Packers Get Big Welcome Super
Schools closed early, workers declared a holiday and fans teetered on green-tinted snowbanks.
The streets in Green Bay, Wis., were lined six-deep Monday for a roaring welcome for the Packers, who brought the Super Bowl title back to this smallest of NFL towns.
One player hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy over his head as he walked off the plane Monday from the flight from New Orleans, where the Packers beat the New England Patriots 35-21 the day before for their first NFL title in 29 years.
Even before the Packers’ plane touched down, the parking lot at Lambeau Field was packed with tailgate parties in full swing.
Several inches of snow covered Lambeau Field, with temperatures at 19 degrees and the wind chill making it feel like 1 degree. Heaters blew hot air into benches normally used for players during games.
The overcast, snowy day didn’t seem to bother giddy, beaming revelers along the route of the ticker-tape motorcade.
Peeping from a yellow stroller was 10-month old Weston Dekoning, with parents Mark and Annie Dekoning of Rubicon and his grandmother, Esther Sutherland.
“He’ll hear what it was like his whole life and people will talk about this for years and years,” Dekoning said. “We bought a paper so we can show him.”
Cheese for breakfast?
Green and gold are gracing a famous orange cereal box.
The Green Bay Packers will appear on the Wheaties cereal package following their Super Bowl win.
The “Breakfast of Champions” box features five Packers players and “cheesehead fans.”
The cereal has been honoring outstanding athletes for more than 60 years. Appearing on the box are Reggie White, Brett Favre, Mark Chmura, Desmond Howard and Edgar Bennett.
A Pat on the back
The New England Patriots returned to Boston from their Super Bowl defeat, most shunning a welcome from their fans or public officials.
The team took a charter flight to Boston’s Logan Airport, where it landed at 6 p.m. and arrived in Foxboro shortly after 7 p.m.
More than 300 fans stood in the freezing cold and cheered as the Patriots buses arrived, led by a fire engine and escorted by police cruisers. About a half dozen players came over to the barricades set up just outside the stadium to shake hands, sign autographs and thank fans for their support.
“This is amazing. We lost the Super Bowl and they still love the New England Patriots,” said defensive back Otis Smith.
Record day for Fox
With a 43.3 rating and 65 share reported by Nielsen Media Research for the Super Bowl, Fox eclipsed its mark of 34.2 for the 1995 NFC championship game by nearly nine points. The estimated 128.9 million viewers who tuned in Sunday were by far the most ever for Fox.
That figure is fourth on the list of most-watched shows, the other three all being Super Bowls, including last year’s game between Dallas and Pittsburgh, which ranks No. 1 with nearly 138.5 million viewers.
Fox started the day with a 6.4 rating and 16 share for the All-Time All-Madden Super Bowl team from 10-11:30 a.m. PST. The rest of the pregame, from 11:30 a.m.-3:26 p.m., averaged 13.1-27, including a 33.8 for the final 26 minutes.
The ratings for each half hour during the game remained remarkably consistent, with the highest full half hour being 44.3 from 5:30-6 p.m. and the lowest half hour being 41.5 from 3:30-4.