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The Green Bay Packers - America's Team

Packers' commitment to the fans and community sets team apart.


By Juliet Sokol

lambeau stadiumI grew up in a small town in northwestern Wisconsin. The Minnesota Vikings fans lurked just across the state border, waiting to criticize and ridicule Packer fans any chance they got. In the shadow of the enemy, my little community fought back by flaunting our Packer pride, blasting them with our Green Bay Packers flags, stickers and yard ornaments. We felt connected in that pride – a community of fans, a far-flung family that bleeds green and gold.

It’s clear the connection people feel with the Packers goes beyond Green Bay and even beyond Wisconsin. No other team in the NFL can boast such a universal connection. Not the Bears; not the Chiefs; not even the Vikings.

More than any other team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers connect millions of fans from around the nation with one another. The same pride and loyalty can be found in every Packer fan whenever they watch or listen to the team play. Just look at ticket sales. Packer games have consistently sold out since the 1960s. The waiting list for season tickets is 30 years or more, but fans gladly place their names on it anyway. In the history of football, no team has ever had such a high ticket demand.

The connection many Packer fans feel with one another goes beyond team loyalty. The Packers have the distinction of being the only team in the NFL owned by its fans. The team has sold 4.75 million shares to investors, a.k.a fans. The fans buy the stock with full knowledge they will never receive any dividends or share-price appreciation. They simply buy it to be a partial owner of a legendary team. Ownership like this brings millions of fans together to be a part of one thing.

To repay the fan loyalty, the team created the Green Bay Packers Foundation in 1986. The foundation gives back to the community by giving aid to programs that benefit education, youth, health services and much more. Since the foundation was created, it has donated more than $1 million to charities.

The Packers also repay this loyalty by exemplifying leadership through such coaches and players as Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke, Mike Holmgren, Reggie White and Brett Favre. Lombardi and Starr brought Super Bowl I and II titles home to Green Bay. They pioneered this new territory successfully and in doing so, gained respect for their leadership from football fans for generations to come. In the nine seasons Lombardi coached, he won 75 percent of his games. Starr earned back-to-back Super Bowl MVP awards.

And Favre, I don’t even know where to begin. More than 180 consecutive starts, injured or not; one of the top quarterbacks in passing yards since the NFL began; never hesitates to throw a block to help his running back gain extra yardage and is just an overall nice guy. Favre embodies what every American dreams of in an athlete and in a leader. Players like Favre are important because they act as positive role models for millions of football fans.

The Green Bay Packers give back to the community, not just because their fans enjoy watching them win on Sundays, but because their team creates a community that never would have existed without them. They are role models and exemplify leadership to millions of fans every time they step on the field. But most of all, the Packers have captured the hearts of football fans not only in Wisconsin’s heartland but all over the country. Their dedication to community has made them America’s team.