Week 2, @ Giants
We had a reasonably low key morning by comparison to our experience last week. Thanks to the hour time difference between Green Bay and New Jersey we were thrown out of whack just enough to see us in bed at 8:00 still. There was no rush, we had time for breakfast and leaving was as calm as we hope it may be for the rest of the games I/we attend.
It was nice to see so many Packers fans here this morning. It’s one thing to be at home amongst a town that lives and breathes the same team you do. But being on the road with those fans that are lucky enough to attend makes you realise that with the Packers at least, there are fans absolutely everywhere. I learned this through almost every conversation I had today. Fans from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, North and South Carolina, Maryland even Philly. Some were transplanted from Wisconsin to these parts of the country. Others were generational. You know, support the Packers like your Mother and Father or don’t bother supporting the NFL at all. Some were Packers fans just because they wanted to be.
Morning – Our Ride There and The Meadowlands
You wouldn’t have thought that travelling 2 miles to a stadium from a hotel that seems to be there only for the football would be such a daunting task would you? Well, I wouldn’t say daunting but certainly difficult. Seems, despite it’s proximity to the Stadium, the hotel we’re at didn’t even know there was a game of football on. I guess that didn’t matter, cabs were coming with reasonable frequency so it all worked out in the end. Except that the arriving cabs already seemed to have rides waiting. After missing the first couple we simply ordered one ourselves and we were on our way. Unlike last week, Kelly and the boys were never coming to this game so at least the burden of decision was made very easy. Instead of trying to make plans on the fly we simply stopped via the shopping centre so that the boys could go toy crazy with Kelly while I continued the extra mile and a half to the game.
The question though is, how much would you expect to pay for a 2 mile, 8 minute cab ride? In Wisconsin dollars I’d say alot less than $10. In New Jersey dollars its a flat fee of $25. That’s $25 to travel the distance that Brett Favre could throw a football. Now I know why this is called the ONCE IN A LIFETIME fan. ‘Cause anywhere else I’d tell them to tell their story walking. The irony I know is that I’d be the one walking so I paid the fare and we got our ride. At least the cabbie was friendly and had a sense of humour. Friendly in that he was easy to talk to. Funny in that he thought it’d be a hoot to drop me off, on my own, on the other side of a very, very blue and white car park full of fans “attempting” to tail-gate. Turns out it was all good in the end and walking through the sea of blue and white was more fun than anything else.
The Meadowlands
Wow. OK, so it’s no Lambeau Field but it’s still The Meadowlands and i don’t want you to worry, there’ll be no talk of crying, emotion or childhood dreams this week. Perhaps a little childhood re-collection but that’s about it. Some of the earliest memories I have as an NFL fan are watching Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler throwing passes at the Meadowlands. When I was growing up, as I’ve said before, the big teams back home where the only ones that we tended to see. In those days, the big teams were the 49ers, Cowboys, Redskins and Giants. The Bills to a certain extent but primarily the NFC “powerhouses”.
So, what do you do when you travel from one time-zone to another and everything in the time-zone you just left is an hour earlier? I’ll tell you. You arrive at the game an hour earlier than you need to that’s what you do. I was cruising into Giants Stadium this morning just before midday looking through all of the entry points as I approached the one I needed to take. At every one I looked through to see the field and a stadium that wasn’t even half full. Thinking the game was set to kick-off shortly I was a little disappointed that my first away game experience was going to be in a half empty stadium despite it being in one of the greatest and most densely populated cities on earth. In saying that I was a little smug at the thought that this would never happen in Green Bay so I decided that in the end, it wasn’t so bad after all.
It wasn’t until I seriously began to question the delay in kick-off that I started to wonder whether the entire state of New Jersey was wrong or whether it was me. Now, I have been wrong before so I started to see if indeed that was the case this time. I checked the scoreboard, my watch, I asked someone sitting close by me. We all had the same time. What I didn’t figure out for myself was that the thing with time-zones is, if in Green Bay it says the game starts at 12:00, and there is a time difference between Green Bay and New Jersey of 1 hour, then the game, when played in New Jersey would start at 1:00 not 12:00. Sure enough, I checked my ticket and there it was. A big fat 1:00 written right there for everyone, except me, to see.
Now, I’m an Aussie as you all know. I’m glad to be an Aussie and will happily return home with my family at some point after the season finishes. We’ll be lucky to thaw ourselves on some of the world’s most beautiful, glistening sandy beaches. What I must say though is that the patriotism you show as Americans is on a level we would never experience at home. There were a number of things today that made me watch and listen in awe as I experienced it from an outsiders point of view.
The national anthem was spine tingling. When the big notes were hit, the crowd went wild, at other times you could hear a pin drop. The flag was waving and the fly-over Blackhawk helicopters were so low it seemed they almost dipped into the stadium before slowly rising to continue on their way. The national pride in this country is amazing. It makes me, Mr Non Citizen, want to sing along with you.
Game Time
I was lucky to be seated in a bay almost exclusively reserved for Packers fans. This didn’t stop the occasional hoon from wanting to take every single one of us on but at least we had safety in numbers. Not that we needed it but you know, just in case. My new friend, pictured here is none other than the mother of Defensive End Jason Hunter (#57). This was cool and believe me, she made for a great companion. A friend of a friend in Green Bay happened to be friends with Jason and offered me one of his tickets for the game. In sitting next to his mother I came to learn that I it wasn’t a coincidence that I was sitting with a whole bay of Packer fans. I was actually in the bay reserved for the Packers family and friends. That was pretty cool I have to say!
Moving to the game itself I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the first half. It was a struggle for both teams and it was quite clear that the game could have gone either way. After a scoreless first quarter we took the lead halfway through the second after a 6-yard DeShawn Wynn touchdown pass. New York then scored 10 points in the next 8 minutes to take a 10-7 lead to half time. I felt sorry for Mason Crosby I have to say. His 53 yarder to start last week and the game winner with 2 seconds to go certainly made for what seemed like a wild week of applause, adoration and media commitments. Then, as if to say welcome back to earth son, he came out and missed his very first attempt. I knew he’d have to miss one sooner or later but after the week he’d just had, I felt bad for him. He must have felt worse too that three points was the difference between us after two quarters.
The second half was a completely different story. It was all Go Pack Go. Brett threw for 3 touchdowns. Passes apart from those were completed. The running game was in effect and the defence stood firm to allow only 3 points in 30 minutes. It culminated in a big win for the Green and Gold and the first 2-0 start to a season since, as I recall, 2001. It was a record breaking win that puts Brett up as the winningest Quarterback in the history of the game and it continued the Pack’s winning streak to 6 when the last 4 weeks of the previous season are taken into account.
To say that I feel blessed to have witnessed a start to the season like this would be right on the money. It almost makes staying in this money-vacuum of a city worthwhile. No, I’m being facetious. It most certainly makes our visit worthwhile.
In trying to avoid a serious cab fare and massive traffic congestion on the way home I dawdled out of the stadium and took a few pics. In doing so I met up with a new friend named Don. We helped each other out with some pics (slideshow above) before he drove me back to the hotel via a stop at the Vince Lombardi Service Centre to drop a friend of his off. Here’s an interesting fact. How many of you knew that Vince was in fact born in Brooklyn and was an assistant coach with the Giants before moving to Green Bay and riding his success to Superbowl Trophy immortalisation? Yeah, I know, probably all of you but I just learned that today so excuse me for indulging a little. Where’s the Trivial Pursuit board when you need it?
The Wrap-up
In wrapping up I’m so stoked to have been lucky enough to make this trip. I do wonder what it would have been like in Green Bay this evening though. I’m certain the place would have been going crazy but boy being here, seeing new things, doing what you want to do is what life is all about.
I’ve missed a day with Kelly and the boys today so tomorrow we’re off to NYC for the first time. We’re all, well, Kelly and I at least, looking forward to seeing the Big Apple for what it’s worth and checking out some of the most famous landmarks your country has to offer.
