How did it start?

PakrzFREEZE!

How did you become a Packer fan?

My father was in the Air Force and we lived all over the place. My parents were raised in the Eau Claire area. Dad retired from the Air Force in Tucson, Arizona and still lives there today. Dad was always a big Packer fan and of course, I followed suit. The problem was we never lived in Wisconsin. The only way we could catch scores were when they flashed across the screen of the local game on or in the paper the following morning. The highlight of the week was watching the halftime highlights on Monday Night Football when we would catch even the smallest glimpse of a Packer highlight. Of course in those days there weren't many high points. My first jersey was a #83 John Jefferson and I still have that today hanging in the closet. I took a TON of **** for being a Packer fan growing up in odd areas but I never wavered. As it turns out, I've had the last laugh for the better part of the last two decades.

What say you?

9/24/126:02 PM

Original Post

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packerboiI lick rainbows

Born and raised in WI.

Earliest memory (in terms of football) was my Dad sitting down with me and pointing to Jim McMahon on TV.

"See him son?"

"Yes."

"We hate him. A lot"

"Ok Dad"

Then reinforced by my 2 older bro's.

His hate of the Bears was probably stronger then his love for the Packers. Too young to really remember any 70's team and I didn't exist in the '60's.

Best early personal Packer memory I have is Majik and "after further review".

Hooked ever since.

9/24/126:09 PM

JJSDSitzpinkler Schadenfreude

I saw a guy get shot in the face. The guy who did the shooting shrugged his shoulders, went into the deli down the block and got a sandwich and told everyone he was going to eat that sandwich and go get a good night's sleep. He was wearing a GBP jersey. I was hooked.

9/24/126:19 PM

Blair KielGOOD OL' FAKE BLAIR KIEL - My Hood? nice Henry. Fuck You!

I'm just here for the free beer.

OK. In my blood. The Packers, not the beer.

Grew-up Eastside Milwaukee. Born 1960, so have very, very faint memories of the Glory Years.

Pack played three games a year in Milwaukee. They used to let cops into County Stadium for free when they showed their badge.

My Dad (a pig ,Fedya)) would go to the Milwaukee games and me and my brothers would listen at home on our transistor radio---home games were ALWAYS blacked-out.

Pop hung out at a bar with Bob Long and Doug Hart. Came home one day around 1967 with a signed (whole team) Duke football and gave it to us.

....we went outside and played football with it.

9/24/126:23 PM

PakrzFREEZE!

9/24/126:25 PM

Blair KielGOOD OL' FAKE BLAIR KIEL - My Hood? nice Henry. Fuck You!

quote:
Originally posted by packerboi:
Born and raised in WI.

"See him son?"

"Yes."

"We hate him. A lot"

We did that too.

With Puerto Ricans.

9/24/126:28 PM

JJSDSitzpinkler Schadenfreude

Shouldn't it be facehurt?

Irregardless, Kiel and I are prepared:

I was born in GB and grew up going to games at Lambeau with my Grandpa. It was a lot of really bad football in the 70's and 80's, but those were some great memories of sitting out in the cold-ass winter weather. I think my two favorite games as a kid were the snow bowl against the Bucs (yeah, we made it there) and the Monday nighter in 83 when they beat the Redskins 48-47.

9/24/126:28 PM

CUPackFanMember

Pakrz, my story is eerily familiar to yours. My dads dad (ie: my grandpa) was in the Air Force so my dad lived all over the place and at the point when you start getting into football, he was near Wisconsin and started following the Packers. He became a Packer fan at that time and still is today.

Fast forward to my childhood and when i was 8, we moved to Tucson, AZ from Los Angeles. At about age 10 (or 1992), I started watching football with my dad and brothers and had to choose a team. At this time, the Phoenix Cardinals were terrible and always had been, so that was out of the question. Since my dad was a Packers fan, I figured I'd be one too. Pretty great time to become a Packers fan, as we've only had 2 losing seasons since.

My first jersey was a Reggie White jersey that I still have today.

9/24/126:28 PM

packerboiI lick rainbows

quote:
Originally posted by Blair Kiel:

We did that too.

With Puerto Ricans.

12 years of catholic school taught me that with Lutherans.

9/24/126:32 PM

Ghost of LambeauMember

Many moons ago when I was growing up in Wisconsin, my dad would watch the Packers every Sunday. But it was a neighbor who was my age that liked football and the Packers. He wanted to play it in the back yard all the time. One day we watched with my dad and this neighbor was pointing out the blocks, who was carrying the ball, and the rules of the game. It started to allow me to make sense of what looked like a mess on the screen. I started watching from then on with my dad and it didn't take long for me to get hooked.

One Sunday my dad was with the army reserves, and my mom & sisters took over the TV that afternoon. So I went out and played in the neighbors sand box. When the neighbor's mother saw me there, she opened the window and asked why I wasn't watching the Packers. After I told her about my mom & sisters, she invited me in to watch the game - which I did and I was feed ice cream while I watched. That worked for me.

9/24/126:44 PM

Rusty42 inch pythons brother!

Dad's a Packer fan.

Since I had no athletic ability, this was my last chance to prove to him I'm not a failure.

First game I saw with any meaning to me was @ Minnesota in 2000 when Ahman Green had a big game. I've been hooked since.

Jury's still out on the failure bit though.

9/24/126:49 PM

Blair KielGOOD OL' FAKE BLAIR KIEL - My Hood? nice Henry. Fuck You!

quote:
Originally posted by Ghost of Lambeau:
After I told her about my mom & sisters, she invited me in to watch the game - which I did and I was feed ice cream while I watched. That worked for me.

I was so hoping that would turn into something more interesting.

9/24/126:51 PM

SufferinginmnMember

quote:
Originally posted by Ghost of Lambeau:
Many moons ago when I was growing up in Wisconsin, my dad would watch the Packers every Sunday. But it was a neighbor who was my age that liked football and the Packers. He wanted to play it in the back yard all the time. One day we watched with my dad and this neighbor was pointing out the blocks, who was carrying the ball, and the rules of the game. It started to allow me to make sense of what looked like a mess on the screen. I started watching from then on with my dad and it didn't take long for me to get hooked.

One Sunday my dad was with the army reserves, and my mom & sisters took over the TV that afternoon. So I went out and played in the neighbors sand box. When the neighbor's mother saw me there, she opened the window and asked why I wasn't watching the Packers. After I told her about my mom & sisters, she invited me in to watch the game - which I did and I was feed ice cream while I watched. That worked for me.

It takes a village to raise a packer fan

9/24/126:52 PM

LarseeBearMember

Listening to Ray Scott on Grandma and Grandpa's huge Philco radio before Thanksgiving Dinner.

9/24/126:58 PM

Ghost of LambeauMember

quote:
Originally posted by Blair Kiel:
I was so hoping that would turn into something more interesting.

I get your drift, but I was a little to young - seeing the game was good enough, the ice cream was a bonus.

9/24/126:58 PM

FountainfoxMember

I was originally a Badgers fan, going to most home games with my dad from 1949-59. We lived in Milwaukee, so there was a Packers connection but they weren't on TV that much. In those days a lot of the offense and interest was waiting to see if Al Carmichael would return something or Tobin Rote connect on a busted play, preferable to Billy Howton. Defensive star was Bobby Dillon, one of the genuine unsung all-time greats.

I also remember Bart Starr's first couple years. I was 14 or 15 then and thought he was hopeless.

See why I don't post a lot?

9/24/127:06 PM

justanotherpackerfanMember

Why wouldn't you be a Packer fan.

Actually, the best part was being raised in a Minnesota border town and having parental permission to not get along with the Viking fans.

9/24/127:07 PM

Ghost of LambeauMember

quote:
Originally posted by Sufferinginmn:
It takes a village to raise a packer fan

Yup. I was well taken care of.

Remember when they had the sheets to fill up with bottle caps of the players the spaces on the sheets called for? It took 5 filled sheets to get a football. All the neighbors helped with that - and I got my football.

I was a little older then, but it did not stop anyone from helping.

9/24/127:09 PM

Blair KielGOOD OL' FAKE BLAIR KIEL - My Hood? nice Henry. Fuck You!

quote:
Originally posted by Fountainfox:
I was originally a Badgers fan, going to most home games with my dad from 1949-59. We lived in Milwaukee, so there was a Packers connection but they weren't on TV that much. In those days a lot of the offense and interest was waiting to see if Al Carmichael [IMG]http://i.ebayimg.com/t/1954-BOWMAN-FOOTBALL-115-AL-CARMICHAEL-PACKERS-EX-/00/$(KGrHqZ,!l4E1F3z1RIuBNbqr-Kk4!~~_35.JPG[/IMG] would return something or Tobin Rote connect on a busted play, preferable to Billy Howton . Defensive star was Bobby Dillon , one of the genuine unsung all-time greats.

I also remember Bart Starr's first couple years. I was 14 or 15 then and thought he was hopeless.

See why I don't post a lot?

Got 'em all!

9/24/127:14 PM

Green and GoldMember

I was born a Packer fan. It was an act of God.

9/24/127:19 PM

Ghost of LambeauMember

BK - Do you know how much they are worth?

9/24/127:19 PM

hof1991Member

My great grandmother knew that little rascal - that Lambeau kid, so that makes me a 4th generation Packer fan and my grandchildren are 6th generation fans. Like we had a choice.

9/24/127:20 PM

Blair KielGOOD OL' FAKE BLAIR KIEL - My Hood? nice Henry. Fuck You!

Ghost.

Depends. You can pick up decent 50's Packer cards on EBay for as little as $5.00-$6.00-----or spend hundreds for "mint" cards.

I'm 98% finished on collecting every Packer card issued from 1948 (Leaf started cards then. Topps and Bowman started a couple of years later) through around 1975---probably around 500 cards.

Most expensive cards are 1957 Starr and Hornung (rookie cards) which can be $700 in great condition.

9/24/127:21 PM

HerschelMember

My dad got horny, my mom was drunk, nine months later I was born, a few years later I saw the Packers and that was it.

9/24/127:36 PM

RatPackMember

I was conceived during half time of a Bears game.

9/24/127:42 PM

Ghost of LambeauMember

quote:
Originally posted by Blair Kiel:
Most expensive cards are 1957 Starr and Hornung (rookie cards) which can be $700 in great condition.

Not exactly a retirement plan - huh?

9/24/127:47 PM

fightphoe93Member

I have to thank the 1978 Packers for making me a fan. That was the first full year I watched the NFL and that was the only winning Packer team from '73 - '81. Pretty fun team to watch, they hooked me for life.

9/25/1212:01 AM

PakrzFREEZE!

Shall I start a "How did it end" thread, dated 9-24-12??

9/25/1212:04 AM

fightphoe93Member

quote:
Originally posted by Pakrz:
Shall I start a "How did it end" thread, dated 9-24-12??

Even that debacle last night isn't enough to end it for me. Roger Goodell and all his cronies that continue to make decisions that are destroying the league will not deter me. I will continue to be an NFL fan and a Packer fan despite the ineptitude of the leadership of the NFL.

I don't blame people that want to boycott the NFL and the Pack, I may get to that level of frustration one day. I'm not there yet though even with the travesty that happened last night.

9/25/121:35 PM