This has been a pretty special year so far, being a Packer Fan. On Tuesday, virtually everyone I came into contact with looked tired, with dark circles under their eyes. As we’re engaged in meetings or other conversations, there’s very little that needs to be said about our exhaustion. We were all up late watching our beloved Packers pull it out in OT, watching Brett Favre tease us with the greatness he displays periodically.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve always been an over-the-top Packer Fan. Ask anyone and they will tell you about my (sometimes) unhealthy allegiance to the green and gold. In college, my Sundays would be ruined if they lost. I was in a foul mood which probably, among other reasons, contributed to my single status throughout my college years. Luckily, the losses didn’t happen much back then.
In fact, one weekend in college, I was so upset about missing a game to go to a work function, I snuck in a walkman and got busted when I couldn’t keep it to myself when Sean Jones ran back a Viking fumble to break the game open. True story; and that situation came up during a reference check for a future job (albeit in a tongue-in-cheek manner).
I’ve grown since then, and hopefully grown up. The losses drip away more quickly now, and I’ve realized I can’t take my frustrations out on the family like I could roommates and other acquaintances. But, there’s always the Monday (or Tuesday!) morning quarterbacking sessions, dissecting where things went wrong or right. There’s a certain camaraderie that goes with being a fan, being present in the moment, agonizing over the losses or celebrating the wins.
In a world where we struggle to find common ground (just look at the Daily Herald message boards) it’s nice to know that you can strike up a conversation with virtually anyone regarding “the game” and for that fleeting moment, we’re all just fans, unbound by any hang-ups or preconceived notions (or post-conceived notions, I guess).
What other things (local or otherwise) draw people together like that? I’m interested to hear what you think.
