Packers’ faithful ready for the road
By Larry Avila
Post-Crescent business editor
Steve and Sally Sell are looking forward to Nov. 29.
Not only will the Neenah couple be among a group of Fox Valley Green Bay Packers fans heading down to Texas Stadium for the game against the Dallas Cowboys, but they’ll likely get the opportunity to break out their summer wardrobes for at least a few days, something fans who have followed the team on the road have had fewer opportunities to do in recent years.
The Dallas game is the only Packers’ regular late season road match-up in a warm-weather city this year.
“We’ve gone to road games before,” Steve Sell said. “At the start of the season, no one really knew how the Packers were going to do, but we knew we wanted to make plans for a road game before the season started, so we picked the Dallas game.”
He didn’t give it much thought at the time of being in a warm-weather city in late November, but is looking forward to the trip nonetheless.
“Depending on how things go the next few weeks, that game with Dallas could determine who has home field advantage for the playoffs,” Steve Sell said. “A lot could happen between now and then, but we’re still excited about going.”
Dwindling opportunities
In recent years, the Packers’ road schedule has given fans ample opportunities to follow the team and enjoy some warmer weather in the fall and winter months.
Every trip outside of the NFC North Division in 2003 featured games in Arizona, Tampa, San Diego and Oakland. But since then, the warm-weather trips have become scarce. There was a 2004 trip to Houston, a 2006 trip to San Francisco and that’s been about it.
For the 2007 season, warm-weather pickings are slim. While there are plenty of road games that promise great football — including an Oct. 29 Monday night meeting in Denver and a Nov. 4 match-up at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs — there’s only really one game where Packers fans can ditch their parkas in favor of shorts and T-shirts.
The Nov. 29 trip to Dallas stands out on the Packers’ schedule for several reasons. First, it’s the second of back-to-back Thursday night games. Secondly, after both teams got off to great starts, this game could actually be a big one as both teams gear up for the final month of the season.
Back in the 1990s, when the Packers, Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers had a firm grip on the NFC’s Super Bowl appearances, it seemed inevitable that the Packers and Cowboys would meet, often in the postseason.
Lately, those meetings haven’t been as frequent, which is another reason why some find this road trip is one they can’t pass up.
“I’ll definitely be there,” says Karen Krantz, a Dallas native who has lived in Green Bay for the last 15 years. “When the schedule first came out (in April), I never thought it would mean much from a football standpoint, but right now, who knows? It’s always great when those two teams meet.”
Sell said his wife saw the Packers play the Cowboys in Dallas about 10 years ago. A friend who was a travel agent at the time had an extra ticket and invited her along.
“My brother (Bill) also has seen the Packers play in Dallas, so when the opportunity came up again, I didn’t want to miss it,” Steve Sell said.
Post-Crescent business editor
Steve and Sally Sell are looking forward to Nov. 29.
Not only will the Neenah couple be among a group of Fox Valley Green Bay Packers fans heading down to Texas Stadium for the game against the Dallas Cowboys, but they’ll likely get the opportunity to break out their summer wardrobes for at least a few days, something fans who have followed the team on the road have had fewer opportunities to do in recent years.
The Dallas game is the only Packers’ regular late season road match-up in a warm-weather city this year.
“We’ve gone to road games before,” Steve Sell said. “At the start of the season, no one really knew how the Packers were going to do, but we knew we wanted to make plans for a road game before the season started, so we picked the Dallas game.”
He didn’t give it much thought at the time of being in a warm-weather city in late November, but is looking forward to the trip nonetheless.
“Depending on how things go the next few weeks, that game with Dallas could determine who has home field advantage for the playoffs,” Steve Sell said. “A lot could happen between now and then, but we’re still excited about going.”
Dwindling opportunities
In recent years, the Packers’ road schedule has given fans ample opportunities to follow the team and enjoy some warmer weather in the fall and winter months.
Every trip outside of the NFC North Division in 2003 featured games in Arizona, Tampa, San Diego and Oakland. But since then, the warm-weather trips have become scarce. There was a 2004 trip to Houston, a 2006 trip to San Francisco and that’s been about it.
For the 2007 season, warm-weather pickings are slim. While there are plenty of road games that promise great football — including an Oct. 29 Monday night meeting in Denver and a Nov. 4 match-up at Arrowhead Stadium against the Kansas City Chiefs — there’s only really one game where Packers fans can ditch their parkas in favor of shorts and T-shirts.
The Nov. 29 trip to Dallas stands out on the Packers’ schedule for several reasons. First, it’s the second of back-to-back Thursday night games. Secondly, after both teams got off to great starts, this game could actually be a big one as both teams gear up for the final month of the season.
Back in the 1990s, when the Packers, Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers had a firm grip on the NFC’s Super Bowl appearances, it seemed inevitable that the Packers and Cowboys would meet, often in the postseason.
Lately, those meetings haven’t been as frequent, which is another reason why some find this road trip is one they can’t pass up.
“I’ll definitely be there,” says Karen Krantz, a Dallas native who has lived in Green Bay for the last 15 years. “When the schedule first came out (in April), I never thought it would mean much from a football standpoint, but right now, who knows? It’s always great when those two teams meet.”
Sell said his wife saw the Packers play the Cowboys in Dallas about 10 years ago. A friend who was a travel agent at the time had an extra ticket and invited her along.
“My brother (Bill) also has seen the Packers play in Dallas, so when the opportunity came up again, I didn’t want to miss it,” Steve Sell said.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:05 PM
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