So you think you had the greatest two days of your life last weekend. Maybe you went home with the ""hottie"" you met at the bars. Perhaps you set a new personal record by winning 11 straight games of beer pong—and still managed to keep that new Christmas sweater clean. Or maybe you drove to Milwaukee to watch Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma stuff more Golden Eagles than the local taxidermist. Heck, maybe you accomplished all three of these monumental achievements. I still had a better weekend than you did.
Now before you start flooding my inbox with graphic descriptions of your latest romantic rendezvous or adventurous tales of your excursions on the high seas with Captain Morgan, please, listen to my side of the story.
Last weekend, I had the fortune of walking on the sacred sod where Montana, Rice and Young once trod. I watched Donald Driver put on a receiving clinic. I even stared dreamily into the eyes of a three-time MVP.
Yes, that's right. I spent my weekend with the Green Bay Packers.
While I departed with the team from Austin Straubel International Airport at approximately 1:05 p.m. Saturday, my journey actually began last week Monday inside College Library. As I attempted to catch up on some history reading, my dad called me on my cell phone.
""Ryan, how'd you like to go to San Francisco this weekend?""
Like a true nerd, I weighed my options. I was behind on my reading in all four of my classes and exams were slowly drawing near. The Packers had dropped three straight games and looked ugly in their 38-10 home loss to the New York Jets. Did I really want to waste a weekend of diligent studying to watch the Pack get run over by Frank Gore and the 49ers? Absolutely.
Yet, my dad soon explained this was not an ordinary road trip. He had won a contest at work which included chartered flights to and from San Francisco with the team, a one-night stay at the Packers' hotel, the opportunity to walk on the sidelines of Monster (formerly 3Comm and Candlestick) Park before the Packer-49er battle and, of course, two tickets to the game itself.
Thus, there I sat in the Packers' jumbo-jet as one of the greatest signal-callers in NFL history climbed aboard the plane. I had seen Brett Favre on TV every fall Sunday since I was 6 years old, but this was different. He was standing a few feet away from me. I could have reached out and slapped him with my barf bag. Unshaven and wearing his characteristic smirk, Favre joked with Green Bay's medical staff before finding his seat.
I'd like to say that I sat next to the three-time MVP, but unfortunately I got the lucky seat next to Steve, the website and communications intern. Actually, all the players sat in their own area in the back of the plane. Coaches and upper management sat in the front while lower ranking staff members and guests like my dad and I sat together in the middle section of the plane.
Just because I didn't get to sit with the players didn't mean that I didn't get to eat like them. For lunch, the flight attendants offered a choice between beef stir fry or bread-crusted chicken breast over rice. The meals came with a salad, several dinner rolls and a slab of German chocolate cake as big as some text books. When the main course concluded, the stewardesses returned with cookies and ice cream.
After landing in San Francisco, everyone onboard the plane climbed into four huge buses and a police escort led us to the team hotel. My dad and I rested for about an hour before the 14-person traveling group that we were a part of decided to take a few taxis down to the famous Pier 39.
Although it was a memorable night filled with crab, calamari and camaraderie, the highlight of my trip came the next morning. Proudly donning our field passes, my dad and I walked along the sidelines of Monster Park as the Packers and 49ers went through their pre-game warm ups.
Watching from up close, I got a true sense of just how strong Favre's arm is and how Driver can make such quick cuts in the open field. The 49ers would dread this combination later in the afternoon when the duo hooked up for a 68-yard touchdown pass. With the kickoff drawing near, my dad and I took a slow walk up to the upper deck. Three hours later, we walked back down grinning from ear to ear. The Packers' 30-19 victory provided the perfect ending to our road trip.
Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy beat his former team. A.J. Hawk recorded his first NFL interception. Favre threw for 293 yards and inched closer to Dan Marino's touchdown pass record. Donald Driver had a career game, snagging nine catches for 160 yards and a touchdown. But I still think I had a better weekend than all of them.
To fill in Ryan about your weekend, contact him at reszel@wisc.edu.
