The Other Foot

You always hear the saying "If the shoe was on the other foot..." - for those of who have been living under a rock, the saying means " that a situation or circumstance has been reversed, allowing one person to experience the other person's point of view" - and if you're like me, when someone leads with that your reply would be "Well the shoe isn't on the other foot! So there!".

I'm a New York Giant fan, I bleed blue and I also live in Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers. It's no secret that I'm a  New Yorker and if you lived here and didn't know, I'm sure it's evident, if the accent doesn't give it away, the NY Yankees hats, Yankee jerseys & Giant jerseys clue you in, or at least lead you to ask why this fool loves New York so much... Yankee bastard!

Those who have known me the longest probably know that my second favorite NFC team is was is? the Green Bay Packers. I bet the majority of my Wisconsin friends read that sentence once or twice over because they've seen me do nothing but piss on the Green and Gold for close to 5 years now.  Let me explain; my love-hate relationship with the Pack started soon after I moved to Wisconsin, It all escalated when the Giants came to Lambeau in the 2008 Playoffs, I was persecuted! We all know how that ended :).

Then there was the Brett Favre (BF4) Divagate following the loss to the Giants. I won't spend a lot of time on  the whole BF4 thing but while he was a confused little girl, TT did him wrong. 

It's public knowledge that I think the majority of Packer fans I encounter are snot nosed and arrogant (some of them are my friends and I love them IN SPITE of their flaws) and those fans are the reason I've enjoyed poking fun at the Packers over the last few years.  They're like JETS fans, only worse; or like Viking fans after BF4 joined the team. One of my favorite DeadSpin articles says pretty much everything I think about those fans. Check it out.

And then... There's the other foot... 

I remember telling someone not long ago that the Green Bay Packers could actually be the only team that deserves the moniker "America's Team". The team is owned by the fans. Absolutely beloved by them and if  your child was born today & put on the Packers waiting list for season tickets; he or she would probably not smell those tickets even if he or she lived to be 102 - just ask Cubs fans. I mean those were the very reason that I picked the Packers as my "backup" team to root for as long as they weren't playing the Giants. Their history is amazing and Lambeau Field is something out of this world. 

 I remember my first time at Lambeau, I think I grinned from ear to ear the entire time, the crowd actually looked like a sea of Green and Gold, it felt like everyone was there... Gas stations and establishments but Bars  in the vicinity closed - it was something out of Friday Night Lights - and allowed fans to park there and tailgate for a price... Oh and tailgating... WoW, amazing!  Nobody tailgates like Wisconsinites. Lambeau is hollowed ground and if you respect Lambeau, the fans respect you. If you happen to show up in enemy colors, no matter, they're still nice to you and the smack talking is friendly unless you're an idiot JETS fan who mouths off no matter where they are, then the fans let you hear how much of a shit head you are. Most of the snot nosed brats actually become civilized. It's like Curly's watching, all eyes are on the Pack and everyone is well behaved... Well almost everyone... 

And then... The Other Foot.


Now to the real reason for this particular entry is to put into writing my feelings after witnessing the Packers win the NFC championship the weekend before last. I'm happy for my friends, just like they were happy for me in 2008 when the Giants ran the table in the playoffs... Or were they? It's like I said earlier, the Pack are my back up NFC team and yet, I found it sort of weird high fiving my friends and talking about the game... I mean the feeling was similar to that you get  it after competing against a sibling and coming out the loser. Sure I was happy for my sister when she had a higher score than me in the SATs but it still burns a little that my little sister did better than I did... I still think they made the tests easier the year she took it.

I've heard my friends talk about how long it's been since they witnessed a Packer championship and most of them were under 10 years old at the time and lets be serious, at that point, you're not really a fan, all you want to be is part of the winning team or you do what your parents have brainwashed you to do. I never really understood the significance till I witnessed my first Giants championship as an adult, followed by another Yankees championship a couple years later, I can't explain the feeling, it's like one of those "You had to be there" moments.  My favorite moment of that faithful Sunday came about an hour after the game, where my really drunk friend, Seymour looks at his really drunk cousin, Cameron with his hands outstretched for a hug and says "We did it! Come here man!"... The look on his face was PURE joy, I bet he has that same look on his face when he has his first child - this is assuming a woman will ever let him stick his penis inside of her - I sat there wondering if that was the same look on my face years ago. I tried very hard in that moment to be happy for them but all I could think about was the short comings of the Giants.

After having a week to let it sink in, I've learned that watching your "backup" get into the game is really not a good feeling *cough* Bears *cough* unless he's coming in for the victory formation. I kinda hope the Packers win, mostly for my friends, because I'd love for them to feel how I felt 3 years ago... But mostly cos I dislike Rapelisberger and I'd love to see Clay Matthews tackle him & leave an imprint into the turf and as much as I also dislike Aaron Rodgers, "Putting on the Belt" is GENIUS and I won't lie, I'd like to see it a few times on Superbowl Sunday. 

I absolutely hate this chant more than "J-E-T-S! JETS, JETS, JETS", but ...

Yea I'm not saying "Go Pack Go"... but I hope they win.

Seymour - I apologize for the Adrian Peterson incident, it will never happen again...


Disclaimer to my friends who I love dearly: While I've come out of the closet with my Packer fandom, I will walk away from you if you act like the buffoons I spoke of earlier. I'm just saying.