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In 2016 I will celebrate my 30th birthday. Rather than approach the date with trepidation I’ve decided to embrace the occasion and give myself something to look forward to.
I’ve started planning a sporting tour of the US, the centrepiece being Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California.
It’s an event at the top of any US sporting fan’s bucket list.
But this installment of the NFL’s championship game, dubbed the Golden Super Bowl, promises to be a spectacle unlike any other.
Still there is another stadium, about 3600 kilometres to the north east of the San Francisco Bay, which I would like to visit just as much.
It’s the second largest NFL stadium in America, but it’s located in the smallest city to host any of the major sporting franchises.
And yet Lambeau Field – the home of the last vestige of small town teams in America – is unlikely to host a Super Bowl anytime soon.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell previously said it’s not the cold weather in early February that prohibits iconic Lambeau Field from hosting America’s biggest sporting event, it’s the lack of infrastructure in surrounding Green Bay.
Still the Green Bay Packers – the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sporting team in the US – provide their 100,000 plus fans/owners with at least eight enthralling games a season.
They may play in the smallest market, but the Packers have the most loyal fans.
Pre-game at Lambeau Field is said to be the closest thing to an SEC tailgate party that the NFL can offer.
Sunday’s mean the doors to Green Bay stores are shut, with everyone in town either at the game or watching it on television.
And regardless of the team’s place on the ladder, every Packers game at Lambeau Field has been sold out since 1960.
Each year they rank as one of the top teams in terms of popularity and the Packers have one of the longest waiting lists for season tickets in professional sports. Around 86,000 people are waiting for tickets, meaning there are now more names on the waiting list than there are seats at Lambeau Field.
The average waiting time for season tickets is said to be more than 30 years, and the team estimates only 90 tickets are turned over every year.
For this reason, it is not unusual for fans to designate a recipient of their season tickets in their wills or place newborn infants on the waiting list after receiving birth certificates.
A game at Lambeau Field is supposed to be one of the most incredible NFL experiences available, up there with visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
The team boasts the league’s oldest and best rivalry, with the Chicago Bears since 1921, and the most iconic celebration – the Lambeau Leap.
They also have some of the best traditions, including the children’s bike ride on the first day of training camp.
And there is no better time to watch Green Bay play at home than in the Rodgers-McCarthy era.
Sure the team has won a swag of NFL Championships and two Super Bowl titles in the past, but the current crop of Packers, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, are arguably the most exciting to watch.
The Packers front office is one of the best in football and focus on drafting and fostering talent, rather than working free agency.
And that strategy seems to be working again in 2014, with the Packers up there with the Patriots and Cardinals as the hottest teams in the league.
Rodgers has been unstoppable in the last two games, as he and the Packers offense have dismantled the Eagles and Bears. Rodgers has 656 yards and nine touchdowns in those games despite being taken out in the fourth quarter each time.
Rodgers has firmed as an MVP candidate this season. He is equal-second in touchdowns (28) and sixth overall in passing yards (2748), but it is his lack of turnovers that hold him in good stead.
Rodgers has just three interceptions, including two in a loss against the Saints in New Orleans, and a league best 120.1 passer rating. His touchdown to intercept ratio (25) is by far the best in the league and he is averaging the best yards per pass attempt.
And the scary thing is Rodgers appears to be just getting started.
The success of the Packers is intertwined with the ability of the offensive line to keep Rodgers upright and healthy. If they can, Rodgers has shown he can make all the throws. If it’s not open downfield then he can dump it down to Eddie Lacy or take off for a first down himself. A healthy Rodgers combined with a complimentary running game and a dominant defence could spell another deep run into the playoffs for the Packers.
What sporting event or stadium is on your US bucket list? Do you think the Packers are a Super Bowl dark horse?
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