Visiting the Shrine
I don't think it's any exaggeration to say the the Green Bay Packers enjoy one of the most devoted fan bases in the NFL. Football is almost like a religion there.
C and I usually spend one day in Green Bay when we are out here. Since we have been to Lambeau several times we usually just eat at Curly's Pub and then find something else to do. This year was different. The Pack had won the Super Bowl this year. Since we had not really paid our respects to the shrine of football for a few years now seemed to be a good time to do it.
When one visits the shrine of football it's always a good idea to dress appropriately. When Aaron Rodgers first took over as the Packer quarterback, many people were upset. It seemed unthinkable that Brett Farve would not be at the head of the team as he had been for so many years. I bought an Aaron Rodgers jersey because I felt it was important to support the quarterback. I packed my jersey along with a matching green Packer ball cap.
The day before I found a pair of football shaped earrings with the classic green "G" on them. I thought they would be a nice addition to my outfit so I bought them.
In the morning after a late breakfast we headed to Green Bay. Since C was unable to find his Packer ball cap, he had to make do with the Packer starter jacket he owns. I was decked out in full regalia, jersey,ball cap and earrings. We were ready.
Our first stop was the Railroad Museum. A friend of mine was celebrating a birthday in a few weeks and I wanted to find her something at the gift shop. I found what I wanted,we walked around a little bit and then we headed to Lambeau.
The first thing we did was go to Curly's Pub. C had not had breakfast and was hungry. We started out with a basket of pretzel bites. We were not sure what they were, but they sounded interesting. What we got was a basket of warm salted pieces of the large bread pretzel. There was a cup of cheese sauce and another of mustard served along with it. It was really good. C had pot roast and I had a hamburger. The restaurant was fairly empty and our seats looked over the parking lot where the coaches and players park. We didn't see anyone.
After lunch we bought tickets for the stadium tour and the Hall of Fame. The stadium tour was a lot of fun. There were four on the tour. We got to sit in a private box and walk through the tunnel that the players walk to to go to the field to start the game. As we walked out they played a recording of crowd noise so we could hear what the players would hear on a game day. It was very cool.
We stood on the sideline while the tour guide talked to us about the grass. The Packers play on real grass that has some synthetic fibers woven into it. Today they were putting grow lights on the grass so that it would be nice and green for the next home game. We got to yell "Go Pack Go!" from the end zone and listen to it echo throughout the empty stadium. That ended the tour and we walked back into the atrium.
We went downstairs to the Hall of Fame. We walked through all kinds of displays about Packer history. There were short films on all kinds of Packer related topics from the weather to one about Vince Lombardi. There is a replica of his office in the H of F. I looked at the selection of books in his bookcase. There was a Dale Carnegie book and also a book by Herblock, the former political cartoonist for the Washington Post. In front of his desk there were two gold coloured chairs. I had to chuckle a bit as there was also an ashtray on a stand between the chairs. You would never see that now.
They has a display of Bob Hope memorabilia. I'm not sure why it was there, but we walked though it anyway. It was interesting.
Finally at the end of the displays were the things we had come to see. The first thing was a display with Aaron Rodgers' jersey and the awards that he had won from the last Super Bowl. The next room held four tall silver statues under Plexiglas cases. Every pro football player hopes to hoist one of those in the air at some point during his career. At one end of the room were the four Lombardi trophies that the Packers had won. In front of each of them was a replica of the Super Bowl ring that each player on the winning team year had received. We stood in silence looking at each one in turn. C took pictures of them and I even unbent to pose in the space between them. Most pro players are lucky if they can get close to even one Lombardi and here we were in the same room with four of them. We felt very lucky.
We walked out of the Hall of Fame and over to the Pro Shop. One thing that C needed was a jersey. He had decided that he wanted a number 85 jersey. He wanted that because that was his jersey number in high school and because he really likes Greg Jennings, the guy who carries that number. We also got a tie, a jacket,a sweater and another ball cap for C.
We went outside and took some pictures of the Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau statues in from of the Atrium. Then it got dark out and started to rain. We drove back through town and back north to where we are staying.
It felt good to visit the Shrine.
C and I usually spend one day in Green Bay when we are out here. Since we have been to Lambeau several times we usually just eat at Curly's Pub and then find something else to do. This year was different. The Pack had won the Super Bowl this year. Since we had not really paid our respects to the shrine of football for a few years now seemed to be a good time to do it.
When one visits the shrine of football it's always a good idea to dress appropriately. When Aaron Rodgers first took over as the Packer quarterback, many people were upset. It seemed unthinkable that Brett Farve would not be at the head of the team as he had been for so many years. I bought an Aaron Rodgers jersey because I felt it was important to support the quarterback. I packed my jersey along with a matching green Packer ball cap.
The day before I found a pair of football shaped earrings with the classic green "G" on them. I thought they would be a nice addition to my outfit so I bought them.
In the morning after a late breakfast we headed to Green Bay. Since C was unable to find his Packer ball cap, he had to make do with the Packer starter jacket he owns. I was decked out in full regalia, jersey,ball cap and earrings. We were ready.
Our first stop was the Railroad Museum. A friend of mine was celebrating a birthday in a few weeks and I wanted to find her something at the gift shop. I found what I wanted,we walked around a little bit and then we headed to Lambeau.
The first thing we did was go to Curly's Pub. C had not had breakfast and was hungry. We started out with a basket of pretzel bites. We were not sure what they were, but they sounded interesting. What we got was a basket of warm salted pieces of the large bread pretzel. There was a cup of cheese sauce and another of mustard served along with it. It was really good. C had pot roast and I had a hamburger. The restaurant was fairly empty and our seats looked over the parking lot where the coaches and players park. We didn't see anyone.
After lunch we bought tickets for the stadium tour and the Hall of Fame. The stadium tour was a lot of fun. There were four on the tour. We got to sit in a private box and walk through the tunnel that the players walk to to go to the field to start the game. As we walked out they played a recording of crowd noise so we could hear what the players would hear on a game day. It was very cool.
We stood on the sideline while the tour guide talked to us about the grass. The Packers play on real grass that has some synthetic fibers woven into it. Today they were putting grow lights on the grass so that it would be nice and green for the next home game. We got to yell "Go Pack Go!" from the end zone and listen to it echo throughout the empty stadium. That ended the tour and we walked back into the atrium.
We went downstairs to the Hall of Fame. We walked through all kinds of displays about Packer history. There were short films on all kinds of Packer related topics from the weather to one about Vince Lombardi. There is a replica of his office in the H of F. I looked at the selection of books in his bookcase. There was a Dale Carnegie book and also a book by Herblock, the former political cartoonist for the Washington Post. In front of his desk there were two gold coloured chairs. I had to chuckle a bit as there was also an ashtray on a stand between the chairs. You would never see that now.
They has a display of Bob Hope memorabilia. I'm not sure why it was there, but we walked though it anyway. It was interesting.
Finally at the end of the displays were the things we had come to see. The first thing was a display with Aaron Rodgers' jersey and the awards that he had won from the last Super Bowl. The next room held four tall silver statues under Plexiglas cases. Every pro football player hopes to hoist one of those in the air at some point during his career. At one end of the room were the four Lombardi trophies that the Packers had won. In front of each of them was a replica of the Super Bowl ring that each player on the winning team year had received. We stood in silence looking at each one in turn. C took pictures of them and I even unbent to pose in the space between them. Most pro players are lucky if they can get close to even one Lombardi and here we were in the same room with four of them. We felt very lucky.
We walked out of the Hall of Fame and over to the Pro Shop. One thing that C needed was a jersey. He had decided that he wanted a number 85 jersey. He wanted that because that was his jersey number in high school and because he really likes Greg Jennings, the guy who carries that number. We also got a tie, a jacket,a sweater and another ball cap for C.
We went outside and took some pictures of the Vince Lombardi and Curly Lambeau statues in from of the Atrium. Then it got dark out and started to rain. We drove back through town and back north to where we are staying.
It felt good to visit the Shrine.
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