Seriously, I did buy Liz a share of stock in the Pack last December, because she has admired the way that the town owns the team, not an individual. She has almost got me convinced that it would be a valuable concept for the regions the NFL teams play in to own the teams like the Packers. In Green Bay's case it was a necessity when the meat packers who were running a local football team had to come up with some serious money to buy a franchise in the new NFL. They sold stock to the town,and the rest is history.
There is a much closer bond between the team, players and fans than those I've been around, the Browns, Giants and Pats. The Packers training facility is right across the street from the stadium. Because the team only has the locker room in the stadium, they must walk across the street after practice in the morning. A tradition was started sometime in years gone by, of a kid offering his bike to a practice weary player. It was probably gratefully accepted and more bikes offered, until the players now virtually all ride kids bikes! This is no problem for when the kid is a teenager, the sizes almost match, such as Clay Mathews in the above picture.
The problem becomes immediately apparent when the kid is much smaller, or a girl. The players are having a genuine good time here. The kids usually can't hide their delight, and we heard the players engaged in conversations with them on the way by us. We had a great time watching, and while Liz has confidentiality agreements that keep her from telling even me, she says don't worry about the Packs D this year.
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