Green and Gold to the Core

Last Updated on Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00 Written by John Rehor Saturday, 09 October 2010 21:29

I am a Green Bay Packers fan.

I have been a Green Bay Packers fan my entire life.

I am a third generation Packers fan.

I am a third generation, lifelong Packers fan who was born and raised in Chicago and have lived in Chicago my entire life.

Ok, so now that that has been established, let's address what being a fan is all about.

A fan is someone who has an interest in something. It does not matter what "it" is, and it certainly does not matter why someone chooses to take an interest in something. It is in the blood, the DNA, the makeup of an individual to want to be interested in whatever they choose to.

I am a Packers fan, always have been and always will be. I have lived through the pitiful years during the 80's, the glory years of the 90's and the hopeful optimism for the future that currently surrounds the team. Names like Rodgers, Jennings, Grant and Woodson were preceded by names like Dickey, Jefferson, Ellis, and (Mark) Lee when I first became interested in football. My Sundays were filled with hope as year after year, I hoped the Packers 80's edition would rise above and be competitive. Unfortunately, that was few and far between.

So as we sit in the early 2000's, the Packers are a team most certainly on the rise. Expectations are high, and rightly so. This team is set up for a long run deep into the playoffs. We received just a taste of success last season when the return to the playoffs was met with the loss to the Cardinals. Many thought it was just the beginning of a new era for the Packers.

So now in the 2010 season, the high expectations have been met with some obstacles. Ryan Grant and Morgan Burnett are out for the season. There is a possibility that Nick Barnett may be lost for the season. Brandon Chillar and Mark Tauscher are expected to miss several weeks. All of these injuries. A sputtering defense. An offense which has yet to find its rhythm. Special teams which are struggling.

These are roadblocks to success. And I am sick of people bringing them up.

It is one thing to analyze what has happened to the Packers so far this season and attempt to see what the areas are that need improvement. It is another thing to consistently complain, never finding the positive in anything. Last time I checked the Packers were 3-1. A 75% winning percentage a quarter of the way through the season. I'll take that any time.

A fan sticks by their team, through the good times and the bad. Who remembers the '86 season? A 4-12 record didn't shy me away. How about 1991? Again, 4-12. Hope was high, reality was not.

What about next year? What if there is no football season due to a lockout? Will I stop being a Packers fan? Absolutely not. I'll miss the game action, and my fandom will probably grow as a result. It's the wanting of success that runs through my veins. Absence makes the heart grow fonder is a simple but telling way to state how I feel about my Packers.

I'll stick by the Packers no matter what because I am green and gold to the core. You want to be a fair-weather, bandwagon jumping fan? Go see the team in Minnesota. Real Packer fans are fans for life.

Written by :

jrehor