My parents settled in Ennis MT in the mid 1960’s. They were school teachers and hence I was born there and caught my first trout on the Madison in the early 70’s. (Man am I getting old) any way I had an awesome uncle from Milwaukee WI, Uncle John, who was an avid Packers Fan when Green Bay controlled the world. Winning 5 world titles in the 60’s. We’ll my uncle sent me Green Bay stuff when I was 4,5,6,7,8,9 and I, through immersion, I became a fan!
Being a Packers fan in Ennis MT was similar to being a Buddhist in the Bible belt. Some rancher might say “boy, what’s with the big G on your hat?” “It stands for the Green Bay Packers” I’d say. “never heard of that meat packer, I always take our beef to Belgrade packing” the old cowboy slowly stated.
My parents were both going to graduate school at MSU/ Bozeman, so I might ask the rancher “What do you think of the Bobcats?” “We’ll I quit trapping a few years ago, bobcats was easier to catch than coyotes, I caught a lynx once up by the McGee ranch, a few years back” He proclaimed.
In other words professional or college football really wasn’t a focal point for most Ennis Montana inhabitants. And most ranchers in general I found don’t worry much about the world outside of their barbed wire fences.
Well from the late 60’s through the mid 90’s the Green Bay Packers were the worst team in the NFL, having only one winning season(1989) and failing to make the playoffs for 24 years in a row. But I learned to root for the underdog, and proudly sported my green and gold through the dark ages. On top of that my parents moved to North Dakota for 8 years. I had to be around these foul, vile, Vikings fans for half a decade or so until I could move back to MT where there are elk, trout, and much fewer Vikings fans. There are a few respectable people in ND although who also have seen the light and follow the Packers.
I was 11 years old wearing my new Packers Parka I just got for X-mas from my uncle. I’m walking to school and of course its -30 degrees like always in ND. People must think that they are the North Dakota Vikings because they all wear that ugly f***ing purple. Some kid 5 years older than me yells “The Packers suck!” I fire back “the vikings are losers, and really suck. How many super bowls or world championships have they won?” Green Bay at that time had won 11 world champion ships and or Super Bowls, the lowly ViQueens of course are perennial chokers and owned a big goose egg!
In typical viking bully fashion the 6 ft 220 lb freshman, who sported a full beard because he was held back 3 times, and his two neanderthal buddies who spontaneously pop out behind a snowbank tackle, kick, punch me, give me a snow swirly, and rip my new Packers Parka!
Maybe you get a sense of why I don’t like the Vikings and their fans. Incidents like this have happened until I was like 40 and I still have to be on my toes around da Vikes fans.
Well guess what a couple guys named Brett Favre and Reggie White show up, get the Pack back in the playoffs in 95, and bring Lombardi’s trophy back to Titletown in 1997. Now I’m flying high again, in the words of Ozzy Osbourne, well other than my motocross days, I’m finally flying high. Now of course I get accused of being a bandwagon fan by Viqueen fans, even though the Packer Coat I’m wearing is older than the Minnesota franchise!
to be continued