Soap Box

We did a show last night in Green Bay, Wisconsin and as our hotel was a couple of blocks from Lambeau Field, the legendary home of the Green Bay Packers football team, my wife and I took a walk around the area, taking in the ambiance, pride and history of the stadium and the fabled team who plays there.

As I stood a block or so away, I was struck by the fact that the stadium sets in the middle of a residential area with a row of single family houses just outside the end zone wall. Of course, there's the usual collection of sports bars, restaurants and souvenir stands in the area, but the overwhelming impression is one of a neighborhood where 80,735 fans turn up to watch a football game on any given Sunday, complete with cottage industry parking lots and residents who get the testing of the public address system and the arrival of tailgaters with their Sunday morning coffee.

I was impressed and the first thought that entered my mind was, "It don't get much more American than this."

I don't think any place in the nation looks at their ball team as being a pillar of the community quite as seriously as the Packer Backers.

First of all, the fans literally own the team and owning a share or two of Green Bay Packer stock is a source of pride and getting season tickets to a game - even in the dead of winter when the field becomes �The Frozen Tundra" - could well depend on the death or relocation of a season ticket holder.

The streets for blocks around the stadium are named for former players, monuments commemorating their tenure with the Packers line the sidewalks and everything from fences to trash cans are painted with the team colors.

I don't believe a more fiercely loyal and truly devoted fan base exists and the people of Green Bay endure sub zero Sunday afternoons at times to show their loyalty.

Now, before my hometown fans accuse me of desertion and revoke my season tickets to the Tennessee Titans games, let me unequivocally state that I'm still true to the boys in two tone blue and that this column actually has more to do with patriotism and pride in America than it does about football.

What I saw, and felt in Green Bay, Wisconsin yesterday was a city that is proud of what they are, what they have and who they are, a pride of community that is sorely lacking in so many parts of America today.

Although Green Bay is a thriving intermediate sized city, to me, there is a sense of community that exists almost exclusively in smaller towns reminiscent of the areas I grew up in all those years ago and miss so badly.

And is it just the Green Bay Packers football team that creates this atmosphere?

Not at all, they are the result rather than the source.

You see, I firmly believe if you were to scratch the surface of Green Bay, Wisconsin, you'd find a community of citizens who get up every morning and go to work, who have respect for the military, a love of freedom and a reverence for their Creator, who raise their children with a sense of responsibility and respect for others and their property.

Do other places like that exist in America?

Of course they do, I only wish there was more of them.

If you get a chance to visit Green Bay, I would advise you to do so.

Just a couple of caveats.

If you go in winter, carry a heavy coat and whatever you do�

Don't say anything bad about the Packers.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, our police and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

� Charlie Daniels

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