Cheeseheads

Cheesehead (plural cheeseheads) (slang) A person from Wisconsin. (slang) A fan of the Green Bay Packers (an American football team of Wisconsin), some of whom wear foam hats shaped like wedges of cheese. (slang, derogatory, ethnic slur) A German, Dutch, or Scandinavian person

Wisconsin was home for me until I was 23 years old and in 2018 I decided I was ready for something new. I found a job opportunity in Fort Myers, Florida in tech sales. My girlfriend and I packed up everything we owned and drove 1,500+ miles to start our new lives in the sunshine state. The new environment I was in elevated my sense of self-awareness to the level of pride I had from being born and raised in the state of Wisconsin. I knew there were great things about Wisconsin as I was living there, but certain areas became more evident when they were no longer present in my everyday life.

For those who don’t have extensive experience in Wisconsin the state can lack curb appeal. A textbook definition will tell you that Wisconsin is a suburban, middle-class, conservative state predicated on a strong blue collar working class. The Winters are brutal and last far too long. There is a decent amount of farmland, and per capita Wisconsin produces the most dairy product, which in conjunction with the Green Bay Packers spawned the term ‘Cheesehead’. However, this term has expanded to not only describe a Packer fan, but as shown above refers to “A person from Wisconsin“. Up to this point I haven’t mentioned (m)any factors that would cause the average individual to be prideful in a Wisconsin upbringing. So why is being a ‘Cheesehead’ something to be proud of?

Great Question! When I look back at what I miss most about Wisconsin I was able to bucket it into three main areas: people, sports, and entertainment. This is high level and my personal opinion based on my experiences thus far as a relocated young professional in my mid-twenties. My take is obviously subjective to your personal interests, and specific location within Wisconsin. But, here it goes..

We’ll start with people, the people in Wisconsin are just nicer. It’s not a popular destination for people to relocate to or even travel to so the people there are homegrown and family orientated. The values instilled here often carry into relationships, so friendships and intimate relationships tend to be more genuine and longer lasting.

Now sports.. Having like minded fans to attend and watch games with always adds to the excitement of the game. With Wisconsin professional sports the passion that backs this fandom is next level. When I talk sports, I am referring to the big three teams that I follow most closely, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks and -quite possibly the greatest professional sports franchise of all time – the Green Bay Packers.*

*Honorable mention: University of Wisconsin Badgers

The Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have not historically been a great team, but recently have had some competitive runs in the post season. With the Brewers it’s great to see us doing well but what makes this team so fun to follow is the Miller Park (soon to be AmFam Field) experience. Miller Park was built in 2001 and was one of the first stadiums to have a retractable roof, meaning no games would be cancelled (unless theres a pandemic). Milwaukee is notorious for best in class tailgate parties, getting friends and family together to enjoy cooking out, corn-hole, and cold Miller beers all before catching the game itself.

The Brewers will always bring in a crowd whether successful or not but with our recent emergence as a World Series contender they are even more fun to follow. The Brewers have made some impressive moves in free agency over the past few years that have brought us back into playoff contention. The most notable moves: Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. Yelich was the 2018 NL MVP and Cain was the 2019 Golden Glove recipient. Both helped contribute to the Brewers 2018 NLCS Run. Unfortunately Yelich was injured in September of 2019 and the Brewers fell short in the playoffs to the Washington Nationals who went on to win the World Series. The future remains bright for the Brewers as they enter into their 50th season in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Bucks

Now for the Bucks. If you’ve been following the NBA over the last five years there is no team that has risen in the ranks as quickly and consistently as the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis is the the saving grace for the Buck’s franchise. In 2013 the NBA told the Buck’s organization that they needed to build a new stadium in order to keep the team in Milwaukee. After some debate the Fiserv Forum was approved and opened its doors in 2018. The approval of this new 550 million dollar stadium was in large thanks to the man that many NBA analysts are saying could one day be the best basketball player to ever live, the Greek Freak.

The result of the 2017-18 season was the Bucks being knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. However, Giannis was voted the Most Improved Player in the NBA. The next year MKE brought in Coach Mike Budenholzer, who went on to win NBA Coach of the Year. During the 2019 season Giannis was hungry to prove himself and the Bucks as a serious contender in the Eastern Conference as they concluded the regular season with a league best 60-22 record. The team advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where they fell short to the Toronto Raptors who went on to win in the Finals. Although the season did not end as the team would have hoped at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season there was some positive news as Giannis was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. The Bucks finished the 2020 season in the Bubble after a long break in the middle of the season, this proved to be detrimental as they fell short to the Miami Heat in the playoffs. Giannis however secured a second MVP and DPOY. With the 2021 season now underway and following an off season where we brought in some great players such Jrue Holiday, Bobby Portis, DJ Augustin as well as a few promising rookie talents in Jordan Nwora and Sam Merrill.

Green Bay Packers

Head down Lombardi Avenue in Titletown (Green Bay, WI), and you’ll pass the Frozen Tundra, the most iconic stadium in all of professional sports – Lambeau Field. I have been fortunate enough to grow up in a place and during an era where the Green Bay Packers are a dominant force in the National Football League. With any professional sports team, with fandom comes the ups and the downs. I’ve experienced some heart breaking losses that hit just a little harder when you are a die hard cheesehead. But when it’s time to sit back and analyze the situation, I couldn’t be more fortunate to be a fan of the Green and Gold.

The Packers have one two super bowl titles within my lifetime, one from the 1996-97 season with “The Gunslinger” Brett Favre at the helm and another from the 2010-2011 season with Aaron Rodgers under center. Winning a Super Bowl in itself is a rarity in the NFL, only 20 franchises have accomplished the feat.

The history of the Packers organization is unique and homegrown. It’s easy to root for a team that comes from a city of a little over 100k people when most NFL teams are the homes to at LEAST double the population. The Green Bay Packers are also the only team in professional sports to be a publicly owned and not-for-profit organization and are owned by 360,760 stockholders as of 2016. Owning a share of Green Bay doesn’t translate into any decision making power due to the articles of incorporation but it gives fans the ability to directly support their team and feel as though they are contributing to the success the Packers achieve.

Nearly every bar or restaurant plays the Packer game on Sundays (or the occasional Thursday/Monday) in Wisconsin. Finding a seat at a sports bar can be a difficult task of its a high leverage game. Where the Packer fandom really comes evident is the city of Green Bay on game-day. It doesn’t matter if its -10 degrees, snowing and the Packer are eliminated from playoff contention, every Packer game sells out. In fact the Packers have sold out every game since 1960 and to attain season tickets there is an average wait time of 30 years with over 115,000 names on the waiting list. Yes, you read that right.

Lambeau Field and the city of Green Bay on game-day is the best sports environment I have ever experienced. Start the day with a coffee and a solid breakfast and then it’s time for a famous Wisconsin Bloody Mary and some brats. There are live bands and kiosks set up everywhere, homeowners fill their yards with vehicles for fans to park in, the streets are flooded with green and gold and you can hear “Go Pack Go” chants echoing throughout the city. If you get the chance to see a Packer game at Lambeau field you wont want to miss out on the opportunity to live like a Cheesehead.

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