Late Night Rambling

Posted by Zach Silva on May 12, 2010

For some reason I’m struggling to get to sleep tonight. It could be the fact that I have an exam in six hours on a subject that I know very little about (inventory management…really?). Or it could be that I have a paper due tomorrow morning on a book that I haven’t read yet. Or it could be that finals begin next week. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m juggling five jobs now. It might have something to do with the pot of coffee I made at midnight (bad idea in hindsight). But I think it’s this little conundrum I’ve been dealing with lately that’s keeping me up.

I can’t seem to figure out why the Green Bay Packers are so beloved in the state of Wisconsin. You may be saying to yourself, “Self, why would a question like this bother a college student during finals? Shouldn’t he be studying and focused and ready for summer?” I agree. I shouldn’t care about minor things like this, but I do. And thanks to the internet, I now have a place to share my thoughts, however trivial they may be.

But think about it for a minute, please. The Packers are far and away the most popular team in the state. It’s not even up for debate. They get the most media coverage, sell the most merchandise, and have a 45 year waiting list for season tickets (it’s probably longer now). The Brewers? Well nobody cared about them until they started winning games. Growing up, I remember going to County Stadium and then Miller Park and seeing absolutely no one there. The nightly news didn’t talk about them. You couldn’t buy a Brewers shirt anywhere but at stadium store. There was no pride. The same thing can be said for the Bucks. Last year, no one went to games. It was empty every night at the Bradley Center. Lambeau remains packed (no pun intended) every Sunday, though.

In my humble opinion, I’m not an idiot. I know that attendance and coverage and support generally correlate strongly with winning. Win more games, gain more fans, make more money. That sums up professional sports. When the Brewers turned it around, people got excited. The same thing happened this year with the Bucks. The city of Milwaukee went crazy when these teams made the playoffs. It was great. But what the Brewers and Bucks have experienced recently has been common for the Packers in my lifetime (born in 1989…thanks mom and dad!).

Year in and year out, no matter how they play, the Packers dominate the state. It could be that I grew up in the Mike Holmgren and Brent Era. Since I was born, the team has only had four losing seasons. Even when they were bad, fans still had faith. I feel as though when the Brewers lose, people just assume that they suck and will be terrible again. When the Packers lose, though, they can still reason that everything is ok. I struggle to understand this concept. I guess when a franchise is successful for twenty straight years, fans tend to stick with the team.

I should probably make an attempt to study for my exam. I’m already committed to not sleeping, which is probably a poor choice (honestly…when the sun comes up, there’s no point in going to bed). Hopefully I can put this whole Packers question on the backburner and instead focus on inventory management (I’m bored and confused just typing it). Keep me in your thoughts today. I’ll need a lot of luck and a lot more caffeine.

Got an idea on why cheeseheads love the Pack so much? Have any tips on managing inventory that may help on an exam? Email me at zdsilva@brentfavre.com. Don’t make me beg next week, ok?