It's going to be something like 6° in Green Bay on Sunday, so the desire to watch the game at home is possibly intense, but come on, it's Green Bay. I expect to see the fans out there with their shirts off. How can you not want to be there?
I know, Meade and I are in easy(ish) driving range, but Madison isn't on that list of local markets at risk of being blacked out. (Is it?)
UPDATE: The NFL gives the Packers an extension until Friday at 4 p.m.
The notion that the Packers, world champions 13 times over, are unable to sell out a home game — especially a playoff game — normally would be unthinkable.Come on, Packer fans. You know you want to be there for Ice Bowl II.
Many fans pointed out that a new ticket policy and the team's poor play late in the season may have dampened interest among season-ticket holders to commit to buying playoff tickets.
Others said Sunday's frigid forecast may be scaring off fans who are opting for the comfort of their living rooms to watch the game. Game time is 3:40 p.m. Sunday, and the latest forecast calls for a high of 5 below on Sunday, a wind chill of 30 below and a low of 18 below later that night.
According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the temperature at game time for the famed Ice Bowl on Dec. 31, 1967, was 13 below zero.
ADDED: In the Ice Bowl, the wind chill was -48, so man up, people of Green Bay.
The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (then Wisconsin State University–La Crosse) Marching Chiefs band were scheduled to perform the pre-game and half-time shows. However, during warm-ups in the brutal cold, the woodwind instruments froze and would not play; the mouthpieces of brass instruments got stuck to the players' lips; and seven members of the band were transported to local hospitals for hypothermia.... During the game, an elderly spectator in the stands died from exposure.AND: Here's the NFL's very amusing 5-minute video documenting the status of the Ice Bowl as the #1 bad-weather game of all time.
Prior to the game, many of the Green Bay players were unable to start their cars in the freezing weather, forcing them to make alternate travel arrangements to make it to the stadium on time. Linebacker Dave Robinson had to flag down a random passing motorist for a ride. The referees for the game found they did not have sufficient clothing for the cold, and had to make an early trip to a sporting goods store for earmuffs, heavy gloves, and thermal underwear. Packers quarterback Bart Starr attended an early church service with his father, who had visited for the game, and as Starr later said, "It was so cold that neither of us talked about it. Nobody wanted to bring it up."
The officials were unable to use their whistles after the opening kick-off. As referee Norm Schachter blew his metal whistle to signal the start of play, it froze to his lips. As he attempted to free the whistle from his lips, the skin ripped off and his lips began to bleed. The conditions were so hostile that instead of forming a scab, the blood simply froze to his lip. For the rest of the game, the officials used voice commands and calls to end plays and officiate the game....
Posts
52 comments:
I've also heard the game will not be blacked out in Madison.
As a Packer shareholder I rarely receive communications except at annual meeting time, but two days ago I received an email expressing low level panic urging me to buy game seats. ("We're lifting the usual 2 ticket limit!")
I'm rational enough not to pay $150 for the privilege of sitting on a metal bench in zero degree temps.
A blackout for the Packers game?!
I Think it Fully Depends on Whether or Not Aaron Rodgers is Gay.
Was the famous Ice Bowl a sell-out? I think not.
Could be worse. They could be playing Monday. That's when the brutal cold arrives.
I actually thought the 8 degrees this morning felt kinda warm.
Is it Too Late to Build a Dome?
Good--let the NFL lose revenue by blacking out games even as ticket prices have gotten so ridiculous that most football fans will never be able to attend a pro-game.
The other lesson here is that it pays to be a fan of a team in whose market you don't live. You can catch everything on TV and never have to deal with these anachronistic blackout rules.
I blame global warming. I mean climate change.
It's a playoff game. Put on your long undies, smear that Vaseline on your face and get out and support your team.
End of story.
Maybe Obama will swoop in and buy tickets for the entire IRS workforce.
RE: "smear that Vaseline on your face"
A Reference to the Aaron Rodgers Sexuality Concerns, I See.
For non-Madison fans, TV watching tickets at my place in Madison:
Sofa: $300
Lawn Chair: $200
Overturned pail: $100
$20/visit for the bathroom.
-17 here right now, was just outside. If my choices were attending the game or listening on the radio in these conditions, I wouldn't have to think very long.
I Thought the People of Green Bay were Athletic Supporters.
Get it?
Athletic Supporters are also what Athletes Wear to Better Support Their Genitalia in Athletic Endeavors. So by Saying "I Thought the People of Green Bay were Athletic Supporters" it Could Mean They Support the Athletes In Spirit, Or that They Are Sweaty Genitalia Holders, Holding Sweaty Athletic Genitalia: See, it Works on Two Levels. That is How Humor is Done.
Sometimes People Read Too Quickly, and They Miss the Cleverness of Intricate Wordsmithery Such as This. Note That by "Athletic Supporter" We Think of the Male Genitalia Being Held, But if You Say "I Thought the People of Green Bay were Sports Bras" the Joke Doesn't Seem to Work Well, Unless You Allow For the Mental Picture of Cheesehead Sports Bras Being Worn on Fan's Heads, And Even That isn't Really Funny, Unless There Were Fake Boobs in the Cheese Sports Bras, But Then Know We Might Be Sexist so "Athletic Supporter" is the Best Choice After All..
The TV blackout rules make zero sense during play-offs.
Let Me Know if I Need to Explain in More Detail.
"rehajm said...
As a Packer shareholder I rarely receive communications except at annual meeting time, but two days ago I received an email expressing low level panic urging me to buy game seats. ("We're lifting the usual 2 ticket limit!")
I'm rational enough not to pay $150 for the privilege of sitting on a metal bench in zero degree temps."
But not rational enough not to buy stock that has zero value.
Damn betamax. Made me Google-image "cheese bra."
Best image.
Milwaukee and Fox Valley markets would be affected by a black out - not Madison or western WI. I had heard yesterday, that the Packers have a corporate friend-of-the-team that will buy up the remaining seats. Last night there were about 3500 tickets available on Ticketmaster.
I was talking to a season ticket holder, this morning about this all of this - she mentioned a few causes of the slow ticket sales: 1) poor resale market values of the sold tickets, due mostly to the fact that (honestly) most don't expect them to win; and 2)the timing of the offer to season ticket holders. Season ticket holders got their playoff ticket notices the week they got killed by Detroit. And finally, the team's new policy to not refund playoff ticket checks to season ticket holders if the Packers didn't make the playoffs - that money would be held and put toward next years tickets.
You'd think with the technology today you could put together a bidding system where the gap between revenue lost from unsold seats could be replaced by contingent micro payment bids from interested couch potatoes.
And finally, the team's new policy to not refund playoff ticket checks to season ticket holders if the Packers didn't make the playoffs - that money would be held and put toward next years tickets.
I wouldn't buy tickets under these conditions. You're loaning the team money. What if I want it my bank account, earning .05% interest?
But not rational enough not to buy stock that has zero value.
Being part of the greatest pro franchise ever has intrinsic value. Being a Bears fan you wouldn't know anything about that though. And that's sad.
But not rational enough not to buy stock that has zero value.
HA! Zero value? No, but close- There's access to the right to purchase exclusive 'Packer's owner' merchandise and invitations to attend the annual meeting, where there's usually special shareholder access to parts of the stadium normally off limits to the public. And there's the hearty handshake and 'Thank you!' from the guy that gives the Lambeau tours.
But I'm really there for participation in the most unique organizational structure in sport. Fan owned. No egotistical owner effing things up every season like the Cowboys. No moving trucks in the middle of the night like the Baltimore Colts.
Money well spent IMO.
Isn't this where the team owner(s) buy up the rest of the tickets to get the free TV advertising of the team?
"rehajm said...
But not rational enough not to buy stock that has zero value.
HA! Zero value? No, but close- There's access to the right to purchase exclusive 'Packer's owner' merchandise and invitations to attend the annual meeting, where there's usually special shareholder access to parts of the stadium normally off limits to the public. And there's the hearty handshake and 'Thank you!' from the guy that gives the Lambeau tours.
But I'm really there for participation in the most unique organizational structure in sport. Fan owned. No egotistical owner effing things up every season like the Cowboys. No moving trucks in the middle of the night like the Baltimore Colts.
Money well spent IMO."
LOL The Packers aren't fan owned. They are owned by Green Bay. Your stock is worthless. You have no voting rights.
MM, I don't know that the "loan" was about losing interest, as much as it was about holiday budgeting and cash flow.
They have one voting right, and it is likely the most important one. They have the right to veto a move out of Green Bay.
Of course, they don't have the right not to veto a move out of Green Bay, but "no true Packers fan" requires such a right.
"They are owned by Green Bay."
I don't believe that's true. The city owns the stadium, not the team.
Reasons for slow ticket sales, in no particular order:
It's cold outside
You can see the game better on high def TV
Better access to food, drink, and bathrooms at home
Watch with people you like
It takes an entire day to get to a game and back home vs only 3.5 hours watching on TV
You can multi-task at home with the game on
It is expensive to go to the game -- dollars and time
Family things like kids basketball and futsal games are already scheduled
The deal is too one-sided for season ticket holders
Bad timing with holiday cash
Bad play by the injury-plagued team
The likelihood of witnessing a loss
Traffic sucks
Any others?
Having considered these factors, I think I will buy some tickets and take the boy to the game.
Your stock is worthless. You have no voting rights.
Both untrue. There are voting rights with each share and while shares may not be transferred they can be sold back to the corporation for a nominal amount.
Traffic sucks
I've been to a game at Lambeau (the Pack won, of course), and the traffic wasn't that bad. My expectations were low, and they were met.
Your other comments are more on point. Especially the one just before Traffic sucks.
I do like that it'll be super-cold for the 49ers. Let them whine. Why should only Wisconsinites get to whine about the cold?
"rehajm said...
Your stock is worthless. You have no voting rights.
Both untrue. There are voting rights with each share and while shares may not be transferred they can be sold back to the corporation for a nominal amount."
Let me clarify, you votes have no meaning. Zero.
Another reason to watch on TV is to see if Joe Buck and Troy Aikman address the issue of whether Aaron Rodgers is gay.
Both Buck and Aikman have gay rumors floating around the internet.
Let me clarify, you votes have no meaning. Zero.
You really need to look up the definition of zero...
Buying Packer stock is like donating money to PBS, but at least you don't have listen to some talking head tell you how wonderful it is that PBS is running the Peter, Paul, and Mary Hanukah Special from 1975 (because if they don't do it, who will?)
Maybe it's different in cheese country, but the reasons I do not attend professional football as follows:
1) Drunks (and other idiot behavior)
2) Foul Language
3) Weather
In that order. (Former Steeler season ticket holder)
The NFL is chickifying and selling out to liberalism. Many people are disgusted by it, and not caring so much. They (liberals) are taking over what was once ours (actual red blooded American men) and once they are done with it we don't want it anymore. They can keep dumbing it down until women can play it or it is gone (the liberal goal).
Why would the govt. let people go outside in that kind of weather?
Why would the govt. let people go outside in that kind of weather?
High of zero Sunday in GB. Will be below zero during the game. Perch fishermen are happy with the temps though, I watched 3 guys doing the "perch walk" off Governors two weekends ago. They had spud bars, picks, ropes, and floatable suits as they checked ice thickness over real deep water. It's a sickness.
Make that a high -5 for Sunday. Winds WNW 11 mph gusts 20 mph. Going to be an endurance test as much as it will be a football game.
Why doesn't the Green Bay government owner of the team require citizens to buy tickets? This is what happens when the government owns stuff. A private company would have built a dome.
I feel your guys' pain....it is only supposed to get up to 74 here on Sunday....I have to dig my long sleeve shirts out of the closet.....
Maybe someone could dock a Russian icebreaker in Green "Bay" for the game.
Humperdink, you get some drunks at Packer games, though less than one might think. The foul language is pretty rare. It's a family and woman thing. Lots of families and women at Packer games.
Steelers games not so much. The worst are in the sophisticated places, like Philly and NY.
I bought two tickets, for my daughter and myself. I have warm clothing, access to those little heating packets, and the sure knowledge that the hot chocolate will be made by the barrel.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=master+and+commander+admiral+story&qpvt=master+and+commander+admiral+story&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=0E2242D6C156C5CBF0FF0E2242D6C156C5CBF0FF
Packers have 3,000 tickets remaining. Deadline extended to 4 p.m. Friday.
"As referee Norm Schachter blew his metal whistle to signal the start of play, it froze to his lips."
It's going to be awesome! At least for us watching from Madison.
@David. Some time ago, when NFL security was nonexistent, a friend of mine went to a Steeler-Browns game in Cleveland. He said it was the first time ever he saw a fan getting carried INTO the game drunk.
David, A family thing?
When they played the Bear's recently, 60 people got ejected and 13 got arrested. I guess it's another version of family fued.
I am now a Pittsburgh Penguin season ticket holder. The customer base at hockey games is much more genteel. Significant upgrade in the class of the fans. The only weather problems relate to driving to the arena. And, all the fights take place on the ice.
Unless, of course, Toronto Maple Leaf fans make a guest appearance.
Post a Comment