What makes the end of the season for Green Bay yesterday particularly awful for me is the loss of solidarity in Wisconsin. For 20 short weeks, all of Wisconsin is pretty much united behind the Pack. Granted, we have differences of opinion about the plays, the coaching, the players and even the weather during the game….but deep down, we all want the same exact thing, a trip to the Super Bowl. And we all agree that the Bears suck. The Packers give us all a sense of unity. We support each other while cheering on our team. There is pride in our history and accomplishments. There is a sense of camaraderie between all people—young or old, Black or White, Democrat or Republican—nothing comes between us when the game is on during football season.
With that final Seattle touchdown, all of those good feelings are gone and we will go back to being one of the most polarized states in the Union. And maybe with good reason. We will argue with our friends and families at the dinner table or at a party, some of us will believe anything we see on Fox News and others will protest. Yesterday, in Seattle, we lost the one thing that we have in common….and maybe that is a part of why every one feels so bad today.
Try to keep a little bit of that warmth for your fellow Packer fans and maybe, one day, we can “just all get along.”
Great post! You’re a terrific addition to BB. We still have one unifying theme of conversation this year – the unintimidated one’s presidential run. I’m not being snarky. Right, Left, Center, I’m pretty sure we’ll all be wincing soon.
You say lets get along, then belittle people who watch Fox News. How about the republican majority do what the majority of voters elected them to do and pass right-wing conservative legislation. Your post is the reason why I won’t try and make amends. Just like evey liberal I know, tolerance but only if you agree with me!
Lefties don’t belittle the people just for watching it, just for believing that what FOX brings is actually honest news and not having figured out that there is no honest news coming over any of the corporate media in the USA. Scott Walker and Republican leadership are the ones laughing behind your back for getting your vote and for your believing that FOX is actually bringing you any real news as he uses right-wing ignorance to further his political ambitions.
Governor Walker backs the Pack because pro football players are strong UNION workers who’ve pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps and have demanded the kind of good paying jobs he keeps talking about with high salaries and health coverage that we all should be having and enjoying. Remember, this is what he wants for all of us instead of minimum wage or living wage promises backed by legislation.
As Walker’s only talents are promising donor paybacks for campaign contributions and never telling the truth or taking responsibility,(he can always blame failure on god) who do you think he is selling out to get those big campaign dollars?
Pretty thin-skinned to be needled by a Fox News reference? Personally, I follow at least 10 media outlets a day and more in a week but I sure would laugh off any assumption I buy into whatever I read on the NY Times editorial page. Do you think maybe playing the victim card so quickly renders you ridiculous more than any media consumption habit would?
NanNor, (you may call me nonq, all my friends do and thanks for your posting participation)
When reading the schtick by someone like the (no-bid contract recipient of state taxpayer funds, to have near total control media access to the goings on in our state legislature, the existence of which, one has to believe was initially “arranged,” through an insider and $$ beneficiary such as Margaret Farrow) president of the WI Eye and of someone like Charles Franklin, both of whom base their own job relevance and continued incomes on promoting controversy, take it with a grain of salt as they continue to try to push any new meme for which they both benefit greatly.
While the state media continue with their shallow coverage of political horse races and to contrive, “controversy,” among citizens to divide us and to fan the flames of minor differences, they deprive us all of factual analysis or any revelations about what is actually going on behind the scenes by the PTB suppressing all of us.
Personally I don’t watch or support any scholastic, amateur or professional football.
Agree – even most Progressive outlets and certainly all “liberal” outlets fail by upholding artificial constructs of African-Americans care about this, LGBT about that, and women, and Latinos and then they write of middle class and worker policies as if all they’re mutually exclusive from these sub-groups. The Democratic Party has made this mistake in Wisconsin and elsewhere and it’s going to fail them nationally in a big way in 2016. Introducing a raft of policies after you’ve lost both congressional majorities and have no shot at passing the legislation is awfully weak tea. This is precisely why the only shot at a future for the DPW is to elect a chair who’s prepared to fight off the state and national Democratic power structure and focus on workers and middle class families everywhere in Wisconsin.
nonq, I was just linking to the article that sparked my idea for the post, but what you say is true. Where are Woodward and Bernstein now that we really need them? Oh yeah, on Morning Joe.
It was only a game.
I, as most Packer fans, died a thousand deaths at the loss. Yes, I too, briefly, wanted to blame someone, anyone, but then I remembered all the enjoyment the Packers had provided me during this and previous seasons. And there had been no immorality or grave injustice committed or, thankfully, no serious injury.
Finally, appreciation and acceptance replaced my deep disappointment and seeking a culprit to blame for the loss.
It was only a game.
Unfortunately, I had to return to the real world of a State and state where there is immorality, grave injustice, and serious injury inflicted upon its citizens.
It’s known as the inept and criminal governance by a John Doe.
What, nothing substantive to add to the conversation?
Says the one with the least “Substantive” post.
Reality Zach, you can deflect with whatever personal attack you want, doesn’t change the truth about Mary and Mike.
Look, I’m just wondering if all you’re gonna do is troll.
Like Obama at his State of the Union?
Zach, he can’t even troll with any expertise or authority. I’d say get the hook.
As tough as that loss was on Sunday, I think we have to look on the positive side. One bright spot is that Governor Walker won’t have 3 weeks of uncritical and unlimited national exposure as the #1 Packer fan in America.
Most of the most vehement Packer fans that I know are also HUGE supporters of Scott Walker; to the point of taking aggressive actions to show their HATRED for public employees on a daily basis for the past four years. As a public employee, I rather enjoy watching these people feel 1/100 of the pain that they have inflicted on their neighbors and the rest of Wisconsin who have been the scapegoats targeted by Walker.
Watching some of these people, the kind of people who have actually bragged about keying cars that had a Penzey’s “Love Teachers” bumper sticker on it, leave the bar crying over the Packer’s loss, was pretty satisfying to me. As some of the earlier posters (trolls ?) on this thread have proved, when you live a life of dishing out HATRED towards others, don’t be too surprised when the targets of your hatred have little sympathy for you when you are feeling down.