My Lambeau Field Journal

For most football fans, it's a pilgrimage. In Sports Illustrated, it was called a "religious experience."

For me, it was homecoming.

On Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007, I made my third trip to the historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. While I had driven by the stadium and even hung out in the atrium on numerous occasions having grown up in the area, it was my first trip back inside the bowl since my sophomore year of high school.

Below is a little journal of my day back home at the frozen tundra, spent with my father, Jim. These times are in no way exact considering a clock was the last thing I was looking at on Sunday.

7:15 a.m. CT: I awake from the air mattress in my aunts' living room to take a shower. Typically I would be the crankiest person in the world awaking before the sun is up, but I can't wait to throw on the Brett Favre jersey.

8:28: After making a short drive to the stadium area, encountering little traffic yet, Dad and I begin cruising around the stadium district, looking for a place to park. Like Lambeau Field, the parking lot is also sold out and you need one of the special passes to get in. That's right, the parking lot is also sold out before the season. This is not only professional football, but pro tailgating.

8:47: We find a place behind Brett Favre's Steakhouse for $15 and we can park on grass, not concrete. It has to be the best deal in the city.

8:52: We pop open the back of Dad’s minivan (sad, I know) and while he busts out the table, chairs, grill and stove, I grab the cooler and crack open a Point Amber beer (even sadder, lay off) that I had picked up from the Stevens Point Brewery the day before.

8:55: A local girl from the figure skating club cons me into buying a low grade candy bar. I seriously only had half a beer at this point. I just admired her being up that early.

8:58: Two more skater girls come by with chocolate. I shoot them down, letting them know one of their teammates had hit me up. I have now started a lifelong hatred between these teenage girls. I feel proud.

9:12: The steak is on the grill while the eggs and hash browns sizzle on the stove. I haven't seen food this good since I graduated high school.

9:28: I'm cracking open my second beer and sitting down behind Brett’s to enjoy my steak, eggs and hash browns with Lambeau Field towering over me. This is the greatest day of my life.

9:54: Mom calls Dad and I. We hand over phone to the strangers who have now become lifelong friends next to us.

10:17: I crack open my third Point Amber and socialize some more with our tailgating neighbors. The man next to us was Tripp Hardin of Kenosha, who back in 2005, had given up his Packer playoff tickets to a terminally ill kid in Texas and flew the child and his mother up to Green Bay. You can read the entire story at http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=292644. It's a cool story. I would have offered him a beer but he already had a tall bloody mary.

10:57: After listening to Tripp's story, Dad and I begin the march to Lambeau Field, passing by the thousands of tailgaters at area bars, the Resch Center and Don Huston Center. It's like a herd of green and gold cattle marching towards the field from all parts of Green Bay.

11:08: Waiting in line to get into the stadium, Vikings fans are getting playfully harassed. Their only comeback was, "At least we have a pro hockey team." You know your state is sad when that's all you got.

11:21: After getting through the weak security check (I could have smuggled a case of beer in), Dad and I make our way through the stadium, searching for section 122.

11:24: Walking through the gate and through the concourse, it doesn't really hit you that you are in the most historic stadium in all of professional football. Then you appear from the tunnel and before you is the frozen tundra, the bowl that is already jam packed with fans standing, not sitting on the cold metal bleachers and of course the ring of honor which features the names of Reggie White, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Bart Starr Ray Nitschke, E.L. 'Curly' Lambeau and Vince Lombardi. It truly is the holy grail of football.

11:26: Dad and I find our seats in section 122, row 8, seats 19 and 20, right along the 40 yards line behind the Packers’ bench. Standing in front of us is Charles Woodson and Donald Driver. This is awesome.

11:28: I spot my hero, Brett Favre, warming up around the 20 yard line. Again, this is cool.

11:51: The Vikings come out to a chorus of boos followed by an eruption for the Packers. Donald Driver generates a huge buzz but you lose your hearing once Favre is announced.

11:58: Some country singer who I have never heard of is cut off during the national anthem by a fleet of choppers, which we all determine are much cooler than jets. She was singing way to slow. We were at Lambeau to see football, not your singing.

12:10 p.m.: Three plays and only nine yards for the Vikings on their opening drive. Adrian Peterson is shut down completely, which would turn out to be the theme of the day.

12:24: The Packers march down and score on their opening drive, using the run. "I thought we came to see the Packers?" Dad yells. The entire stadium is confused why we didn't just see a Favre touchdown pass.

1:08: Green Bay kicks two field goals in the second quarter to take a 13-0 halftime lead. After four beers and a glass of orange juice that morning, I needed to use the bathroom.

1:49: I get stuck in the line for the bathroom and appear out of the tunnel just in time to see Favre hit Donald Lee for a touchdown. I was not a happy person to have missed that drive.

1:52: The Vikings waste no time in giving the ball back after Peterson led Minnesota on a three-play, - 4-yard drive.

1:52: Favre takes a shot to the head, getting back up Aaron Rodgers excited. Rodgers runs to the bench, straps on his helmet and begins taking practice snaps, only to see Favre get right up and jog back to the huddle. Rodgers’ heart sinks.

1:57: I finally get to see my Favre touchdown pass as he hits Ruvell Martin in the end zone. Like a little boy he runs around the field and back to the bench celebrating. It’s the biggest thrill ever to watch him play in person.

2:05: Peterson takes a nasty hit from Al Harris to the knee which the entire stadium could hear. I think about the poor Vikings fan who said he was so excited to see his entire fantasy football team - Peterson - in action Sunday. Bummer dude.

2:27: Favre plays with fire and finds Martin for his third touchdown pass of the day. Coach Mike McCarthy does not look happy with Favre's gamble. Brett just shrugs his shoulders and gives him a pat on the back. Then he scares a lineman by slapping him on the rear, making the 300-pound man jump ten feet. It's almost as much fun watching Favre on the sidelines as it is on the field.

2:37: Rodgers gets a huge ovation as he enters the game. McCarthy let him throw only two screen passes. I imagined Rodgers crying in a corner when he got home. Remember when he was projected to be No. 2 overall in the draft?

2:50: Final. The Packers win 34-0 and improve to 8-1. Dad and I stick around our seats for another 15 minutes socializing with fans, stunned in disbelief that the Pack shut out Minnesota and Peterson. I watch as Favre walks of the field surrounded by cameras. He gives a good bye wave as the still packed stadium erupts one more time.

3:48: We take our time leaving the stadium. After eating nothing since breakfast, Dad and I grab a brat in the atrium, admire the statue of Lombardi outside, watch some players hang around the team lot and finally get back to the van for one last beer.

Lambeau Field is an experience like no other in professional or college sports. Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden, it is one of the must see places in sports. Sunday's game was like no other. The Vikings got shutout 34-0, Favre threw three TDs and I saw this all from eight rows behind the Packers bench with my father.

Packer tickets are hard to come by and we are blessed by our family connection. A big thanks goes out to my cousin Andy, who is a security guard at Lambeau. I was glad to help pay for your wedding and you better look forward to another call when the 2008 schedule comes out.

Posted by: mattwellens on Thursday, November 15 at 12:13 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink