Those Places Thursday - Pilgrimages to Lambeau Field

The Atrium entrance to Lambeau

It sounds silly, I mean no one is going to Lambeau Field to worship or anything, but to Packers fans from all over, getting to Lambeau Field is a pretty big deal.  Getting season tickets, well, that's a huge deal.

The Green Bay Packers have an extraordinary history, heck the trophy awarded to the Super Bowl winner is named after former Green Bay Packer coach, Vince Lombardi.  Lombardi is looked at as an inspiration to football fans and players everywhere.  Heck, one of my nephews is named Vincent if that tells you about Packer love!

One of the many businesses with Packer pride

I’ve been to Lambeau several times.  My husband is originally from Green Bay and every time we go home to visit a trip to Lambeau Field is on the schedule (and a Packer game if they’re playing).  Green Bay exudes Packers.  Almost every business has something Packer in the store and Packer gear among kids and adults alike is a clothing staple.

Want to go to a Packers home game?  Well, unless you know someone with season tickets or find a dealer authorized to sell tickets for season ticket holders that aren’t going to the game that weekend, you’re pretty much out of luck.  The Packers games have been sold out since 1960.  So if you want to go and live in the vicinity, best sign up for season tickets, but…

Getting season tickets is no easy matter.  You will wait decades, or even your entire life without getting season tickets.  It used to be that you could will someone your place on the waiting list if you died, but no more.  Luckily, you can still will your tickets to someone so it’s possible to keep them in the family!

In front of Lambeau with Benjamin

 To illustrate how long it takes, and how important it is, to get season tickets, after our first son was born we flew to Wisconsin from Hawaii to have Benjamin baptized in my husband’s church…and then we drove to Lambeau Field and put his name on the waiting list for season tickets.  After our second son was born, we drove from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to have Daniel baptized in my church and then a few days later drove to Wisconsin to see family…and to go to Lambeau and put his name on the waiting list for season tickets.  Benjamin was born in 2001 and his number on the waiting list the last we checked is 47560.  Daniel was born in 2006 and his number is 68529.

I mentioned earlier that almost all stores have something cheering the Packers on inside, but lets talk about the city.  The McDonalds restaurants are GREEN & GOLD!!! 

A Green Bay McDonalds

You’ve seen signs up north that tell you not to park on this side of the street due to street sweeping or plowing?  Well, in Green Bay you see street signs that say “No Parking Day of Packer Game”!

A very unique sign

Many streets, particularly near Lambeau Field, are named for popular/famous Packer players and coaches, and Brett Favre owns a steakhouse near the stadium!

Well, speaking of Brett Favre what Packer fans had heartache about (apart from him being just a first class drama queen) was the fact that he didn’t retire (you know…the final time he retired) straight from the Packers.  His last team that he played for should have been the Packers, and the silliness that went on (and the reasons were many, varied, and complicated) should never have happened.  He should have gone out gloriously, and not gone out with a text of his genitals!

Despite the Favre-drama and how upset fans were at his bumping around to other teams, what they support

fully is Aaron Rogers.  Not only is Rogers a 1^st class quarterback, but that’s what Packer fans do.  They support their team.  They don’t support their team when they’re winning.  They support their team whether they’re winning or whether they’re having a terrible season!  Packer fans don’t walk out of football games.  They stay to support their team, not what you see when you watch other teams play…they’re losing and the stands empty.  Nope…not for my Packers.  Die hard fans, always. 

Lambeau isn’t a covered stadium either, and as you might expect, it snows in Green Bay, so after it snows the fans come out to shovel the stands and get the stadium ready for the game.  They come out in droves to shovel!  In fact earlier this year the stadium had to turn away hundreds of people because there were just too many of them!  There were even some fans that drove more than 3 hours so they could shovel.  It was like they were waiting for Black Friday Holiday deals outside Walmart.  They waited for the stadium to open and to be among the people selected.  Sure they get paid, but they do it because they are fans!

Going to a game is an all-day affair….OK…most of the day affair.  You first have to find a place to park.  There simply isn’t enough room at Lambeau to park (and it’s expensive!), but if you drive around (or know the right people) you can find parking near the stadium.  Lambeau is right next to a residential area.  Quite literally there are homes across the street from the stadium!  People rent out their lawns for anywhere from $10-$25.00+ dollars per car to park.  I don’t know what it does to their lawn, but do the math…if you fit 10+ cars on your lawn each time the Packers play, that’s a nice chunk of change!

Outside Lambeau after signing Danny up for tickets

So we park on a friend of a friend’s lawn and then we tailgate.  Sometimes it’s just sandwiches, and sometimes it’s much more, but a tailgate is required…even if it’s 5 degrees!  You dress for the game.  You bundle up in the winter.  Seriously bundled up!  Then you head in about 45 minutes to and hour prior to kickoff so you can get through security, get a tasty beverage and get to your seat.  After the game you go back to your car and chill out for about an hour until the traffic clears before even attempting to head home.

The Packers aren’t owned by one person.  They are owned by the fans themselves.  In fact, as I type this, the last day to purchase stock in the Green Bay Packers is coming to an end.  Perhaps we’ll purchase a couple shares before midnight.  If not, we’ll wait for the next stock option.  How much are shares going for?  $250!  It’s one of the ways that this non-profit organization raises extra funds.

I'm not originally from Green Bay, but as I've blogged before, I've whole-heartedly married into a Packer family and am a die hard fan.  I love the passion the fans have as well as the sense of humor.  This DirecTV ad makes me laugh.  It's very spot-on.  The hand-made sweater.  The priest sitting in the room with her and the team rivalry (although they would have been more on target had it been a Bears fan that moved in).

Sports Center Saturday - It's in the Wedding Vows

My two little Packer fans before Super Bowl XLV

"...To love, honor, obey, and raise little Packer fans as long as you both shall live."  I do.

Our 2007 Family Christmas picture

It sounds so silly, but being a Green Bay Packer fan is no part-time job.  Fans live up to the term "fanatical", but in the positive meaning of the word!  Wisconsin Packer fans are even more passionate about their team (which includes those from Wisconsin that end up elsewhere in this great world!).  My husband is from Green Bay.  Born and raised.  So you know what that means...it was an unspoken part of the wedding vows...

I never watched football growing up, so I became a Packer fan by marriage in 1999 and never looked back.  It's easy to get caught up in the love of such a team.  When I took my Packer vows they were not far off from 2 Super Bowls, a win and a loss.  Losing seasons and the Brett Favre drama lay ahead, but we enjoyed the ride!

Outside Lambeau with our 1st born.  It....was...COLD!

Packer fans don't abandon their team when they are losing.  They support them during the best and the worst of times.  They are extremely loyal...and why wouldn't they be?  The Packers aren't owned by any one person.  They are owned by, well...their fans.  They are a non-profit organization and unique in the NFL.  How could the fans not be proud of that?

Both of our sons had their hospital pictures taken in Packer gear and if we have another child that one will be too.  Our oldest son was born and we flew from Hawaii to Green Bay to have him baptized in my husband's church.  After the baptism we drove to Lambeau Field and put his name on the waiting list for season tickets.  My second son was born, we drove from Tennessee to Pennsylvania to have him baptized in my church and then drove a few days later to Green Bay, stopped by Lambeau and put him on the list for season tickets.

Family photo by the Lombardi statue

Why you may ask?  It can take 40 or more years to get season tickets.  You used to be able to bequeath your place on the waiting list to someone in your will, but no more, so you've got to get on the list ASAP!  You're still permitted to pass your season tickets on in your will, but you need to get them first!  Hopefully, someday our kids numbers for tickets will come up and they'll have their own.  For now, we're blessed to have family members with tickets and usually get to make the pilgrimage to Lambeau once a year for a home game.  We'll brave the frozen tundra any time to watch our team play!

Needless to say Super Bowl XLV was a big deal in our house and we celebrated!  Super Bowl Champions one more time and the Lombardi trophy is back in Green Bay where it belongs.  Yeah, I guess you'd say I'm a full-on convert.  You kind of have to be when you marry into a Packer family!

Thanks to Wendy Muha-Cayemberg for the inspiration for this post!

Son, nephews and S.I.L. tailgating and staying warm

Packers vs. NY Giants game - 26DEC2010

Great action shot! Go Pack! Packers vs. Giants 26DEC2010

The Packers' rivals "Da Bears" who, I'm told, suck

Sunday Supper - Patrick Cayemberg's Beef Tenderloin

I really do have the most thoughtful in-laws in the world! Dad always loved cooking and baking and was never hesitant in sharing a recipe. So for my first Sunday Supper (and for many more) I will share the recipes that Dad loved to make and we all loved to eat! Love and miss you, Dad!

We looked forward to Dad making this when we'd go to visit in Green Bay, or when Mom and Dad would come to visit us. Whenever tenderloin would go on sale in Green Bay, Dad would grab some for us, trim it and Mom would zip-pack it and freeze it. They'd bring it down with them when they'd visit...enough to make and enough to leave behind for us to make later on.

Beef Tenderloin

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 beef tenderloin
1 head garlic, peeled and sliced into chips

Mix together the olive oil, salt, thyme, melted butter, pepper, and soy sauce. Set aside.

Place in a roasting pan 1 whole beef tenderloin, cleaned and trimmed of excess fat and silver skin. Tuck the tail under the meat to ensure even temperature throughout. Cut small slits into the tenderloin all over and insert a chip of garlic. Pour the rub over the tenderloin and rub all over meat with hands for about 5 minutes to evenly coat. Let rest for 20 minutes, then repeat the process of rubbing the meat.

Place in the oven with a meat thermometer inserted. Cook at 425 degrees (F) until thermometer reads 120 degrees for rare, 125-130 degrees for medium rare or 135-140 degrees for medium. Remember that once you take the tenderloin out of the oven the internal temperature will continue to rise about 5 degrees.

It is important to let the meat rest for 15 minutes before slicing; this allows the temperature to rise those 5 degrees and lets the juices settle inside the meat instead of on the cutting board. Serve with a simple au jus made from the juices, a bit of water, beef stock and your favorite seasonings.

(I know that Dad clipped this recipe from somewhere, but I don't know where exactly, so sorry, but I can't give proper credit to the source.)

Military Monday - Patrick Wallace Cayemberg Jr.

Patrick Wallace Cayemberg Jr
23 July 1933 - 15 May 2010

I couldn't post my first "Military Monday" and not have my father-in-law as the subject. We just lost dad this past May. As we were driving North to celebrate mom and dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary, we got the worst phone call possible. Only 2-3 hours into a 2 day journey from Killeen, Texas to Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was the longest journey of our lives. We debated trying to get there in one day. We wanted to be there as soon as possible and knew that we could do it, but we'd arrive in the middle of the night. In the end we chose to stop in Missouri and rest for the evening. We didn't want to risk getting into a crash if we got tired, and if mom was actually able to get to sleep, we didn't want to wake her.

Dad passed doing what he loved. He was volunteering at the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon at Lambeau Field when he suffered a massive heart attack. Mom and dad had just reached their 50th wedding anniversary the day before he passed. The party was going to be the following weekend. They had reached 50 years of life and love together. A monument to the rest of the family.

Dad was well-known for his chocolate chip cookies (a recipe from his mother, Laura Laurent), his molasses cookies, snickerdoodles, beef tenderloin, and chicken booyah. "Big Daddy" drove truck for Schneider Transport for more than 30 years and in his retirement loved wintering in Arizona with friends and his beautiful wife, Dolores. He loved having Monday night dinners at the house with his children and grandchildren and cheering on the Green Bay Packers. We were lucky enough to see mom and dad a month before he passed as they stopped by to visit us in Killeen on the way back from Arizona.

Dad belonged to the Teamsters (Local 75), the Knights of Columbus (Ss. Peter & Paul R.C. Church, Green Bay), and the American Legion. He served in the United States Army from 1954-1956, attaining the rank of Specialist.

So I take this Military Monday to remember my father-in-law. One of the sweetest, most caring people I've ever been blessed to have had as a part of my life. Roll on, Big Daddy, we love you!