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Not everyone gets to go to a game at Lambeau Field, and it's even rarer when one has the opportunity to experience a Monday Night Football game in Green Bay. The following is how this game was experienced by one Packer Fan, yours truly. You saw the game on TV, you know the score, so here's my account of what it was like to be able to go to the game:

The Girlfriend (GF) and I left from Milwaukee Monday morning, the two of us taking vacation time off from work in order to attend the game. We didn't want to hustle it up with the afternoon rush with the rest of the Milwaukee crowd as this was a "Gold" season ticket package. There was no real hurry but a big storm was coming through so we packed up for an evening of getting wet and headed earlier than we planned just to avoid driving in the rain.

We start out on I-43 but turn onto Highway 57 going into PLYMOUTH, Wisconsin. My parents are retired now and have a little home outside of BRILLION. It's more scenic this way, the interstate offering little in the way of visual entertainment other than concrete and fast food stops.

Autumn in Wisconsin has matured, the leaves pretty much gone let alone any color. The sweet corn was harvested a long time ago, but even the field corn that was left in the fields to dry has been gathered and the stalks plowed under. A great contrast from the shimmering green of the summer and an anti-climax after the leaves start turning.

It was a bleak landscape, and the same can be said for the Packers. Going into the second half of the season with a 3-5 record is something we're not used to, and to be facing the surging 7-1 Vikings, we could only but accept waking Tuesday morning at 3-6. The shimmering green and the peaking of gold colors have been long past. Yet, it was Monday Night Football. No, it's more than just that. It was a chance to be at a Packer game in Lambeau Field; how could one not want to go despite the Viking spanking we were about to receive?

We arrive at my parents place, unload our stuff, and visit for a while. Their home was finished earlier this year and my parents have been spending much of their time finishing it off. They're very happy to be retired and to have managed the means to have a modest home overlooking a lake after a lifetime of toiling. For the GF and I, it's a jumping off point for Packer games and mini-weekend vacations. There's a lot to see and do around here, but it's a short trip for us this time, we needing to drive back to Milwaukee on Tuesday. No one ever gets enough Packer tickets, but for the meager rations that we do receive, it just makes for a great trip when you have a place to stay only 30 miles from Green Bay.

GF and I leave early afternoon and head for Green Bay. The game doesn't start until 8:00 PM but we want to make a few stops and soak up the all the Packer atmosphere that we can. The rain started coming in too at about the same time. It was a light rain, sometimes stopping, but the wind was cutting through everything, blowing the car around on the back roads going into Green Bay, the rain being whipped around and making it seem worse than it was. Just a little friendly reminder that winter was coming.

While I'm thinking of it, that's another thing that makes going to games so much fun. No, not the weather, but the traffic. Sneaking into town on the country roads virtually allows us to avoid the usual snarls the general rabble suffers on the main thoroughfares. It literally is a pleasant drive through the country. You hear a lot of horror stories about game day traffic, but we have it all figured out.

Out first stop in Green Bay is STADIUM SPORTS & ANTIQUES. They're on HOLMGREN WAY, not too far from Lambeau. The place is almost like a museum. Lots of Packer collectibles and a lot of other eclectic stuff. I bought the house my parents were living in as they moved out into retirement, so there's been a lot of boxes and such in the attic that we've been going through and clearing out. The mere passage of time has made some of these items desirable and valuable, at least in the sense someone will pay money to haul off all that junk. The rain prevents me from taking the bulk of what we haven't been able to sell, but I take a small item just to see how receptive they are for a little horse trading and I sell it for $10. It was more than I was expecting so I think we'll be taking the rest at another time. The owners of the place are fun to talk to even if you're just there to browse. They talked about all the Viking fans being in town for the game and how they cleaned them out and bought EVERY Viking collectible they had. Them whacky Viking fans bought EVERY piece of memorabilia that had anything to do with their team. EVERYTHING. Of course, Packer fans are the same; John and Lisa, the owners, talked about how they are always searching for old Packer bobbin' head dolls. There's always a buyer for those things.

Next we run over to my COUSIN's house. He and his wife live in the shadow of Lambeau Field and charge vehicles $10 to park on their lawn. Now that the leaves are gone you can see through the neighbor's tree and see Lambeau Field itself, they're that close. No one was home as expected, but we had some stuff to drop off which we did, leaving it on the back porch where it wouldn't get wet. The rain had quit for now, but the main part of the storm hadn't been through yet.

We drive over to the Packer Pro Shop, but they won't let us into Lambeau Field (not too surprising) so we just parked in my cousin's driveway and walked over. Lambeau Field won't open until 4:00 PM but there are maybe 50-100 cars already lined up waiting to get in, and it's only 2:00 PM or so. There's already a lot of people parked and tailgating in some of the usual off-site lots. We check in with the Packer Ticket office, the GF verifying her change of address for the Waiting List. I got a couple forms for changing the recipient of Season Tickets. A guy I work with, his Dad has 4 "Gold" tickets and they thought that when Dad died (hopefully a long time yet) that the family would lose the tickets. Not so. Another guy I work with has been anxiously waiting for his Uncle to transfer tickets to him. Uncle has been long since retired and lives out of state, and doesn't want to pay or mess with the User Fees because of the the new stadium deal. Oh, to be a Season Ticket holder for the Green Bay Packers! There's only 53,000 on the list last time I asked, and that was during the summer.

During the walk over we passed some tailgating Viking fans and they see us in our Packer colors and one, trying to react quickly shouts out an awkward "Packers lose!" Oh, give me a break. I say nothing, partly because I didn't have a quick response and partly because I'm too old to deal with 20-somethings. It's already evident there will be a lot of Viking fans here. And I mean a lot. Are we going to have to eat their crow all night? It's a given they're going to just plain whip our asses but do we have to have our noses rubbed in it?

The Packer Pro Shop is next door and we breeze through there, but we've been here many times and it hasn't changed much. But it's the ONLY place to buy official Packer Gear. :-)

It's windy, there's a slight splattering of rain, but we take the long way back and hit the Packer hall of Fame. There's NFL film crews in here getting in some video shots. Yep, it's Monday Night Football all right, and we're the main attraction. Lot's of fun. I have a coupon to get into the Hall, a two-for-one deal, and I give it to a nice old lady who just happened to be there and she thanks me for it. GF and I have been in there before so there's no need to see it again, at least this year. but we do go through the adjoining gift shop. There's always cool Packer stuff to paw through in here.

We start making our way back to my cousin's house and the car, and our route takes us by the "Scalper Pit." It's a small section of town where it's legal to buy and sell Packer tickets. I ask a guy how much he's selling tickets for and they're going for $100 each. A bargain, considering the cheapest tickets I saw on the internet auctions were $125 and usually more. In past years tickets would have been even more, but the fall from NFL Elite-dom will do that.

On our way back we pass by the tailgating Vikings and another one, beer in hand and already inebriated starts in on us, but I give him a jibe about the San Antonio Vikings, referring to the rumored move of the Vikings with the implication of what kind of football fans these Viking fans have for their teams. He just giggles and says "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" and starts running up to me, giggling even more, but I move on, not giving him the chance to get into a good-natured round of trash talk. He might have been fun to mess with, but like I said, I have little patience for 20-somethings who are beered up.

A short drive south on ONEIDA STREET takes up to one of the local shopping malls. GF likes to cruise around through them, but she's thinking she may want to buy a cheap pair of shoes so that she'll have dry ones considering the pending deluge. GF can't find anything that's decent enough for a low price so we end up skipping the shoes. If we get wet we get wet.

It's time for dinner and we like to eat at THE OLD COUNTRY BUFFET which is on the northwest side of town on MASON STREET. Nothing special but the food is good and since it's a buffet there's no waiting. We found the place by accident while driving around town looking for a lace to eat and it's become pretty much a tradition now to come eat here.

For the game we've learned another trick to avoid the traffic. There's a number of residential streets north of Lambeau Field where you can park for free. If you park on the east side of Oneida street it's an easy left turn onto Oneida to head north. Park on the west side then you're faced with the challenge making a left turn into cross traffic. You head north on Oneida until you get to MASON STREET. Then go east, cross the Fox River, and then you can go south on Highway 57. You can get onto 172 and hit I-43 or keep going south on 57. Either way you'll miss the brunt of the traffic that creeps through the usual routes from Lambeau for all points going south. The only catch to this is if you want to tailgate in Lambeau Field itself. You're going to be stuck in Lambeau after the game, so it's a trade off of wanting to be in Lambeau itself or getting out of town quickly and easily.

However, some people want it both ways. As we park on the street in our usual location and make our way to Lambeau, there's another car parked there and they have their grill in the back of the car, all fired up for a tailgate! The Packer fans are sitting in their car because it's drizzling pretty steady now. I'm sure there's an ordinance against this but I'm sure those folks were having fun.

We go back to my cousin's house and he's home now, a nice little Packer party going on. Cousin used to live in Milwaukee so he has friends who were able to get tickets as this is a "Gold" package game. They're all here and are having a good time. GF join in and just hang out, we mainly just relaxing and taking advantage of the opportunity to stay dry, at least until the game. The walk takes us through all the Lambeau Field action and it's Monday Night Football, baby, and the rain and the wind is hardly noticed. It's a good time out there.

Weatherman predicted periods of heavy rain, but it's been pretty much a light drizzle the whole afternoon. Enough rain to get you wet but not enough to bother with rain gear. But, finally, it was game time.

Our seats our in the North End Zone. People may scoff at end zone seats, but we're in row TWO. The Packers are out there warming up and they're in spittin' distance. If I could take an easy chair and plop it right down in the end zone and watch the game from there, it wouldn't be much closer than where we're sitting now. We're that close and the seats are that good. On TV you get an angle from the sideline, and the view is limited to the "frame" of the camera. Here we get 360 degrees of vision and we can see the game the way the players see the game; one side lined up against the other. It just blows me away when I come out of that breezeway and into the stadium how close we are. And then to go down to our seats where it's even CLOSER to the action, I just have to pinch myself. TV can't give you the game the way you get it in Lambeau Field.

What you don't see on TV: The noise and the crowd itself is exciting. During commercial breaks they're playing music on the PA system and people and rocking to the beat. Some people dress up or have funny signs, and a lot of them are trying to mug it up and get the camera crews to get a shot of them on the scoreboard video.

There's a section of seats near me that always has fans from the opposing team so it may be a grouping of tickets that the Packers supply for the visiting team. There were a lot of Viking fans there and so the camera crews gave them a lot of shots. I'm guessing that because of the way a shot is framed it made it look like there were a lot of Viking fans there on TV. Yeah, there WERE a lot of Viking fans here, but this was probably the only real grouping of them. A lot of Viking fans came with Packer fans, they all coming together. On the whole, the Viking fans were pretty good. I didn't see any negatives between either group of fans, and my earlier encounters were along the lines of good-natured trash talk; I just didn't want to play the game. Still, it is a hard thing to take when LAMBEAU FIELD of all places is invaded by the bad guys.

Some of the best moments: As the game was winding down and it looked like the Packers had a chance, the Vikings were backed up in the South end zone. It was third down so the crowd on the other end there was in a frenzy, screaming and hollering to where it was even loud on our end. The Viking quarterback evidently was having trouble getting his signal out or was changing the play, and the crowd picked up on that. They got even louder, an unbelievable increase of decibels when you thought it couldn't get even louder. It must have worked, because the Vikings failed to convert.

The kickoff return where the ball carrier brought it back to the 2-yard line. He was tackled right in front of us, we there in the end zone screaming and going nuts, looking for the touchdown to come right there. Such a great view from here! Of course we got the touchdown right after that and were there cheering the comeback to tie the score.

There's 8 seconds left and the Vikings are lined up to kick an easy chip-shot to win the game. Now, you know how time after time a coach will call a time-out to make the kicker "think" and how that never works. However, it had started to rain down pretty hard as they were lining up. I suspect the Packers realized that, called a timeout, and allowed everything to get good and wet in the following two minutes or so. The kick was muffed and you can credit the Frozen Tundra (or wet grass) for having a big hand on the play. And it was right there in front of us, closer than close can get.

LAMBEAU LEAP: Remember the one play where the Vikings fumbled the ball into the end zone and the Packers fell on the ball for the touchdown? The refs later ruled the ball down and no touchdown, but before they stepped in it looked to be a touchdown and it was pandemonium. We were right there and the player who (we thought) scored the touchdown ran up to us and jumped into the crowd in front of us! We were getting a Lambeau Leap! The crowd surged forward, all wanting to be a part of it and it was assholes and elbows in there, everyone going nuts. Whatever stuff people had was tossed all over the place. Wow! If only it had been a real touchdown, though...

There's a man and his boy who sit to our right and they always leave in the last minute or so in order to beat the traffic. When the Vikings were about to kick the winning field goal, they got up to leave. A couple in front of us did the same. The kick failed, sending the game into overtime. The man and boy came right back down. They weren't going to miss this game! They had stood by the gate to watch the Packers lose and then make a run for it but fate dictated otherwise. The couple in front of us, they must have kept going. I wonder how far they got before they realized they missed the real outcome of the game. It ain't over 'til it's over!

I've seen the "catch" referred to as THE LUCKY BOUNCE. When Antonio Freeman made the winning catch in overtime, the play was going away from us towards the South end zone. It can be a little hard to see the action when it gets awat from you, but you can tell what's happening by the reaction from the refs and the parts of the crowd who have a better angle. However, this play was so bizarre that the whole stadium was confused. It's sudden death overtime, the Packers are somehow moving the ball, but then it's third down. Favre throws. The receiver falls down. The defender just kind of stops. The crowd is quiet. Looks like we have to punt. Huh? The receiver is getting up and running? All of a sudden the refs are signaling touchdown? We win? We won? How can that be? The crowd starts cheering in ecstasy, but it's not the usual eruption you normally would expect. How did an incomplete pass turn into a game-winning touchdown? And then, uh oh! Wait! The players aren't leaving the field and the refs are starting to have a conference. This does not bode well. I quickly surmised that SOMEHOW the ball was caught and the refs were trying to decide if the player was down by contact or if he really was a live player and able to advance the ball. The refs rule TOUCHDOWN and the crowd goes wild, again, but in disbelief. It was pouring rain ever since the overtime period began but no one cared. The game was going to be over soon no matter what and it was too much of a nail-biter to care about getting wet now.

As the Packers came off the field they were greeted by cheering fans. Another Packer came up in front of us and did another LAMBEAU LEAP! Two leaps by us in one game! Wow! It was just incredible how the fans and players were interacting with each other. It was as if the players paid admission to watch the crowd. It's raining and for the most part no one was leaving, they were savoring this one. It had to be a Classic for Monday Night lore and we were there.

You know the old cliche': You just had to be there.

The rain and darkness looked to be making a mess for everyone trying to drive home, but we knew the back way out of town and had no problem. No hurry, we only had to go 30 miles. The next day Tuesday we would head back to Milwaukee.

After a decade of Glory the Packers have fallen upon hard times again. Unless a miracle happens, there will be no playoffs this year. There were no playoffs last year, come to think of it. You just take it one game at a time, your only goal is to win because there is no reward for winning. Winning means playoffs, Superbowl rings, Glory. To just win a single game you still have the crowd, the excitement, the thrill, the satisfaction of a hard-fought game when you do win. The Glory will come again, some day, and we'll be there when it does because we're already here, now. Thick and thin, we're Packer fans. After the game there were two Viking fans on the field who were being arrested and hauled away. It appeared they wanted to share the defeat with their team but it's a safety issue to be having unknown persons running out so they received handcuffs and an escort.

Sure, any team can have fans that will jump onto the field, but where is there a team where the players jump in with the fans?