Growing up in New Jersey -- literally about a thousand miles from Green Bay, Wisconsin -- and coming of football age at a time when the Packers weren't very good (Tony Mandarich, anyone?), I have frequently been asked why I'm a Packer fan. It hasn't been easy. I came of football age in the mid-1980s, the post-Lombardi, pre-Favre years. Over the first 18 years of my life, the Packers had a winning record just three times -- which includes going 5-3-1 in the strike-shortened '82 season, and 8-7-1 in '78. When I was in high school, the Giants were awesome and the Jets were, well, the Jets, but still better than the Packers. Everyone who wasn't a Giants fan or a Jets fan was rooting for the Broncos, the 49ers, the Redskins -- you know, those teams that won once in awhile.
So... why am I a Packer fan? Did I have a crush on Jan Stenerud? Did I hunger for some cheese? Was I conceived at the Vince Lombardi Service Area?
Here's what my mother told me, when I asked her why she'd given me a Packer jacket to wear to elementary school and forced me to endure the taunts of children rooting for better teams.
She used to go to the same diner every morning. So did a guy she hadn't met yet who would turn out to be my father. She asked the waitress if she knew anything about that guy, and the waitress said he just sits at the counter, drinks coffee and reads the sports pages. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.)
So one morning my mother summoned up the courage to sit next to my father at the counter, and saw he was reading a story about an upcoming game between the Giants and the Packers.
She asked him who he thought was going to win, and he said the Giants.
"I bet you the Packers will win," she said. "If the Packers win, you have to take me out to dinner."
"OK," he said. "But what if the Giants win?"
"If the Giants win, I'll take you out to dinner."
She'd really figured out all the angles on this one!
Well, the Packers won, and he took her out to dinner, and eventually, they got married and I was born. A nice little story if it hadn't ended a few years later in a bitter divorce and the John Hadl trade.
Apparently, in the divorce settlement, in addition to the house and custody of the kids, my mother also retained the Packers, which she then passed on to me. And eventually, I got to root for #4, so the story has a happy ending after all.
There is a post-script, however.
This year I brought the story up to my father, who confirmed, yes, it is basically true. Except for one little detail.
He remembers it as a college football game.
"I think it was Rutgers vs. Villanova," he said.
So... why am I a Packer fan? Did I have a crush on Jan Stenerud? Did I hunger for some cheese? Was I conceived at the Vince Lombardi Service Area?
Here's what my mother told me, when I asked her why she'd given me a Packer jacket to wear to elementary school and forced me to endure the taunts of children rooting for better teams.
She used to go to the same diner every morning. So did a guy she hadn't met yet who would turn out to be my father. She asked the waitress if she knew anything about that guy, and the waitress said he just sits at the counter, drinks coffee and reads the sports pages. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.)
So one morning my mother summoned up the courage to sit next to my father at the counter, and saw he was reading a story about an upcoming game between the Giants and the Packers.
She asked him who he thought was going to win, and he said the Giants.
"I bet you the Packers will win," she said. "If the Packers win, you have to take me out to dinner."
"OK," he said. "But what if the Giants win?"
"If the Giants win, I'll take you out to dinner."
She'd really figured out all the angles on this one!
Well, the Packers won, and he took her out to dinner, and eventually, they got married and I was born. A nice little story if it hadn't ended a few years later in a bitter divorce and the John Hadl trade.Apparently, in the divorce settlement, in addition to the house and custody of the kids, my mother also retained the Packers, which she then passed on to me. And eventually, I got to root for #4, so the story has a happy ending after all.
There is a post-script, however.
This year I brought the story up to my father, who confirmed, yes, it is basically true. Except for one little detail.
He remembers it as a college football game.
"I think it was Rutgers vs. Villanova," he said.
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