Sophie in Packerland

   One of the things that we do every year when we go to Door County is make a trip to Green Bay. We've looked at museums, churches and parks. We've eaten at a few good restaurants. There is one place that we go to without fail no matter what.
  Lambeau Field. This is the mecca for every Packer Fan. Football isn't a game in Green Bay. It's a religion and the shrine is Lambeau Field. If you go there and enter through the Miller Brewing gate the first thing you will see is two huge statues. One is of Curly Lambeau who helped to found the team and was it's first coach. He has one arm stretched out to the side to point at the other statue which is of coach Vince Lombardi, one of the most influential coaches in football. His quotes are still used as motivational tools and his name is on the trophy given to the teams that win the Super Bowl. These two figures set the tone for the rest of what is inside.
  Inside the Miller gate is an atrium. It's a large open space flooded with light. The tile floor is marked like a football field and the yard markers line up with the actual field. A few times we have come to Lambeau and the atrium has been blocked off while workers and volunteers decorate for a children's Halloween Party. The wall are lined with pictures of moments from Packer history.
  Curly's Pub is upstairs. Some of the seats face the Hutson Center which is where the Pack practices. C and I have sat there eating and hoping to sight a player. We never have, but it's fun to watch anyway. The food is good and there are a ton of TVs all tuned to various sport shows. We like the soft pretzel bread sticks. They are served with the best cheese dip I have ever had.
  We decided not to take the stadium tour this year. We've been on it several times and it is always fun. As in all tours, there is a script that the guides use. The interesting thing is that each guide has a slightly different spin on the script. The tour guides are always older men and they are tend to be very funny. They like to insult the teams that play for Minnesota and Chicago. They do so ina very witty way. The tour takes you into the box seats and around the stadium. After this you get to walk out to the field. While you are walking through the same tunnel that the players use, they pipe in crowd noise to simulate what it is like for the players. They explain some of the things that line the walls of the tunnel. Once you are out of the tunnel you can sit on bleacher seats in the end zone. At some point the tour guide invites all the people to yell "Go Pack Go!" It's cool to hear the voices echo in the empty stadium.
  We also chose to forgo the Hall of Fame. It is a Packer museum. There's replica uniforms and information about all the seasons good and bad that the Packers have played. There's a replica of Vince Lombardi's office. There is even a display that talks about the Lambeau Leap and the physics involved. A player has to take off at just the right spot and at just the right speed in order to make it into the arms of the fans.
  We always leave with some form of Packer memorabilia. Usually it's something small like a hat or a tree ornament. This year I decided to reward myself for a successful intern season by purchasing a throwback jersey. The Green Bay Packers were once known as the Acme Packers and their colours were blue and gold. I found myself a nice Randall Cobb jersey. C also needed a new jersey. He had been proudly wearing number 85 Greg Jennings. Jennings now plays for Minnesota so obviously C would need a new one. He found a white Aaron Rodgers jersey and a new hat to match.
  After we made our purchases C and I went outside. C wanted a few pictures of the outside before we left to return to where we were staying. A woman was sitting on one of the benches. Her injured foot was on one of the armrests. We chatted for awhile. She had come up to go to the game that had been played that week. Every once in awhile she would just look around. She'd been a fan for a long time and had finally been able to attend a game. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had driven from Nebraska and was sitting in Green Bay. I understood. I'm not sure what it is, but there is something special about the place. I've been able to visit Lambeau Field at least once a year for the last eight years or so. It never loses its magic.