When we were driving towards the Dalton Highway which takes you to Prudhoe Bay before coming to a rather abrupt end at the Beaufort Sea which is part of the Artic Ocean, I came across an Adopt A Spot Highway sign that proudly proclaimed that this particular stretch of highway was being kept clean by the "Farthest North Packer Fans". When I took the picture I also checked my GPS coordinates to document this momentous occasion.
65 degrees 7 minutes North latitude and an altitude of 1,190 feet marks the claim of these diehard cheese heads. Now, Greenbay, Wisconsin has been known to entertain some pretty frosty conditions but it intrigued me to find loyal fans of the green and yellow so far from home.
So it got me to thinking - why doesn't this "Great Land" as Alaska refers to itself not have an NFL team of its own? The state is chock full of great names for a team. Chicago may have the Bears but Alaska has the Grizzlies and Polar Bears. Denver may have them Broncos, but here they have Caribou and Muskoxen (OK, even I wouldn't want to cheer on a team called the mighty Oxen). The list goes on and on - there's Moose, Wolves, Wolverines, Whales, Eagles, and my vote getter - the Halibut. And heck, if the fightin' Alaska Halibuts can't win football games that's OK cause they're still good to eat which is more than can be said for those cheese curd things they brag about in Green Bay.
Still, I don't think Alaska will be getting a pro team anytime soon and it's not just the problem of what to name them. I might have mentioned (over, and over, and over) that it can get a little chilly up here at about the same time the football season commences. I checked to see the coldest NFL game ever played. It is referred to as the Freezer Bowl and took place January 10, 1982 as the San Diego Chargers took on the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1981 AFC Championship game. Temperature for the game? A balmy 9 degrees below zero. Heck, 9 below wouldn't get Alaskans to throw another log on the fire or even close the window. Would the macho NFL be up for something a wee bit colder - say in the 30-60 below range? They talk about it getting so cold tires freeze into squares so I can only imagine what would happen to the poor pigskin at those temps. You think 'Deflate-gate' was bad - just wait for 'Icegate' where receivers are knocked unconscious as the frozen ice football careens off their helmets. Of course I'm being silly, none of this would happen because the QB couldn't get his fur lined mittens off fast enough to actually throw the ice bomb anywhere. And how about the poor cheerleaders? It may be sexist but no one wants to see gorgeous women all bundled up in mukluks and anoraks and bulky fur hats. And let's not forget the fans. Fairbanks, where I am now, boasts about 36,000 folks with a total of nearly 100,000 within a hundred square miles. So they might be able to just about fill a stadium but with that many people all seeing their breath at 40 below forget about Freezer Bowls, it would be more like the Fog Bowl. The announcers wouldn't even be able to see what was happening on the field.
So I guess Alaska and pro football won't be connecting anytime soon. Those 'Farthest North Packer Fans' can continue to root for their favorite team. It gets me to wondering though; where lives the 'Farthest North BRONCO Fan'? If anyone knows and by chance he (or she!) Is up this way I'd love to look them up. As I close I'll dedicate this to Steven L. who is a part of the wonderful Help Desk at the company I retired from and a diehard Packer fanatic and to Ms. D. Jones, perhaps the best unsung fan in Bronco Nation. If you ever move north there's still some unclaimed stretches of tundra and permafrost available for cleanup.
To see how the students at the University of Alaska/Fairbanks celebrate the cold click here.
Love the pic from the U of Alaska/Fairbanks posing in "balmy" -49F weather :-)
ReplyDeleteAh, to be young, stupid, and frozen again. Those students are still there in front of the sign to this day in those very same poses. There's a lottery guessing at when they'll thaw. Most say by august; I'm going with late September... 2022.
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DeleteAh, to be young, stupid, and frozen again. Those students are still there in front of the sign to this day in those very same poses. There's a lottery guessing at when they'll thaw. Most say by august; I'm going with late September... 2022.
DeletePerhaps you didn't notice, but about 1/2 mile up the Elliot Highway (to the North) from the spot where you took this picture there is a mailbox that could have given even more flavor to your story. The mailbox proudly proclaims a house, or should we say, cabin divided, for it hails the GB Packers on one side and the Atlanta Falcons on the other. ;-)
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