The day had arrived, Football Sunday, the game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers, the reason I was in Green Bay to begin with. The game was scheduled for 3:30pm, so my plan was to eat a big breakfast and get to Lambeau Field early to have look around at the historic football stadium before the game started.
Although I was very happy with the quality of food at Perkins, and overall seemed like I spent more time there than my hotel room, I wanted to give a new place a try for breakfast, and that was a place down the block from Perkins called the Pancake House. I didn't go to eat in any of my Giants gear, I was going to eat there first, then get back to my room to change before the game. When I arrived at the the place, I had noticed there was a prediction on their front sign about the Packers winning the game. Despite that, I still wanted to go inside and try their pancakes, but one look inside the window and I knew there was no way I was getting in. The place was completely full and there were a large number of people by the front entrance lined up to be seated. Not feeling in the mood to wait an hour or so for a table, I resorted back to my new old favorite in Perkins. Aftter only a few minutes wait, I had a booth all to myself and ordered their 'Hearty Breakfast' which included three pancakes, two eggs, two strips of bacon, two breakfast sausages, two linked sausages, hash browns, and I had a cup of hot chocolate to go with it(no whipped cream).
I came close to finishing my plate and it was enough food that I knew I wouldn't have to worry about eating anything until later on that night. After yet another good Perkins experience, I returned to my room to shower and get dressed for the game. The forecast was set to be around thirty-degrees, which is very merciful for Green Bay during this time of the year. With that in mind, stadiums tend to be colder and who knows what the temperature would drop to when it became nightfall. To make sure I would stay warm, I put on thermals, doubled my socks, pair of heavy boxers, t-shirt, regular shirt, zipper sweater, two hooded-sweatshirts, pajama pants, regular pants, two pairs of gloves, and two woolen hats. I had so much gear on I felt like I was a football players about to play that day. All the clothes and all the food at Perkins should've kept me warm while I was going to be outdoors for all those hours. I had indea where Lambeau Field was relative to my hotel, but not wanting to risk getting lost and wasting time, I just took a cab to the game which was only about a ten minute ride.
The cab driver left me off at a busy street near Lambeau Field which had a row of bars and resturants, as well as hotels that were all jammed up with fans going to the game. Although most fans were wearing the green and gold of the Packers, there were a respectable amount of fellow Giants fans in sight wearing blue and white. Passing all these fans I saw a few interesting places, one of them being former Green Bay Packer Brett Favre's Steakhouse, another a TV station which served the local FOX and CW channels in Green Bay. Finally, I came up the legendary Lambeau Field which has served home to the Green Bay Packers since 1957 and has been one of the staples of the NFL. On the side of the stadium that I was at, there was a large statue of the great former Packers head coach, and fellow Fordham University graduate, Vince Lombardi. When I first entered the stadium, I went into their atrium area which was like an indoor mall filled with places to have food and drinks before the game. There were three floors, although fans needed a special pass in order to reach the third floor. On the ground floor the local Packers radio station was airing a pregame show live, and had a recent retired Packers player on the panel.
The ground floor also had the Packers pro-shop to buy Packers gear, a Packers Hall of Fame exhibit, and stands to buy food or drinks. I was still full from the big breakfast, so I just had a frozen margarita to hold me over. The second floor had a nice sportsbar/resturant called Curley's Pub, and the burgers smelt so nice I wished I had left some room in my stomach for one. Also to my surprise there was a video game room and other activities for fans as they wait for the start of the game. The main point of this atrium is to have a warm place for fans for interact, as outdoors in Green Bay can be quite harsh during the winter. As I was peering over the second floor railing and looking at the crowd gathering below, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and it was a Packers fan in a long grey beard who was looking to strike up a conversation. He was quite friendly and we spoke about ten minutes on our thoughts about the game which was about to start soon. Not too long after he parted, another couple of Packers fans made their way towards me and we started talking. It was a father and son duo, and the son was in a wheelchair from a bad car accident he had recently been in. He wasn't paralyzed, but had a recent operation to have a titanium hip inserted, and was in no shape to be walking around a fast-paced atmosphere like a football game. The father showed me a pictured of the wrecked cadillac he had on his iPhone. Apparently, the son had a seizure while driving and smashed into a pole. To this day he can't remember the incident, and even had me feel the lump that is still on his head. A stadium worker saw the three of us talking, and offered to take pictures for us, so we all took some shots with eachothers' cameras.
As game time approached, I had myself another hot chocolate and I made my way to my seat to look at the field for the very first time. It all seemed like what is always seen on TV, from the metal benches that serve as seats, to the word "Green Bay" written in yellow lettering in each of the end zones. My seat was rather nice, it was only forty-one rows up from one of the end zones, plus is was an aisle seat which allowed me the freedom to move around as I wished. By the time I was out there, the Giants team was already on the field warming up for the game and going through some practice drills. More and more fans started filing into their seats and the crowd grew louder and louder as the game was about to start. The National Anthem was topped off by a B-1 or B-2 Bomber which flew overhead and gave off a thunderous echo. Going into this game, the Green Bay Packers were the clear favorites to win being the defending Superbowl champions, having their quarterback Aaron Rodgers putting up Most Valuable Player(MVP) statistics this season, and posting a near perfect 15-1 record in the regular season which gave them a week off during the first round of the playoffs. The New York Giants had a 9-7 regular season record, lost to the Packers earlier in the season, were the road team, and had to beat the Atlanta Falcons last week in order to face Green Bay Packers in the second round. The only advantage the Giants had was they had been playing much better in recent weeks, and with the Packers being off last week, there was a chance they could be rusty. Still, most people, including myself, felt most likely the Packers would win this game.
The Giants had the ball first and put the first points of the game on the board with a 3-0 lead. Green Bay came right back and put three points of their own on the board to tie the game at 3-3. The back and forth scoring continued with the Giants going up 10-3 and then Green Bay answering back to make it 10-10. As the first half of the game was about to come to a close, the Giants were able to score ten more points and enter haltime with a 20-10 lead, stunning just about everyone in the crowd. The mood was quiet and somber as Packers fans couldn't believe what they had been witnessing, but there was still a whole other half for their team to score more points. Although I spent some time watching a group of dummers perform in the hallway during the break, I was basically in the bathroom the whole time waiting on a long line that cost me a few minutes of action when the game resumed. The Packers did score three more points to inch closer at 20-13, but then the Giants answered with three points to make the score 23-13. As the game was coming to a close, the Giants added another shocker by going up 30-13 that had Packers fans beginning to head for the exits as the reality of defeat seemed inevitable. I was still nervous that it all seemed to good to be true, and my anxiety only increased as the Packers cut the lead down to 30-20, but the Giants added another score to make it 37-20, which was too much for the Packers to have to make up in the final minutes of the game. The final score was 37-20 Giants in what has to be one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history.
Packers fans filed out of Lambeau Field in stunned disbelief and Giants fans started to gather joyfully near where the Giants players' sideline was. The Packers fans I came upon were quite gracious in their loss and congradulated me on the Giants win, although I'm not sure I had much to do with the outcome. I joined fellow Giants fans towards the field area and took in the special moment that only a great sporting event like that could offer. There was one Packers fan in a yellow hooded-sweatshirt who was holding his head in hands and was near crying, I guess that's the other side of the coin of what a sporting event like that could offer. Not sure if or when I would ever return to Lambeau Field, I made sure to get as close as possible to field to take some pictures until finally the cops told everyone it was time to leave the stadium. In the hallways and outside the stadium there were plenty of Giants fans running around and yelling while Packers fans were talking a silent walk home. I didn't feel like waiting for a cab, and since I studied the route getting to the stadium, I felt I might as well just walk back to my hotel. Although all Packers fans I came across were friendly up to that point, since I was going to be walking through residental streets and Wisconsin is big on guns/hunting, I made sure to keep my head down and walk fast. The entire town had an irrely silence to it and after a few blocks it seemed like there was no one to be seen at all. One good surprise came that I passed a Leo Street, which also happens to be the name of my cat.
By this time my big breakfast had worn off and I was hungry again, so I was looking forward to yet another visit to Perkins when I got back. I went to the hotel first to remove my Giants clothing as not to rub it into the face of the Packers faithful, as well as not serve a target for hunters on the prowl. Just before I got back to the hotel I saw that there was an Arby's nearby with an old fashioned sign, like the McDonald's had, but as awesome as the Arby's sign was, I couldn't go against Perkins. There were some Packers fans inside, probably stopping off the get something to eat after the game as I was, and I did my best to remain a silent enemy. For dinner I went with the country-fried steak, dipped in their homemade gravy, with sides of mash potatoes and corn. Since its hard to leave Perkins without having a slice of their homemade pie, and to celebrate the Giants victory, I had a piece of lemon meringue pie. After the meal I walked back towards the hotel and had a chance to pass the Pancake Place yet again which earlier in the day was predicting a Packers victory, but by night it was instead thanking their hometown Packers for a wonderful season.
That taught me to never listen to what a pancake establishment has to say...
Although I was very happy with the quality of food at Perkins, and overall seemed like I spent more time there than my hotel room, I wanted to give a new place a try for breakfast, and that was a place down the block from Perkins called the Pancake House. I didn't go to eat in any of my Giants gear, I was going to eat there first, then get back to my room to change before the game. When I arrived at the the place, I had noticed there was a prediction on their front sign about the Packers winning the game. Despite that, I still wanted to go inside and try their pancakes, but one look inside the window and I knew there was no way I was getting in. The place was completely full and there were a large number of people by the front entrance lined up to be seated. Not feeling in the mood to wait an hour or so for a table, I resorted back to my new old favorite in Perkins. Aftter only a few minutes wait, I had a booth all to myself and ordered their 'Hearty Breakfast' which included three pancakes, two eggs, two strips of bacon, two breakfast sausages, two linked sausages, hash browns, and I had a cup of hot chocolate to go with it(no whipped cream).
I came close to finishing my plate and it was enough food that I knew I wouldn't have to worry about eating anything until later on that night. After yet another good Perkins experience, I returned to my room to shower and get dressed for the game. The forecast was set to be around thirty-degrees, which is very merciful for Green Bay during this time of the year. With that in mind, stadiums tend to be colder and who knows what the temperature would drop to when it became nightfall. To make sure I would stay warm, I put on thermals, doubled my socks, pair of heavy boxers, t-shirt, regular shirt, zipper sweater, two hooded-sweatshirts, pajama pants, regular pants, two pairs of gloves, and two woolen hats. I had so much gear on I felt like I was a football players about to play that day. All the clothes and all the food at Perkins should've kept me warm while I was going to be outdoors for all those hours. I had indea where Lambeau Field was relative to my hotel, but not wanting to risk getting lost and wasting time, I just took a cab to the game which was only about a ten minute ride.
The cab driver left me off at a busy street near Lambeau Field which had a row of bars and resturants, as well as hotels that were all jammed up with fans going to the game. Although most fans were wearing the green and gold of the Packers, there were a respectable amount of fellow Giants fans in sight wearing blue and white. Passing all these fans I saw a few interesting places, one of them being former Green Bay Packer Brett Favre's Steakhouse, another a TV station which served the local FOX and CW channels in Green Bay. Finally, I came up the legendary Lambeau Field which has served home to the Green Bay Packers since 1957 and has been one of the staples of the NFL. On the side of the stadium that I was at, there was a large statue of the great former Packers head coach, and fellow Fordham University graduate, Vince Lombardi. When I first entered the stadium, I went into their atrium area which was like an indoor mall filled with places to have food and drinks before the game. There were three floors, although fans needed a special pass in order to reach the third floor. On the ground floor the local Packers radio station was airing a pregame show live, and had a recent retired Packers player on the panel.
The ground floor also had the Packers pro-shop to buy Packers gear, a Packers Hall of Fame exhibit, and stands to buy food or drinks. I was still full from the big breakfast, so I just had a frozen margarita to hold me over. The second floor had a nice sportsbar/resturant called Curley's Pub, and the burgers smelt so nice I wished I had left some room in my stomach for one. Also to my surprise there was a video game room and other activities for fans as they wait for the start of the game. The main point of this atrium is to have a warm place for fans for interact, as outdoors in Green Bay can be quite harsh during the winter. As I was peering over the second floor railing and looking at the crowd gathering below, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and it was a Packers fan in a long grey beard who was looking to strike up a conversation. He was quite friendly and we spoke about ten minutes on our thoughts about the game which was about to start soon. Not too long after he parted, another couple of Packers fans made their way towards me and we started talking. It was a father and son duo, and the son was in a wheelchair from a bad car accident he had recently been in. He wasn't paralyzed, but had a recent operation to have a titanium hip inserted, and was in no shape to be walking around a fast-paced atmosphere like a football game. The father showed me a pictured of the wrecked cadillac he had on his iPhone. Apparently, the son had a seizure while driving and smashed into a pole. To this day he can't remember the incident, and even had me feel the lump that is still on his head. A stadium worker saw the three of us talking, and offered to take pictures for us, so we all took some shots with eachothers' cameras.
As game time approached, I had myself another hot chocolate and I made my way to my seat to look at the field for the very first time. It all seemed like what is always seen on TV, from the metal benches that serve as seats, to the word "Green Bay" written in yellow lettering in each of the end zones. My seat was rather nice, it was only forty-one rows up from one of the end zones, plus is was an aisle seat which allowed me the freedom to move around as I wished. By the time I was out there, the Giants team was already on the field warming up for the game and going through some practice drills. More and more fans started filing into their seats and the crowd grew louder and louder as the game was about to start. The National Anthem was topped off by a B-1 or B-2 Bomber which flew overhead and gave off a thunderous echo. Going into this game, the Green Bay Packers were the clear favorites to win being the defending Superbowl champions, having their quarterback Aaron Rodgers putting up Most Valuable Player(MVP) statistics this season, and posting a near perfect 15-1 record in the regular season which gave them a week off during the first round of the playoffs. The New York Giants had a 9-7 regular season record, lost to the Packers earlier in the season, were the road team, and had to beat the Atlanta Falcons last week in order to face Green Bay Packers in the second round. The only advantage the Giants had was they had been playing much better in recent weeks, and with the Packers being off last week, there was a chance they could be rusty. Still, most people, including myself, felt most likely the Packers would win this game.
The Giants had the ball first and put the first points of the game on the board with a 3-0 lead. Green Bay came right back and put three points of their own on the board to tie the game at 3-3. The back and forth scoring continued with the Giants going up 10-3 and then Green Bay answering back to make it 10-10. As the first half of the game was about to come to a close, the Giants were able to score ten more points and enter haltime with a 20-10 lead, stunning just about everyone in the crowd. The mood was quiet and somber as Packers fans couldn't believe what they had been witnessing, but there was still a whole other half for their team to score more points. Although I spent some time watching a group of dummers perform in the hallway during the break, I was basically in the bathroom the whole time waiting on a long line that cost me a few minutes of action when the game resumed. The Packers did score three more points to inch closer at 20-13, but then the Giants answered with three points to make the score 23-13. As the game was coming to a close, the Giants added another shocker by going up 30-13 that had Packers fans beginning to head for the exits as the reality of defeat seemed inevitable. I was still nervous that it all seemed to good to be true, and my anxiety only increased as the Packers cut the lead down to 30-20, but the Giants added another score to make it 37-20, which was too much for the Packers to have to make up in the final minutes of the game. The final score was 37-20 Giants in what has to be one of the biggest upsets in NFL playoff history.
Packers fans filed out of Lambeau Field in stunned disbelief and Giants fans started to gather joyfully near where the Giants players' sideline was. The Packers fans I came upon were quite gracious in their loss and congradulated me on the Giants win, although I'm not sure I had much to do with the outcome. I joined fellow Giants fans towards the field area and took in the special moment that only a great sporting event like that could offer. There was one Packers fan in a yellow hooded-sweatshirt who was holding his head in hands and was near crying, I guess that's the other side of the coin of what a sporting event like that could offer. Not sure if or when I would ever return to Lambeau Field, I made sure to get as close as possible to field to take some pictures until finally the cops told everyone it was time to leave the stadium. In the hallways and outside the stadium there were plenty of Giants fans running around and yelling while Packers fans were talking a silent walk home. I didn't feel like waiting for a cab, and since I studied the route getting to the stadium, I felt I might as well just walk back to my hotel. Although all Packers fans I came across were friendly up to that point, since I was going to be walking through residental streets and Wisconsin is big on guns/hunting, I made sure to keep my head down and walk fast. The entire town had an irrely silence to it and after a few blocks it seemed like there was no one to be seen at all. One good surprise came that I passed a Leo Street, which also happens to be the name of my cat.
By this time my big breakfast had worn off and I was hungry again, so I was looking forward to yet another visit to Perkins when I got back. I went to the hotel first to remove my Giants clothing as not to rub it into the face of the Packers faithful, as well as not serve a target for hunters on the prowl. Just before I got back to the hotel I saw that there was an Arby's nearby with an old fashioned sign, like the McDonald's had, but as awesome as the Arby's sign was, I couldn't go against Perkins. There were some Packers fans inside, probably stopping off the get something to eat after the game as I was, and I did my best to remain a silent enemy. For dinner I went with the country-fried steak, dipped in their homemade gravy, with sides of mash potatoes and corn. Since its hard to leave Perkins without having a slice of their homemade pie, and to celebrate the Giants victory, I had a piece of lemon meringue pie. After the meal I walked back towards the hotel and had a chance to pass the Pancake Place yet again which earlier in the day was predicting a Packers victory, but by night it was instead thanking their hometown Packers for a wonderful season.
That taught me to never listen to what a pancake establishment has to say...
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