Magic Underwear and Talking in Tongues at Lambeau

That's a crow - bellied up. On top of the trunk. Thanks to David for the prop! Love it!

4:50 am

That’s the time I woke up on Monday. No alarm. Just woke up. I should have gone swimming, but something told me to just rest because it had the makings of a long day. My intuition was right!

Work (yes, orders to take care of); my last KMI session with Michael (I did something to my hip on Saturday – it started bothering me after a run in the am with Kevin – and I am not prone to hip issues so this was weird); packing the car; and then, the ensemble! Standard issue #12 jersey, green Under Armor shirt; military pants, long undies (I had to); shearling boots (they are awesome – you don’t need socks – they feel like slippers…most of the time); gloves and hat. And extra layers if deemed necessary. Oh, and how could I forget…my newest addition… the still unclaimed mystery gift I received last Tuesday…the lime green Packer panties. I had a feeling they could be ‘magic underwear’ and since we need all the wins we can get, I needed to pull out all the stops!! The uniform is now complete!!

(Ok, I need to preface this with a reminder that my Sony piece of sh*t camera is just that – it’s GREAT in daylight…it s*cks when you have to use the flash. And it’s not user error – it isn’t. So some of these photos are terrible, but it’s the best I can do. Maybe Santa will bring me a waterproof, drop proof, idiot proof camera that does GREAT outdoor and indoor photography? I think I’ve been good? Well, pretty good. Also, note, if you want to see these photos larger, just double click on them. Really! Not that you may want to, but I’m just giving you the skinny.)

Fast forward to 2 pm. The Lincoln rolls out of the driveway enroute to Lambeau. A quick stop at the studio to pick up Brenda’s ‘tailgate supplies’ and then to the stadium. When I arrive, it is a morgue. Quiet. This is the first Monday night game at Lambeau in December and well, people were afraid of the cold. Not me, baby! Not me! I rolled up to our favorite parking lot and asked where they were going to make me park – in the back, I was told. Well, I told the guy, then I’m not parking here and started backing up. He then said ‘are you the girl in the white car?’ Yup – that would be me. “Well, then you can go and park where you normally do.” There! That’s the spirit – love the customer service. Bravo! Jim is a rock star in my book.

I park. Call Stacy and David – newbies to this event. They are enroute so I try to get them close to where I am, but not in that very expensive Packer lot. I ‘reserve’ a spot at a house close by – the woman on June Lane is on the lookout for a F150 white truck and she’s got front row parking for it! After lots of rights and lefts and bad directions on my part (which hardly ever happens), I decide to go and meet them at Oneida street and flag them in myself. At Oneida and Potts, I scream to a sheriff’s deputy, “hey, can you let that truck go thru so they can park down here?” Of course – is he going to say no to a woman clad in a TIGHT #12 jersey and military fatigues? Heck, no! Again, more amazing customer service at a GBP game. I climb into Stacy and David’s truck and take them to their parking ‘yard.’ The woman on June Lane welcomes them and then says ‘ok, your friend is right over there in that lot – she’s in that silver car, do you see it?’ She cannot see me in the backseat of their car. “Hi, I’m right here,” I tell her and we all laugh. Again, more AMAZING customer service. Can you tell it’s gonna be a golden night?

So, Stacy and David pile out and I am onto my next mission – and this is an important one. I needed to deliver my sister and bro in law’s check for the PLAYOFF GAMES at Lambeau to the ticket office. If I failed at this, there would be h*ll to pay – no check to the GBP ticket office; no tickets for playoff games. I grabbed the check and my camera and bolted to the ticket office. This was precious cargo. I needed to prove to Marc that I was able to pull off this monumental task and not forget and find the check crumbled in a ball in the back of my car two weeks from now. I even captured the moment so Marc knew I did NOT fumble. Ta daaaaaaaaa!!!

Cross your fingers - we need a home game in January!! Wooo wooo!

Ok, next up – off to Stadium View to see that band that was SUPPOSED to be at Tom, Dick & Harry’s two weeks ago…Hindsight.

Rock & Roll, baby! With Ryan and Stacy!

Ok, let me tell you something, don’t ever go to Stadium View before a Packer game unless you are Donald Trump. $4.25 for a bottle of Bud Light Lime? Highway robbery! BAD customer service. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Met up with Stacy and David – enjoyed the band (they are good and fun – I highly recommend them – good party band) and saw Ryan my lifeguarding buddy for a few minutes and then we were out of there like a thief in the night. There was no way I was going to pay that for a stinking bottle of Bud. Come on. That’s just wrong. So we trek back to the car and enroute, my oh my, who do we encounter?

Yup, the Miller Lite bottle. I’ve had my way with this ‘toy’ so now it was Stacy’s turn…

There's the ever popular 'grind' dance that all those crazy high schoolers in Wauwatosa are doing!!

Perhaps the next 'Dancing with the Stars' couple? But why is Johnnie Unitas here in the background?

Ok, enough abusing harmless blowup toys, onto the tailgate! Stacy and David and I enjoyed a few brew pops and snacks – this was a bare-bones tailgate. Just snacks. No one eats anything anyhow at these events – they just drink and do Sambuca shots. Works for me! It was dark, but we had ample lighting in our lot. Sweet. After a while these splendid young gentlemen from Marshfield walked by. We thoroughly enjoyed their tshirts…

See the shirt? See the Raven? Get it?

In hindsight, I bet these boys were NOT allowed into the stadium with these shirts. But they are funny!!

Well, these boys were ripe for the picking so the banter and shenanigans began.

It's good to see young boys acting like 40+ year old women!

One thing leads to another and next thing you know, someone is getting kicked in the nut sack

I don't care what you say - it is ALWAYS funny when someone gets kicked in the nuggets.


– then leg wrestling…(I believe there was a comment made about #12, which automatically means a duel so…)

This is a yoga pose - it's called Hindi Squat. It is. I'm not making this up!

Like there is a snowball's chance in h*ll I'm going to win this.

WHOA! Spitting chew! Nice!! I hope he rolled into it and not me!

...the agony of defeat...again!




…then, ‘Hottie,’ mentioned something about being an ‘amateur adult movie cinematographer.’ Well, that there warrants getting my photo taken with him, right? I asked him what sort of interesting jumps and moves we could do together and Stacy suggested that I run up to him like in the movie “Dirty Dancing” and he could lift me up over his head with his arms. Uhhmm, let me think about that for a moment? Did I want to end up in the back of an ambulance with a broken face? Negative. As Kevin has commented to me before, ‘height equals hurt.’ So I opted to get on his shoulders instead.

The view up here is AWESOME!! I want to be taller!

More cheerleader jumps! Go team!


Now, I gotta tell you, ‘Hottie’ (ok, Zach) trotted me around for quite a long time. I was impressed. I did not want to hurt him (nor did I want to take a digger – see the quote above…’height equals hurt.’). So we paraded around and yelled ‘Go Packers! Woooo woooo!’ and other equally impressive hoots and hollers. As I dismounted, our friend John appeared, hiding his face and laughing. His quote, “Krug, I was at the corner of Ridge Road and Valley View Road – I could hear you all the way over there.”

This is John pointing to where he was when he heard the 'WOOO WOOOO...Go Packers!'

Good to know – so if any of you can’t find us, you’ll at least hear us. Take note!

If John had known that Brenda was wearing a #4 shirt under that jacket, he would have thrown her down and leg wrestled her as well!!

Brenda and Tracy and Lynn arrive – dressed for the elements. So are Stacy and David. I, on the other hand, am half-dressed for the elements. Here is why – my ‘good friend’ Lance (note the quotes here) has told me for months that he will get me back up into the club seats at some point in this game. So I really don’t want to ‘overdress’ because that just would make me stand out like a sore thumb up there, ya know? So I keep with the ‘minimalist’ theme for the night. Ok, I do buckle and don one more layer – a thin Spyder dry wick top. Like it really is going to make a difference? Just then, Lance calls to tell me he’s on the sidelines watching warmup – will call again once they get up top. Ok. I’m sticking with my ensemble now – no jacket required.

Sambuca is NOT the cousin of the devil. It is awesome. You're a winner when you do this shot!

The Sambuca comes out – Brenda and Stacy and David share a beautiful story about how their lives will be forever connected now at Pelican Lake (all I can say is that involves a cottage and realtors and adult toys – that’s all I can say). Paul and Mike show up with their scotch on the rocks cocktails and fire up their Havanas (see, we can run a classy tailgate if need be).

I told you this was a classy group!

The four Marshfield boys meander on. Mary and Deb and Joe arrive.

This is just a NICE photo!

More Sambuca.

Note the red noses and rosy cheeks. I'm sure it's not from the 20 degree temperatures.

Matt and Brian come by and Brian gets his meat rubs – which he has wanted for a few games now (pull your mind out of the gutter – there really are things called ‘meat rubs’ that you put on your ‘meat’ – like beef and pork and chicken – ok, maybe this really doesn’t sound legit, but it is! Trust me – I’m a food rep!). People begin to slur their words (I think it was the cold temps – I really do). And before you know it, it’s time to get into the stadium and hopefully, warm up! Brenda has the tickets and we draw who we are sitting with. Lucky Tracy gets me and these are her family seats. Her quote, ‘I can’t wait for section 105 to get a taste of Kathy.’ Oh oh – nope! I’m going to be good – these are her FAMILY tickets! I cannot pull a Dallas game here. I have a discussion in my head and decide that I am going to be gentile and a good neighbor for the rest of the night. How long do you think that lasted?

Off we go. I run ahead because my friend Laurie’s son was in the punt, pass & kick competition. Now I figured this would wrap up WELL before I would even get in the stadium. But no – it was going on and darn it, I was going to try my hardest to get some photos of her son, Joe. So I raced around to our seats at the north end zone…only to find that the competition was taking place at the south end zone. Crap. Well, I tried. And it happened so fast – I think I got a photo of the kid after Joe. Double crap. That’s a cool thing – to be competing on a regional level at Lambeau Field. Congrats to Joe, anyway! Tracy arrives and we settle in to catch up and enjoy the game. Stacy and David were somewhere behind us so I walked up to the section above us and started yelling ‘Stacy…Stacy.’ These four kind gentlemen in the front row helped me by yelling and screaming ‘Stacy…Stacy’ as well.

Stacy! Stacy! Then they started calling me Sara...Sara. And I responded. What is worse?

Well, I found Stacy and told her to watch where I was going so she knew where I was. We were within 8 rows of each other. Woo wooo!

See Stacy! Could these tickets have worked out any better? I think not! I love this shot!

Good fans around us. Lots of Ravens folk and they were GREAT! Very nice. And very cold…

Look closely. I told you he was cold. You could have hung christmas tree ornaments off those.

Good GBP fans as well. I figured people would probably not be drinking too much at this game. That was an incorrect assumption. Right before halftime, this poor soul pulled a ‘Sue’ and was wandering around aimlessly. The second he passed by us, Tracy and I knew he was in the WRONG section and had no clue where he was! HAHAHA! We giggled and guffawed as he scanned the crowd for a familiar or friendly face (as he juggled his two beers and tray of chicken tenders and fries). Then he started texting someone as he juggled all his eats/drinks. More laughing on our part. I couldn’t help it, I had to capture this.

Hey, is that Sue? Nope, but this dude is definitely pulling a "Sue." That's our new code when someone is lost in the stadium and cannot find their seat. HAHAHA!

Once he knew we took an interest in him, he eagerly wanted our aid and assistance. His face was painted green so that made him even more attractive.

Incredible Hulk, eat your heart out!

And he was speaking in tongues…or a language I’ve never heard before. A cross between Bud Lite and who knows what else. I believe he mentioned something about section 103, blah, blah, blah. More giggling. A GBP touchdown. High fives for all. Then I asked him if I could have a French fry out of his basket. Of course! Then he dropped his head into his tray and fished out a chicken tender – sans hands! Impressive! “I want to show you something,” he told us. Oh oh. He put his beers down (no spillage) as well as his food tray and started unzipping his jacket. ‘WHOA…wait a minute,’ Tracy and I exclaimed. He kept unzipping and to our dismay/delight/shock – his whole chest was painted GREEN!

Well, that answers my question as to why my white Spyder shirt is all green now.

Well, he was a hit in our section! I had to get a piece of this as well. As I pawed at his ‘hulk like’ body, Tracy captured it on film…and the other people in our section took his clothes. HAHAHA!

I don't think the people in section 103 enjoyed our green goblin like the people in section 105 did. HAHA!

After the shenanigans, the poor kid couldn’t find his clothes. “Man, that’s harsh,” I heard him sigh! Ok, people came thru and gave him his duds back. Because that would have been way wrong. He wandered away…with his beers and his food and fond memories of section 105. And we never heard from him again. Sniffle, sniffle.

Enough! Halftime. Time to get warm. Into the Leinie Lodge we went. Met up with the rest of the troops.

Tina and Troy - where all the beautiful people are - at the Leinie Lodge.

Bad Brenda. You know, I'm just gonna do a blog some day that is entitled 'Bad Brenda.' Would you all like that? I know Brenda would probably not.

Tracy and Stacy. They call me..Tracy. They call me...Stacy. They call me...Sara.

Tracy, Stacy and David. The Leinie Lodge is awesome because you can get warm and then go back out and drink cold beer. And then do it all over. Again and again and again...or until they stop selling beer at the end of 3rd quarter.

Talked stupid. Took some pictures. Then Brenda had the idea of going to Curly’s for a shot. Off we go. Curly’s is just PACKED. I scream, ‘go back to your seats, people.’ No one listens. Hmmm? We make our way to the bar where more men are talking very strange languages – where are we, Russia? It sure sounds like it. Tracy orders shots and Stacy wants a ‘snakebite.’ Well, that got the attention of one of these ‘foreign’ men and he wants a shot too. Tracy is not impressed and Stacy is not impressed either.

Tracy...NOT happy with the cling-on.


Stacy...egging on the cling-on.

Stacy kinda of eggs him on – Tracy tells him to get lost. HAHAHA! This was a beautiful interaction. Brenda, in the meantime, has found a man talking in tongues as well. Wow, did we hit the jackpot or what here? Ok, we slam our shots (I swear these “snakebite” shots were like 4x the size of a regular shot) and head back to the stadium.

Easy girl! You'd hate to spill that beer. It could create a frozen puddle and someone could slip and fall in the concourse area. Or worse, they might close the beer stands before we can get you more. Walk slowly.

Love the holiday decorations behind us. You'd never think we were at a GBP game, huh?

It’s almost 4th quarter. Hmmm, wait a minute. Aren’t we supposed to be in the club section by now? No call from Lance. Nothing. I’m cold. I’m really cold now. I should have taken my advice and taped my you know what’s, but I didn’t because I thought Lance was going to come thru. You know what – I’m mad now. If you’re gonna tease, you better come thru with the goods because I never forget. Ever. I’m like an elephant. Whatever that means. I call Lance. He does not pick up. I leave him a message. Basically saying that in order to keep my friendship, I want to be in that Miller Lite bottle costume at the next game. Really. I do. But you all know that already. OR, I’m calling Sambuca and seeing if they have a costume I can rent, because then I will go and kick that Miller Lite bottle’s *ss!! It’s gonna happen. It is. I am destined to be a Miller Lite bottle, if just for a little while. Simple. I’ve not heard from Lance yet. I wonder why??

Oh hey, there is a game going on, did I forget to mention that? Anyhow, 3rd quarter – a little scary. All I can say is that I don’t find our team very ‘fluid’ right now. As in graceful. They are digging down deep to bring it together but there is still work that needs to be done. I guess I need to watch the films to find some other fitting adjectives. I mean, it’s good – but not consistent. Highs/lows. Ups/downs. I can’t put my finger on it. But it doesn’t matter because as the clock is ticking down, a victory is within reach. A little more song. A little more dance. A little more seltzer in my pants (kidding…I just like how that goes together – who’s quote is that anyways?). A little more screaming ‘Stacy’ at the top of my lungs. A little more dancing and high kicking to YMCA. And before you know it, the clock strikes 11 pm and I am OUTTA there. This princess is going to turn back into a pumpkin and soon. I beat cheeks – literally – as I run around the stadium to get to my car..in those shearling boots that now feel like cement coffins on my feet. I can feel blisters that are ripping apart as I stride. I’m cold. I need some food. And I just want to get home before all these other maniacs venture out on 41 south. I get to the car – chuck the garbage – throw the table in the backseat and peel out of that lot. Get stuck on Morris Ave and finally lose it and start beeping the horn – within seconds, our lane is moving. Nothing wrong with a gentle prod every now and then. I do my Cormier ‘sneak route’ and get a phone call. It’s Mary. “Kathy, where are you?” “Mary, I’m almost at 172 – I want to beat all this traffic.” “Kathy, my cell phone is in the bag I left in your car.” “Mary, there’s a Shell station at 172 and Babcock Road…I’m dropping it off there. Pick it up.” I screech into Shell – talk to the youngster behind the desk and drop the airpot and bag of goodies with him. It’s Green Bay – it’s after a Packer game – people want to help out. I have no idea if Mary got her phone or not. Hahaha!

The drive home is slow for a while and then is actually very nice. Good way to come down off that high. I roll in to Pickett around 12:30 am – unload the cameras and Chex mix (why…I have no idea) – peel layer upon layer off and climb into bed. It’s 12:56 am when I look at the clock. And then, before you know it, I am WIDE awake and ready to go! I cannot get back to sleep. That buzz and adrenalin is still pumping. Lambeau – it’s like Chucky Cheese for adults!

It’s 4:42 am. EEK!

So kiddies – one more REGULAR season game. A belated Christmas present. 12/27. I’ll be there with bells on!! You should be too!!