Why it feels as though I've been punched in the gut.

Can I let you in on my dirty little secret?

I bought a tanning package.

You might wonder WHY a twenty-first century lady like myself would spend a couple of minutes a day, a few days a week in a cancer bed when she absolutely knows better?

  Let me show you.

Surprisingly, my employer has not yet issued pink gorilla suits as standard wardrobe, so thankfully, that is not me in the photo above.

That's what April looks like in Wisconsin.  That's what our landscape looks like for almost half of the year.  I need a vitamin D fix, so I go tanning. The shame.


At our house, the weather governs our lifestyle.  If the sun is even remotely shining, we are outside.  It's obsessive. My sister moved to San Diego two years ago, and she is just now able to give herself permission to be indoors, even if it is seventy-two and sunny outside.  Which it is, basically everyday. #jealous

 I usually have to drag Eric along, but as long as he can bring his camera, he's happy.

Sunshine baby.

The only thing as predictable as a Wisconsin winter is what Wisconsin does on Sunday afternoons.

All hail St. Vince.

Which is why, when faced with the thought of spending one of our hard-earned, beautiful fall afternoons indoors, we use our big Wisconsin brains and find a way to merge the two things we love most. We watch the Packers, outside.

res ipsa loquitur.

And if you're lucky enough to roll with my parents, they'll bring their living room furniture and rug outside, my dad will make homemade, artisan pizzas, and we'll enjoy a craft beer from a local brewery.  Pretty much the best day of my life.

I live in Packer country,  I drink the Green and Gold Kool Aid, and I think Vince Lombardi nailed it when he said:

"Think of only three things: your God, your family and the Green Bay Packers-in that order."

So when I say, "this has been a rough week," you'll know that sentiment is a MILD UNDERSTATEMENT.

All sports fans know defeat is an inevitable part of playing the game.  Defeat at the championship round  playoff game is a bitter pill to swallow.  There are NO WORDS for the feeling of having essentially WON the game, only to have what can be described as the worst string of events that could possibily happen, actually happen.  Brutal? Definitely.  Shocking?  Yes, quite literally.  It feels like a sucker punch to the solar plexus every time I think about it.

Why can't I shake this loss?  It's just a game, right?  Maybe not.

In Wisconsin, we really love the Packers,  just like any city loves it's team.  In Detroit, they really love the Lions.  In Chicago, they really love the Bears.

But let me show you something.

Ford Field

Soldier Field

Lambeau Field

Take a close look at the top two photos, and notice the freeways, high rises, and general urban backdrop surrounding the stadiums.  Now look at Lambeau, and beyond the broad expanse of the parking lot, notice the green space and the real people's homes. The stadium sits in the center of the city and, basically, life revolves around it.

Green Bay is a relatively small city with a population of just over 104,000 people.  With 53 men on the roster, and dozens more on staff, the Packers aren't just a team.  They're our neighbors.  In a real and noticeable way.  Take, for example, the time I was at Dick's Sporting Goods and there was a Packer there helping his kid try on shoes, just being a real dad, trying to find where his kid's toe was inside of the shoe.  Or the day after they won their last super bowl in 2011, when my family and I went to Hooters (the wings are delicious) and walked in to find the entire offensive line eating what looked like a small mountain of chicken wings.  (We offered to by them a round.  They politely declined.)   Or in summer, before practice, when local kids line up with their bikes, hoping one of the players will give them a lift across the street.
See?  Neighbors.

Now, I know that all of these players are paid to be a part of the team, and they quite possibly feel no more allegiance to the Packers organization than they would, say, the Vikings.
LOL.  JK.  The Vikings suck. 

But I think, maybe, Green Bay's charm rubs off on it's players.  Like when Aaron Rodgers shows up at a Bay Port High School football game on a random Friday night, just because.  Or when Jordy Nelson's wife went on the record to say how much she loves Green Bay and that it's a great place to raise a family.  Or when Olivia Munn, #12's girlfriend, went on Conan O'Brien and recanted a story about postponing a business call because she had meat on hold at Maplewood Meats.  She had to get her meat, Hollywood.

It's hard to watch your team lose. Especially when you really really think they should have won. Because when the Packers lose, it's personal.

And it's even worse when you think of these guys as members of your community, not just jerseys. Not just people who were drafted to play here.  People who came to this little town and, by in large, decided to stay.  Not just stay, but invest themselves in the community, the traditions, and the novelty of being part of the strangest professional team in any of the 3 major sports.  We know how hard that can be, and we appreciate it.  So to see what happened on Sunday… Gut. Punch.

Til Next Season, boys.