>Last year I posted this, an open letter to Bear fans. I remember telling them (in true Cheesehead fashion) not to get used to winning.
Well, sure enough, here we go into a Packer playoff weekend. but the implications in our household are, at the least, complicated.
Husband works for a local television station.
Let me put that another way. Husband works for a local television station in a major NFL market that happens to be the smallest city in the U.S. to support an NFL franchise. Did that make it sound like a big deal? It is.
I could make a flow chart, but I’ll try it in words first.
A Packer win will mean at least one more game. Depending on where the game gets played, which will be determined by the winning NFC team on Sunday, he could spend the week driving a satellite truck to Dallas or stay at home, preparing to work at Lambeau Field again the following weekend. (Deep breath. Are you confused yet?)
A second Packer win would see him heading to Arizona, and he would drive the satellite truck there to cover it for the folks back home.
In the big picture, if he is asked to pack his bags, the end result could mean heading south and then turning right. I mean west. He could be gone for three weeks — or more.
It’s not fair, really. Husband may be headed to the Super Bowl, and I’m the football fan in the family!!!

((P.S. Go NY Giants!))

>Husband and I have a different perspective on the Packers and their post-season. He’s a Packer fan in a way, but he looks at their success from a slightly different angle because he works in television.
Television news in a major NFL market is a whole different, well, ball game from working at a station with no football to cover. For him, an extended post-season is both a blessing and a curse. It means more work, and it means more work. More work means overtime, and more work means overtime. An extended season can also mean travel…unless the Pack manage to earn home field advantage.
Who cares? I hear you wail. Well, here’s transcript of a conversation we had less than an hour ago.
Me: It’ll be great if they keep winning and get home field advantage through the playoffs.
Husband: No, no, n-n-n-n-n-no!
Me: What? I thought you’d like it because you wouldn’t have to travel!
Husband: I don’t want to work outside on the sidelines in the freezing cold!
Me: Okay, then you want Dallas to win so that you can work a game in Dallas, instead?
Husband: No, No, n-n-n-n-n-n-no!
Me (confused): Huh?
Husband: I have this fear that the news director is going to look at us engineers and say, ‘Erbert, Gerbert, load up the satellite truck and drive it down to Dallas. and when they win? Turn right.’ I could be on the road for three weeks! (editor’s note: he said “IF they win.” I changed it.)
Me: Then you should cheer for the Packers to keep winning. They’ll earn home field advantage, and you won’t have to travel.
Husband: (speechless, waving arms in air)
Me: I suppose it’s a lose-lose situation for you.
Husband: Yes! Yes! Yes!

>By a score of 10-8, last week I actually won the prediction game! This week we started early because of the games on Thanksgiving, and we included the other family members who were here for Thanksgiving. As of noon Sunday, we’re all tied — except for Grandma. She insisted on being pessimistic and predicted Detroit to beat the Packers. Therefore, she remains one game behind the rest, because all of us, yes all the rest of us, chose Green Bay, Dallas, and then Indianapolis.

Today will be more interesting, with more variety. I’ll report the scores as they come in — our scores, that is. You can find the actual NFL scores on your own!

Hop, hop, hop, Touchdown!!

>

>What’s harder than driving on the expressway around Chicago during rush hour and road construction? Driving a news truck with “Green Bay” emblazoned on it in huge letters, through Chicago, in the week before the Packers play the Bears.

Yes, husband was on a work-related trip last week that required he drive the news truck through Chicago on his way to his destination. The reactions, let’s just say, were many and varied. The most creative had to be the toll booth worker who asked if he was a spy.

Now that he’s home (and safely, I might add), we can watch tonight’s game in peace and — well, you know that in our house, it won’t be quiet.

>

Ever wonder how the cameras get set up to televise a game? How many there are? Where they might be?

Here’s part of the answer.

Yes, they’re on the roof of Lambeau Field, boldly going where no fan has gone before. Well, at least where no one has worn a cheesehead.

All photos courtesy of Husband’s cell phone camera. And just a note: the guy in the red t-shirt? His wife was my maid of honor, 20-some years ago when I married Husband. 🙂 It’s a small world!