[Diana in Wisconsin]

Ya gotta hand it to the AP. How they could make people who love football look like money grubbing, ticket scalping evil Christians was a stretch, but they pulled it off!

[MplsSteve]

I love the Packers. They've been the only team I've ever rooted for.

However this year, I have to commit the unthinkable.

I'm rooting for the Bears to beat Green Bay.

Why? I despise the Vikings and their fair-weather fans. I wanna see the Vikings knocked out of the play-offs.

[theDentist]

With the Green Bay Packers ... about to play their first-ever Christmas Day game at Lambeau Field...

"Excuse me, that's Lambert Field" - Sen Kerry, Candidate for President

[revtown]

Now they have some whine with their cheese.
If the packers were 11 and 3 and fighting the bears for 1st place, there would be no whining. This would be the biggest game of the year.

[Borges]

I don't think Packers fans would want to see the mauling they're going to get this Sunday anyway. The Bears defense is going to be hungry to shut down the next two opponents to go down as the best scoring defense in NFL history.

[KarlInOhio]

Soil Warming System: Installed in 1997 to replace original system, put in by Vince Lombardi for 1967 season (failed during the Ice Bowl); current system contains more than 30 miles of radiant heating pipe, which maintains a root-zone temperature of 70-plus degrees during winter months.

Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field? Feh!

[Logic n' Reason]

Dah Bers!

[SengirV]

What a bunch of fair weather fans. I don't want to hear about how great their fan base is anymore.

[wallcrawlr]

Longtime season ticket-holder William Swetlik of Green Bay has two tickets for sale - at face value - for a Bears game he hates to miss.
"Christmas Day is for Christ, not for football, and for my family," he said. "I want to be home with the kids. We have grandchildren coming from out of town. I want to visit with them for the day. That is the most important thing."
"I can't imagine why they scheduled it that way," he said. "As far as I am concerned, I wouldn't go to any football game on Christmas Day."

Sure he says that now...but if the Pack had a legitimate team he'd be there.

[Bender2]

Re: Green Bay Packers Football vs. Christmas (WI)

While I am always in favor of putting in a hint to location of a post, but how many Green Bays in the country have a team named the Packers?

[dhuffman@awod.com]

Merry Christmas. Ya kain't spiel krap wid'oubt da AP

I'm not a football fan, not a TV fan, not a crowd fan, not a people fan and not a fan of demotic liberals

[NC28203]

>>>"Christmas Day is for Christ, not for football, and for my family

Well, technically, every Sunday is for Christ and for family.

[kevkrom]

Longtime season ticket-holder William Swetlik of Green Bay has two tickets for sale - at face value - for a Bears game he hates to miss.... I can't imagine why they scheduled it that way," he said. "As far as I am concerned, I wouldn't go to any football game on Christmas Day."

Considering that the schedule's been out since before the season began, and he still has the tickets (Bears/Packers!), I would hazard a guess that he had every intention of going to this game until Green Bay flat out sucked this year. If he really never had any intent on seeing this game, he could have sold the tickets (for a good price!) back in August.

[BlueStateDepression]

some fans and brokers report declining demand for tickets

Being that season tickets have been on a sold out basis since 1960 and that the waiting list for them is some 25 years long (estimated of course), I would offer that this article is an example of spin and is limited to a game or two right now especially related to the holiday itself. Packers have had many losing seasons alongside many winnning ones and the fans have always been there to root their team on. Anyone that would even imply that support for the packers by their fans is declining has not spent too much time in Wisconsin, much less Green Bay. There simply are no better fans out there in the arena of professional football.

[AmusedBystander]

Christmas Day is for Christ, not for football

I don't know about Christ, but if someone offers to take me to the game on my birthday I would be honored.

[Watery Tart]

I don't think ticket-holders (selling their tickets to FIBs) are thinking this through.

It seems the Cubs fans have turned Miller Park into Wrigley North, so they are in the process of turning Lambeau into -- what the heck DO they call that ugly new -- stadium ?

(I have never said out loud that these people are losers who can't get tickets down in TrafficTown.)

(AND it's been a while since I've called that Twin Cities guy a "ViQUEEN" fan here at FR.)

(And, sadly, my nephew -- who has gone a long while without wearing The Paper Bag of Shame on his head at Packer games -- will have to get it out of the closet soon....)

FUN PACKER FACT:
We live somewhere between Madison and Milwaukee, so we can pick and choose which local reporters to watch for the local news. The Madison stations will have a lot of Badger news in their sports reporting. *yawn*

The Milwaukee news, on the other hand, OPENS the broadcast with Packer game recaps, interviews, etc. When it's time for the Milwaukee ticket-holders to use theirs, they have traffic reports about the highway from M'waukee to Green Bay. Of course, we have our weather and the weather where the TEAM is. Right after the news, we have a half hour on every channel that has its pundits giving recaps and predictions.

AND to all you out-of-staters: except for Madistan (mostly), the WHOLE STATE is rabid about the team. I see programs that say it's just the locals....

And we have out own "Secret Handshake." Anyone who can do an End Zone Yancey Thigpen Instant Replay is automatically IN -- no questions asked!

Playing on Christmas? Being one of the Christmas planners in the family, I can tell y'all it was a MUCH bigger problem in the Milwaukee area WHEN THE SCHEDULE CAME OUT. Then the season started....

[BigCinBigD]

The Cowboys play the panthers on Christmas Eve. I'm hoping for the best,but will load up on eggnog just in case.