signs that say NEED TICKETS. There's no tickets for sale! If the scalpers aren't selling tickets, they aren't making money! A victory for Packer fans! But it also shows how tight a ticket is. We walk through the parking lot and go west, and BROTHER sees the overflow parking and tailgating at the K-Mart. We go shopping at REGGIE WHITE'S STORE. We look, touch, but don't buy.

It's one hour before noon and we go into Lambeau. Our seats are in the north end zone, second row, and they're filled with fans who are straining to be close to the field and watch the players do warm-ups. They'll eventually drift back to their own seats so we sit a few rows up and wait until they move on. There's lots of cheering as Packers come and go through the breezeway. You don't get to see that on TV.

Finally! It's time! The University of Wisconsin Marching Band gives the Nation Anthem. There's a moment of silence for Walter Payton, the great Chicago Bear who passed away. And the game begins.

There's hardly a cloud in the sky, the temperature is just right, and there's just no better place to be to watch a football game than right there in Lambeau Field. The two teams battle it out, and we all know how this one ends.

When the Packers kicked that field goal on the last play of the game to win it, we were right there, up close, by our end zone. The ball was snapped, and then you quickly turn your eyes to the goal post to watch the ball. You hear the kick, and you wait. And wait. No ball. You look back to the field, and there's the ball, tumbling on the ground with a Chicago player falling onto it.

Game over.

The crowd just kind of all stood there, not saying anything. It was as if everyone was mentally going "Oh No!" There was no anger, no sorrow, no real sadness. No one wanted to lose but to lose with the kick being blocked like that? "Oh no!"

Some people started heading for the exits, but for the most part, a large majority of the crowd still remained. Who really wants to leave Lambeau Field? It's such a great place to be, and a privilege to be there. The UW Band came back out to give their 5th quarter performance and the crowd started cheering.

Where else in football will the crowd still be around and cheering after a loss?

Eventually BROTHER and I head back over to COUSIN's house and we just talk and hang out. It was going on early evening so the two of us went over to BRETT FAVRE'S STEAKHOUSE for dinner. It's a pretty fancy place with some pretty good steaks. The place was packed. The crowd was in a good mood, more upbeat than you would think after a disappointing game.

After dinner we head back to BRILLION, the stars showing us the way, but the weekend isn't over. Not yet.

MONDAY brings forth another glorious and sunny Fall day. We pack up, check out of the SANDMAN, eat breakfast at RUDY'S, and ride up County Road PP into Green Bay.

First stop, the HALL OF FAME. We get there 5 minutes after it opens and I'm figuring we're going to have the place to ourselves since this is Monday morning. There's already a few people here. I've been here before but BROTHER hasn't, so he starts going through it all. When you think of football, you have to think of the Packers. The history of the NFL has many of its roots right here in Green Bay. There's a film that plays every hour, so when it was time we sat through it, and when the lights came up the room was surprisingly full of people. All these people here? Now? Monday morning after losing to the Bears? Why not? The fans have been there for the Packers through thick and thin, and they're here now!

Pretty much the whole morning was taken up with the HOF. We go up to the Stadium and visit the PACKER PRO SHOP. There's a nice display of the Superbowl trophies in the HOF, but the real trophies can be seen in the lobby of the business offices.

Next door is the TICKET OFFICE and we stop in so BROTHER can sign up for season tickets. It's a futile thing to do considering his age and the length of the list, but it makes him feel good to sign up. There's over 51,000 names on the list to date.

A few blocks west of Lambeau Field is a sports card and collectibles shop and we stop in, hoping to get a Fuzzy Thurston card to display with our autographs. They're out of cards, but they have a lot of interesting Packer items and we take our time going through the store.

Up Oneida Street is PARTY PERFECT. It's the ultimate place to get outfitted with Packer items for parties of tailgating. A lot of fun to browse through.

Even farther up the street is DAMON'S, where we stop to look at the goalpost that is a replica from SUPERBOWL XXXI. A goalpost? You gotta love a town that does things like this!

SKIP'S PLACE is a little lunch counter where Ray Nitschke used to come all the time and they've retired his stool. The stool has a special cover on it in tribute to ol' #66. If you're into chocolate malts then you're going to have to stop in if you're in the neighborhood.

Down and across from here is PACKER CITY ANTIQUES. Inside is an eclectic collection of "neat," old stuff, including Packer memorabilia. They really should turn the joint into a museum and charge admission to come in. Fascinating store to browse though.

On the east side of the Fox River is the home where VINCE LOMBARDI lived when he was with the Packers. It's on a nice, quiet little street, and one felt obtrusive to be passing through the neighborhood. But we're not the first to make the pilgrimage. Once a man from Utah stopped by, knocked on the door and asked the current owners, John and Catherine Gehring, if he could just step inside for a moment. The couple invited the man into their home for dinner. Students from Ohio drove up and asked for permission to play football in the front yard. We figured a couple pictures wouldn't be a problem.

We stop at the ALLOUEZ CATHOLIC CEMETERY and make our way through the little roads that twist around the graves. There's a maintenance truck emptying trash cans and we pull up and ask the two workers: Can you tell us where CURLEY LAMBEAU'S GRAVE is? "Sure! Just follow us and we'll take you there!" They take us through the cemetery and we stop, and they walk us over to Mr. Lambeau's gravesite. The marker is simple and modest. One of the workers suggests that we should pull out a grill and tailgate here and BROTHER and I laugh and wonder if the head groundskeeper would approve. They tell us that we don't know the groundskeeper and that he'd probably let us! Tailgating on Curley Lambeau's grave? You, know something? Why not?

In downtown Green Bay there's the GLORY YEARS BAR AND GRILL. Off to the side is a room where VINCE LOMBARDI used to have an office. We sit there for a while, having a drink, absorbing the heritage that the room could offer. Vince used to work here, probably pacing up and down the floor, pondering the challenges that he faced. Somehow you could almost feel his presence.

It's starting to get dark, the day almost over, but it's not over yet. There's one more stop to make and it's JILLIAN'S, a restaurant-bar in downtown Green Bay. There's a live TV show at 7:00 PM where a few PACKERS will come to discuss the Bears game. We get there 20 minutes to 6:00, and it's packed. We're lucky to get one of the few remaining tables in the back.

We order dinner, enjoy ourselves, and the TV show begins. We lost to the Bears? You never would have known it with that crowd. Everyone is cheering, hanging on every word, appreciating the opportunity to get close to some of the players. You had to get here early if you wanted a seat, man. The Bears game is behind us and everyone has fun. After the show everyone gets a chance for autographs from the players. We are the Green Bay Packers; this isn't the first time we've had some rough seasons.

Yes, we are the Green Bay Packers. Where else can you find a team worth sticking up for, feast or famine? Where else is there a football team so rich in history, where a team is so intertwined with the community that the community itself is the Green Bay Packers? They sit down with you at a lunch counter. You can have a drink with a Packer, shake hands with a hand with a Superbowl ring on it.

Sure, it's only football, but it's a part of life. The challenges we face every day and the things that inspire us to overcome them, you can find those elements in football. At the Hall of Fame they show a video clip of Vince Lombardi speaking the following words:

Unless a man believes in himself and makes a total commitment to his career, and puts everything he has into it, his mind, his body, and his heart, what's life worth to him?

BROTHER and I drive back to Milwaukee Monday night, mostly in silence, back to our own lives with the usual struggles and defeats that we face in life. The Packers may have lost to the Bears, but even in defeat, the Packers still have within them the total commitment of what makes life worthwhile. When life is worthwhile, we can never lose. We are the Green Bay Packers.