Being a Packers fan away from Wisconsin

The last time the Green Bay Packers were in a Super Bowl I was 9 years old, sitting in my living room which was filled with extended families and friends. Of the bits and pieces of that night I remember include where the TV was placed in the living room (the place where my Dad's chair sits now), eating lots of cheese and crackers, and all the excuses my Dad gave for the Packers losing (he bought me an NFC championship shirt instead of waiting for Super Bowl merchandise, he hosted a party so that's why they lost).

I can remember watching almost every Packers season closely since then with a couple of exceptions (occasionally theme parks took precedence) due to growing up. This season has been completely different than most. Instead of waking up 30 minutes before gametime (all of my former roommates can attest to this) and not leaving the house until the game was finished, I had to follow almost every game this year via gamecast on ESPN.com. Working here means working plenty of weekends, but I still made sure to try and catch the plays online and the highlights when I got home. Living here means following Kevin Siefert on twitter for updates instead of local news stories from WEAU or TMJ4.

Instead of watching with friends from home, twitter has replaced the living room for banter about how Mike McCarthy is going to blow the game, or making fun of how (awesome) Jordy Nelson has been playing that specific game. When I've been lucky enough to catch a game, its usually been at a bar instead of a home, but thats just made it all the more exciting. Finding fellow Packer fans in the sea of faces in New York has always been a pleasure.

The Bar exploded when Sam Shields intercepted Cutler in the NFC Championship

Speaking with Jets fans all season about how well our respective teams have been doing has been fun, and watching my team beat every new york team in every way this season has been all the more rewarding. I try to apologize instead of brag, but sometimes I get a little sarcastic. Oops.

So for this Super Bowl I've done my best successfully beat any superstition I may have. I'm wearing the exact same outfit I've worn for all the other packer games during the playoffs. I'm watching with someone from Wisconsin like all the other Packer playoff games, and I'll eat something with cheese in it during the game.

For the game itself, I think the Packers have as good of a chance as the Steelers for a victory. If the offense can throw the ball against the Steelers I think our defense will do what they do best and keep the Steelers at bay. And special teams just need to not screw things up. I don't care if they gain a single yard or not, just have good kick coverage and don't fumble and I'll be happy. If you're at all interested in my gametime banter, go ahead and follow me on twitter. There is a button that says 'Follow me" on the side of this blog. Just be prepared for a tweet every 15 minutes or so depending on how the game is going.

To all my loyal Packers fans out there. Enjoy the night, we don't get here every day! I'll be in Wisconsin in spirit.