I read an article online today that is one of those “warm fuzzy feeling” articles if you are a Packers fan. With a 3-4 start and what first looked like a dismal season, you have heard more doubt that ever in the voices of Packers fans. But the reality of it still stands. As Wisconsinites, we live and die for our Packers (and a lesser extent, the Badgers). I worked at Target on Sunday during the game, and between 3:00pm-6:30pm, the store was DEAD. That is crazy for a Sunday afternoon. The roads are quiet, and people plan their Sundays around the Packers. The Packers are the only NFL team owned by the fans, and not some corporate yuppy. Even if the Packers end up 1-15, we’ll still be proud Packer fans.

As Wisconsinites, we know this. But it gives that “warm fuzzy” when someone else comes into town and says the same thing.

Ernie Accorsi, senior vice president and general manager of the New York Giants, left Green Bay with a newfound appreciation for the Packers’ culture and fans. He was so moved, he wrote a letter to the Green Bay Press-Gazette to express his feelings.

“I’ve never written a letter to the editor before,” Accorsi said Thursday from his New York office. “But it struck me that, as I near the end of my career, win or lose, this is great. The trip to Green Bay was a great experience.”

“I rarely walk on a field before a game,” he said. “But I went down there and asked this older guy where the quarterback sneak (Bart Starr’s winning touchdown in the 1967 Ice Bowl) was. He said it was right where the R is. I mean, it’s like Cooperstown. I even went to the (Packers) Hall of Fame.”

“When we pulled out of the parking lot,” he said, “the fans were applauding us and waving. These were people in Packers attire. I can tell you, we don’t get that when we pull out after a win in Philadelphia. But these people love their team.”

Yes we do, Ernie… thanks for noticing.