I'm backing the only people owned team

[malaise]

in American football. Go Packers!!

The Packers are the last vestige of "small town teams" that were once common in the NFL during the 1920s and 1930s. Founded in 1919 by Earl "Curly" Lambeau (hence the name Lambeau Field on which the team plays) and George Whitney Calhoun, the Green Bay Packers can trace their lineage to other semi-professional teams in Green Bay dating back to 1896. In 1919 and 1920 the Packers competed as a semi-professional football team against clubs from around Wisconsin and the Midwest. They joined the American Professional Football Association (APFA) in 1921, the forerunner to what is known today as the National Football League (NFL). The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.

The Green Bay Packers have won twelve league championships (more than any other team in the NFL) including nine NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl era and three Super Bowl victories in 1967 (Super Bowl I), 1968 (Super Bowl II) and 1996 (Super Bowl XXXI). The team has historic rivalries with the Chicago Bears, whom they have played in over 180 games, and the Detroit Lions, whom they have played since the 1930's. The Packers also share a fierce blood rivalry with the Minnesota Vikings, who also reside in the NFC North along with the Packers, and the Dallas Cowboys who have historically been known as the Packers' largest playoff rivals after the Packers defeated them in the famous Ice Bowl.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bay_Packers

There's a lesson here.

[TBF]

1. We are very loyal fans!

I grew up rooting for the Packers (which included a lot of losses!) ... and it didn't matter when they lost you just celebrated and looked forward to the next game. I haven't lived in the state for over 20 years now and I am still an avid fan. It's a blue collar team with similar fans (watch the adoration for John Kuhn and you'll see that in action). Really looking forward to the game against the Bears today. Go Pack!

[malaise]

2. Hubby went to college in your state

for his first two degrees. Go Packers!! We love Barcelona FC for the same reason - the two people owned teams and they both have great records.

[TBF]

I went to UW Madison for my undergrad, and then moved.

Too cold up there! It's a great school though and very beautiful in the summer.

[jaxx]

3. All I have to say is........ Gooooo BEARS!!

Ought to be a good game.

[malaise]

4. Nice rivalry

Should be a good game.

[FarPoint]

5. I believe that the Pittsburgh Steelers

Are also family owned.

[malaise]

6. Packers are not family owned

They're community owned and they are the exception in all US ML sports.

The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States.

[Maru Kitteh]

22. I'm a Peckers girl myself.

I won't be crestfallen if the Bears win but only because We'd get to see the first family at the Superbowl. That would be awesome too.

[OneGrassRoot]

24. LOL! Love your typo! I'm a Steelers gal but love the Packers, too...

for the reasons Malaise outlined.

And, my SO is a Packers fan.

But your "Peckers" girl gave me my first chuckle of the day.

:rofl:

Thanks! :hi:

[malaise]

25. Hilarious

:rofl:
Bears waking up - this is going to be a great game.

[Maru Kitteh]

29. I will embrace my typo and roll with it.

Hopefully tonight.


:-)

[OneGrassRoot]

31. ...

:thumbsup:

:)

[Saturday]

7. Whatever. GO BEARS! :) nt

[malaise]

10. Good luck

:D

[Taitertots]

8. The Packers are owned and controlled by private shareholders

Go to their website. http://www.packers.com/community/shareholders.html

They are non-profit in the sense that they are not paying the community or the shareholders.

[malaise]

9. I study the Packers and Barcelona - both are community owned

Note:
Green Bay Packers, Inc., has been a publicly owned, nonprofit corporation since Aug. 18, 1923, when original articles of
incorporation were filed with Wisconsin’s secretary of state.

A total of 4,750,937 shares is owned by 112,158 stockholders —
none of whom receives any dividend on the initial investment.

One of the more remarkable business stories in American history,
the team is kept viable by its shareholders — its unselfish fans. Even more incredible, the Packers have survived during the current era, permeated by free agency and the NFL salary cap. And, thanks in large part to Brown County’s passage of the 2000 Lambeau Field
referendum, the club will remain solvent and highly competitive well into the future due to its redeveloped stadium.

To protect against someone taking control of the team, the
articles of incorporation prohibit any person from owning more than
200,000 shares.

http://www.packers.com/community/shareholders.html

[Taitertots]

26. The Community does NOT own, control, or profit directly from the Packers

They are owned and controlled by private investors who control the team by electing a board of directors.

[WillyT]

11. K & R !!!

:kick:

[NNN0LHI]

12. Ugh

Just kidding. May the best team win.

:hi:

Don

[RufusTFirefly]

13. Yess!! I'm not normally a football fan, but you gotta love the Pack!! n/t

[GoCubsGo]

21. No, we don't. n/t

[pansypoo53219]

14. YES. i am backing for the SOCIALISTS!

true, i am from milwaukee. but if i wasn't i'd root for them.

[TBF]

18. +1 nt

[malaise]

27. To the Superbowl

Go Packers!!!!

[Kolesar]

15. Al Lerner, who got to own the "new" Browns was a big funder of bush/cheney

Lerner actually made money when Modell moved the real Browns to Baltimore by selling his substantial minority interest in the team.

NFL owners are mostly dirt. They allowed Monday Night Football to hire Rush Limbaugh.

The woman who owns the Eagles believes in climate protection, though.

[The Magistrate]

16. Being A Chicagoan, Ma'am, Law Requires Me To Back the Bears In This....

[malaise]

23. Good luck SIr

Oops! Touch Down Packers 7-0 :D

[Enrique]

17. Lambeau, that sounds French!

go back to Green Bay, pinko! :patriot:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

19. I suppose "Rambeau" sounds French too, eh, Enrique?

Go Cheese-Heads!

[sharesunited]

20. Apparently, now prohibited by NFL rules, with the Packers alone "grandfathered."

[TBF]

28. And the people win today - a very nice performance :)

nt

[KharmaTrain]

30. I'm Ready For Baseball...

The real winner of the Superbowl will be the television network that carries the game....which I probably won't watch.

:hi:

[w8liftinglady]

32. Hey! i'm a Packer fan in a household of Steeler fans ... HELP!

A Packer fan for life.I'm SOOOOO thrilled they are going to the Super Bowl!!!

[OneGrassRoot]

34. I knew I liked your family, w8liftinglady...

Says the lifelong Steelers fan.

:hi:

But I really like the Packers, too. Rodgers ROCKS! My SO is a Packers fan, so this is going to be an interesting two weeks...

:rofl:

:hug:

[blueamy66]

35. My fiance is a HUGE Pack fan......born in Kenosha

My sister in law married a Steeler fan - don't even try to figure out our family situation. :-)

My nephew told me at lunch on Saturday that they have a Steelers jersey for me. YUCK! :-)

[blindpig]

33. As a Baltimoron in exile...

I can only wish that my home city had had a similar arrangement. When that filthy piece of shit Irsay stole the Colts from Baltimore I stopped watching football. Be damned if I'll support the toys of the rich.

Go Packers.