Lambeau Field and More – Wisconsin to U.P.

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Lambeau Field and More

“The Frozen Tundra!” “A Storied Franchise!” “The Ice Bowl” and so much more. The Driveby Tourist visits “Titletown USA!”, at least that is what Packer fans call it. One must go through WI from MN to get to the Upper Peninsula of MI (U.P.) So, Lambeau Field and More, so much more. The “shrine” in Green Bay! And this post includes other WI well knowns. Leinie Lodge and the Museum of Industry and Technology.

Lambeau Field and More Leinie
Entrance to Lambeau. The Driveby Tourist is not a Packer fan but this stadium was on the bucket list and saw a game here about 4 or 5 years ago.
Packers
No post is complete without mention of an old time rival! …and the Vikings weren’t the first MN team to play the Packers.

Packer history

This stadium initially built in 1957, continues to host the team but the Packers have been in the NFL since 1921. Another key point, the NFL began its first season in 1920. And the NFL started as the American Professional Football Association. Following the 1921 season, the league changed its name to the National Football League starting in 1922. At this point, the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals remain the only founding teams still active in the NFL. The Packers joined in 1921 and are now the longest continually operating team in the same city. (The Chicago Bears started as the Decatur Staleys and the Cardinals started as the Racine (WI) Cardinals.) Here is a link to the Packers history. And a link to the NFL history.

Lambeau Field

Curly Lambeau Packers
Curly Lambeau

So, back to the stadium mentioned above; City Stadium was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965 after Curly Lambeau (link). As a matter of fact, Lambeau became the first coach of the Packers as well as a player on the team. He continued playing through the 1929 season. And his tenure as coach ended in 1949. Lambeau Field expanded and modernized to remain a great NFL stadium. But, it can still be the Frozen Tundra! Here is a link to the previous post about the U.P. trip including Green Bay.

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Packer Hall of Fame

Frozen Tundra
Packers Hall of Fame pictures near the entrance
Packer Hall of Fame
Packer Hall of Fame entry sign

Of course, the Packers Hall of Fame is a highlight as well. Undeniably, some of the great ones pictured above played prominent roles in Packer history. In reality, the HOF includes many exhibits from the history of this Storied Franchise.

For example, a video with highlights of the Ice Bowl runs on a continuous loop while the museum is open. The game time temperature reached a “high” of -15 and the wind chill was later calculated to be -48 (and some said -55). The Packers led 14-0 at halftime but Dallas came back to go up 17-14 until late in the fourth quarter. The Packers started a drive and got it to the one-yard line with 16 seconds to play. On a surprise play, Bart Starr ran a quarterback sneak into the end zone for the winning score. As a result, two phrases that will likely be remembered for decades, and more decades, originated from this game. “The Ice Bowl.” And “The Frozen Tundra”. Another Lambeau story. And that game led to the Packers first Super Bowl win!

Packer Wrap up

Packers Lambeau
Vince Lombardi

Of course, no story about the Packers would be complete without Vince Lombardi. During his tenure, the Packers won 5 championships, including the first two Super Bowls. As a result, the NFL Super Bowl trophy became the Vince Lombardi trophy. And the Packers have won four Super Bowls and a total of 13 NFL Championships. That’s more than any other team.

And now to the “More” in Lambeau Field and More

Lambeau Field and More

Museum of Industry and Technology

Leinie
Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry and Technology

Chippewa Falls WI hosts this museum. First, Leinenkugel Brewery (Leinie) is headquartered here. Secondly, it is the birthplace of Seymour Cray, considered the father of modern supercomputing. Consequently, the company he founded, Cray Research, Inc. located here. He also formed or co-founded several other companies including Cray Computer Corporation and Control Data Corporation. Unfortunately, museum hours did not include the visit time of The Driveby Tourist. Would have been great to see this one. (Not a Lambeau story but a good part of the trip.) Maybe next time through here. (It’s near I-94 so a better chance to get here than other parts of northern WI). Here is a link to the museum.

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Leinenkugel Brewing

Leinie Lodge
Leinie Lodge
Leinie Lodge
And how about beer draft taps!

Leinie Lodge, created by Leinenkugel’s brewery became a gift shop, a beer tasting bar, and public face for the brewery. Leinie’s became a fixture in the Mid-West and is now sold in all 50 states. The company is currently owned by MillerCoors. I’m sure Leinie Lodge plays a role at Lambeau! Here is a link to Leinie Lodge.

Monk Botanical Garden

Monk Botanical Garden photo

The garden is well known in central WI and is a major drawing point for the surrounding area as well as tourists from other states. The Botanical Garden is a highlight for the city of Wausau WI. Here is a link to the Botanical Garden.

Summary

A great day driving through Wisconsin on the way to the U.P. From here, The Driveby Tourist goes into the U.P. and sees lots of sights in that unique area. Lots of land (and trees) but comparatively few people.

in conclusion, finding a rock and roll song to go with this post was difficult. One of them does exist. Unfortunately, it’s more “something else” but… “Aaron Rodgers Rock & Roll” by Ed Lemberger. At least it contains Rock & Roll in the title and is about the Packers!

“Aaron Rodgers Rock and Roll
Rock on through that Super Bowl”

With that, The Driveby Tourist brings this post to an abrupt halt. Next post, the U.P.! Oh, here is a link to the next post.

The Driveby Tourist #the-driveby-tourist