The Green and Gold Standard: A People’s History of the Green Bay Packers, by Thomas M. Nelson
You can find Packers fans in big city bars on several continents—and many patrons have never lived in the Badger State. In a billionaire dominated NFL, Green Bay is the odd holdout, a team based in tertiary city owned by its fans. All profits are reinvested in the franchise.
“It’s such a successful model that the league banned it altogether and (reluctantly) grandfathered in Green Bay,” writes Thomas M. Nelson. The Outagamie County executive turned author is an avid Packer backer, giving a lively team history from their 1919 start under Earl “Curly” Lambeau through the Vince Lombardi epoch, the depressing aftermath and the resurgence with Bret Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
Nelson doesn’t avert his gaze from problems. Although it’s the NFL’s only publicly owned franchise, the Packers were recently ranked as the fourth costliest team based on a “fan cost index” that includes tickets, parking and concessions. He gets into the economics of pro football as well as the play-by-plays, referencing Wisconsin attorney-players union advocate Ed Garvey. Nelson makes a case for the Packers as a manifestation of the American ideal. Despite imperfections, “The Green and Gold reminds fans that who we can be isn’t just aspirational, but real,” he concludes.
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