Packer bars around the country
Photo from 96.7 The Eagle.
By William Fannon
The Green Bay Packers and their fanbase dubbed as “Cheeseheads” are a vital aspect of the cultural makeup of Wisconsin. There’s just something different about the relationship that the Packers have with the people of Wisconsin. It could be that the Packers are the only sports team that is publicly owned. It could be its rich history, winning the first two super bowls with Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi, to the Brett Farve era and the Aaron Rodgers era, each quarterback netting the franchise a Superbowl and multiple division titles (Bleacher Report). It doesn’t matter to Wisconsinites who have to suffer through the harshest weather conditions at Lambeau in the cold, bitter months of December and January, the wait to get season tickets can be almost decades long. Evidence pointing to the nationwide Packer influence is the Packer bars that can be found all across the country.
Being a Packer bar is almost like being a member of an exclusive country club. If bars want to be named Packer bars they have to apply and meet specific qualifications. According to the Packer Bar website, to be a Packer bar your bar must, “open the doors to Packers fans every gameday and serve as a ‘local Lambeau’’ for Packers fans across the country and world,” and they are required to always have a Packer game on whenever they are playing. Once a bar is officially named a Packer Bar, your bar will be put in the Packer bar database, a beacon for cheeseheads nationwide to know what game will be aired on Sundays. The Packer bar database lists bars in every state in America, evening Alaska and Hawaii (Packers Everywhere).
These Packers bars have allowed Wisconsin Cheeseheads to pass down their Packer fandom to future generations even if they do not live in Wisconsin anymore. One of these future cheesehead generations includes a resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, , Patrick Colwell.
AlthoughColwell has never been to Wisconsin, he is a huge Packer fan. As a Packer fan, Colwell has been a frequent goer of registered Packer bars.
“My parents would take me to the bar on as many Sundays as they could,” said Colwell. “Even though we’re like half a country away, on game day the bar would be filled with green jerseys and cheese hats.”
Colwell’s mom is a native Wisconsinite, growing up in Madison. Even though she left Wisconsin for Connecticut her Packer fandom never died.
It is through these bars that a football team based in the 292nd largest city in America, they have cultivated such a strong fanbase.
References
Bleacher Report, “10 Reasons Packers Have the Best Fans in the NFL”. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1401096-10-reasons-the-packers-have-the-best-fans-in-the-nfl
Packerseverywhere.com https://www.packerseverywhere.com/