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Glen Christensen - Packers Superfan and Collector

This is the first Packers superfan story I’ve done in awhile. I decided early on that I was going to make this a rather exclusive club. If anyone deserves to be the next inductee, it’s Glen Christensen. Glen, who lives in Grapevine Texas,  has put together the most amazing collection of Packers memorabilia and collectibles you’re like to see anywhere outside of the Packers Hall of Fame.

How about a life size Bart Starr replica statue? A bench from the Packers sideline in the 1960′s? An action photo of Curly Lambeau from 1921? He has them all and much, much more. You can view many of them at his new website, UltimatePackerCollection.com.

Here is Glen’s story:

When did you first become a Packers fan and what is the background story behind it?

I was born in Green Bayat St.VincentsHospitaland grew up just blocks from Lambeau Field where my Grandparents had a neighborhood store on 9^th Street.  I literally have been a fan my entire life. My Green and Gold blood comes from my mom and dad.  My mom was the first majorette with the Green Bay Packer Lumberjack Band from 1940-1944.  She was hired by Curley Lambeau and Wilner Burke after seeing her twirl at halftime at aGreen BayEastHigh School game.  My Dad sold cars for Don Hutson and he had a lot of great stories to tell about that as well.  It seems my dad had an uncanny likeness to Hutson so Don would send him out to the lot some times to fool prospective customers that they were meeting the great Don Hutson.  My Dad also worked as an artist for Romo display and was involved in the “G” decal design for the helmets. Growing up I remember having brown paper packages in my Dads cabinets that were full of the helmet “G’s” ……  I also remember decorating my bikes with them, folders, etc.  Oh how I wish I had those original, vintage helmet decals today!  Read more... (1876 words + 3 images, estimated 7:30 mins reading time)

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Jackie shows off her tackling form for coach Gilbert Brown

As the Monty Python line goes, “And now for something completely different…”

I’m not sure how this even started, but I noticed something on twitter one day about a woman who had tried out for and earned a spot on the Green Bay Chill – that other football team in Green Bay. I did know that the Chill are coached by former Packer fan favorite Gilbert “The GraveDigger” Brown. However, it also dawned on me that I really knew little else, if anything, about the Lingerie Football league, other than, um, the outfits they wear.

I’m always interested in personal stories, so I started to wonder, what is the back story of a woman who wants to play full-contact football, an… ahem… “man’s” game, but do it while dressed in rather feminine outfits? As the saying goes, “Enquiring minds want to know”, so I sought out this young lady and asked if we could hear her story. She more than willingly obliged, so here is the story of Jackie Gaertig, pride of Oconto Falls, WI, and newest member of the Green Bay Chill:

As a young child I would watch the Green Bay Packers every Sunday and have been a die hard Packer fan ever since. My stepfather was a big Packer Fan and I swear you could hear him throughout the whole neighborhood cheering during the game if the windows were open.  Read more... (1946 words + 3 images, estimated 7:47 mins reading time)

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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Part 1 of this two-part article can be found here.

Dallas Texas Super Bowl Baby! The day was finally here. The cellphone alarm woke my cousin Pete and I up around 8:30AM. We each took a quick shower, changed into our game day attire, and headed downstairs for the free breakfast at the hotel.

Once again, there were plenty of Steeler Jerseys to be seen, with just a spattering of Green and gold mixed in.  We joined a couple of fellow Packer fans about our age, introduced ourselves and talked Packers while we ate breakfast.  These two fans were originally from Wisconsin, but had both re-located after getting married (to Alabama and North Carolina, I believe).

They talked about some of their early memories in Green Bay and were eager to hear our stories about how we became and stayed Packers fans while living in New Jersey. We had planned to get out earlier and make it over to the NFL Experience, but ended up talking with these guys for almost an hour.

One of the guys was convinced my cousin would make the perfect Vince Lombardi, in a fedora and topcoat and kept coming back to that during the conversation. They randomly threw a little Packers history trivia at us, probably figuring what do a couple of guys from Jersey know, but of course, we handled it all without a problem.  Read more... (4579 words + 19 images, estimated 18:19 mins reading time)

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As Jermichael Finley now famously said at the Packers’ 2010 family night scrimmage, “I’ve got ONE word: Dallas Texas Super Bowl, Baby.” OK say, so it’s five words. But who cares?

What an excellent adventure it was. As I sit down to write this, I realize that at this time last week, I was on Texas I-30, driving to Cowboys Stadium. A battle between two teams with the most respected organizations in sports awaited, and the game did not disappoint. Especially if you were a Packers Fan.

Since returning to reality back home in NJ, work has kept me inundated and unable to properly enjoy or reflect on that weekend (really, I could have used a week off after the game – I’ll have to remember that if there’s a next time).

So as I sit here on this football-less Sunday, I’m going to look back and properly reflect on my experience. And as Elton John said, “I hope you don’t mind if, I put down in words….  how wonderful life is when the Packers are Champs.” Sorry Elton…

3:00AM Saturday, Feb 5th. RING! RING! RING!  The alarm goes off. “You have got to be kidding me”, I think to myself. But there was no hesitation. I jumped out of bed and into the shower.  I was on the road by 3:45 to catch a 6:20 flight out of JFK airport in NY.  Read more... (2594 words + 9 images, estimated 10:23 mins reading time)

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My wife and I moments after the Packers punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.

My wife and I made the trek to Chicago last weekend to watch the NFC Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. In addition to seeing the Packers win and go back to the Super Bowl, we met some new friends, discovered a Packers bar in the heart of Bears territory and left with memories that will last the rest of our lives.

This is the uncut and unedited story from our trip. Enjoy.

Never Get in a Car With Strangers (unless they’re Packers fans)

It was about 6 p.m. on Saturday when I realized this trip was going to be a fun one. That’s when I piled into John Rehor’s car with my wife, Corey Behnke and Wally Pingel to try and find Will’s Northwoods, a famous Packers bar in Chicago.

In most situations, getting into a car with three people you know only through Twitter and met in person just an hour ago is a bad idea. But these people were Packers fans — fun Packers fans! What’s the harm in climbing into a car with the co-founder of Cheesehead TV, one of the most well-known Packers bloggers out there, and a man responsible for designing Packers-themed web sites?  Read more... (2289 words + 1 image, estimated 9:09 mins reading time)

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Green Bay Packer Superfan Steve Tate, aka “The Owner”, is a ubiquitous presence in Green Bay. Go to just about any Packers-related event and you’ll see Steve there in full Packers uniform wearing his “The Owner” cheesehead. Here is his story:

When did you first become a Packers fans and what is the background story behind it?
I have been asked this question a number of times and I have two basic answers.
1) As long as I can remember I have been a big Green Bay Packer fan. I think it all goes back to that we were fairly poor when I was young and there was not a lot of entertainment or trips and my dad was gone working long hours. But every time the Packers were playing we would listen, or watch them. In the 60s the Packers were the NFL’s best team and they became the first and real America’s team.
2) From this background I have tracked back to when I first became a Packer fan and that goes back to April of 1957. I was born in January of 1958.

What are your earliest memories of the Green Bay Packers?
Winning, family and the guys flying with the backpacks that made them airborne in Super Bowl II!

How did your Packer fandom evolve into the persona “Steve Tate, NFL Owner”?
I have always wanted a Green Bay Packer share of stock. I did not think there would be another stock sale so I wanted to buy one that was issued to someone else for my personal Packer collection. I started my Green Bay Packer memorabilia collection when I lived in Nebraska for 3.5 years when a friend gave me two Packer rookie cards in 1992.  Read more... (2319 words + 6 images, estimated 9:17 mins reading time)

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