On Sunday September 18th, I put on my Green Bay Packers t-shirt and set off from Rivertown toward Eastern Market, walking my dog along the Dequindre Cut.  Let me preface this by saying, in Wisconsin it is acceptable to wear Packers apparel any day of the week, anytime of year.  People just do it.  Go to Wisconsin in April, more than one person, probably an entire family, will be wearing Packers clothes.  On Sundays though, there’s an unspoken agreement that you WILL wear Packers gear.

I grew up just north of Green Bay, but I’ve lived in Minnesota and Chicago before moving to Detroit, proudly wearing Packer gear every now and then, often receiving criticism, lighthearted and otherwise.  I knew there was a risk to walking around Detroit on football Sunday, wearing the green and gold when the Lions didn’t even play the Packers that day.  I was ready to encounter a couple Lions fans and maybe deflect a few jokes and comments.

What I was not prepared for was to walk right into the heart of the Lions’ tailgate where hundreds of die-hard Lion fans were getting ready to cheer their team on against the Tennessee Titans just up the road at Ford Field.

As I nervously walked among the pride, expecting to be heckled at the next turn, I was amazed to find that…….nobody cared.  They smiled, said hi, asked to pet my dog, offered the dog a beer.  The whole area had a friendly vibe, just like you’d find in Green Bay.  The owners of Mootown Ice Cream in Eastern Market even invited us in for a scoop and gave the dog some water.

I gained a great deal of respect for Detroit sports fans that day.  If I were wearing a New York Giants shirt walking around Foxborough, Massachusetts on a Patriots’ game day….I would not have received such a warm welcome.

I actually felt bad for the fans when the Lions lost that game against Tennessee by one point.  I felt they deserved that win, by sheer virtue of the fans good conduct.

But then Green Bay beat Detroit the next week and all was right with the world 😉

-Ryan