Basketball has the Boston Celtics; baseball has the Chicago Cubs and the NFL has the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are among the most widely revered and historically significant pro football franchises and for many fans represent the traditions of a bygone era. The Green Bay Packers’ franchise dates back nearly 100 years, first competing as an independent team before joining the NFL in 1921. They’ve experienced considerable success on the field, winning 11 NFL titles prior to the merger and four Super Bowl championships including the first two ever played in 1966 and 1967. They’re far from an anachronism and are competitive in the modern NFL, winning their most recent Super Bowl titles in 1997 and 2011.
Pro football arrived in snowy Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1919 as former high school football rivals George Calhoun and Earl ‘Curly’ Lambeau decided to put together a team. The population of Green Bay was approximately 30,000 then, and while the number of residents has grown to just over 100,000, it remains the smallest US city with a major professional sports team. The Green Bay team got the ‘Packers’ nickname after Calhoun and Lambeau started soliciting financial sponsors. The Indian Packing Company agreed to provide $500 for equipment with the stipulation that the team name reflect their sponsorship. One year after the fledgling National Football League formed they would offer membership to the Green Bay Packers.
To give the history of the Packers’ franchise proper coverage would require a book. It is impossible to talk about the team, however, without a mention of coach Vince Lombardi. Lombardi came to the Packers in 1959 after a stint as an assistant with the New York Giants and built them into a powerhouse. Green Bay would win 5 NFL championships in seven years including victories in the first two head to head title games against the upstart American Football League (later renamed the ‘Super Bowl’). He remained the undisputed leader of the franchise until shortly before his death in 1970. The NFL would rename the trophy given to the Super Bowl champion in his honor. The town of Green Bay didn’t wait for Lombardi’s death to pay tribute and would rename Highland Avenue as ‘Vince Lombardi Avenue’ in 1968.
The post-Lombardi era saw the Green Bay Packers revert to mediocrity. Between 1968 and 1992, the Packers finished with a winning record five times and made the playoffs twice. The team continued to regress during this time frame despite a succession of new coaches and high draft picks. Finally, a shakeup was necessary and in 1992, the Packers hired Ron Wolf as general manager and Paul Holmgreen as head coach. This changing of the guard built the foundation for the competitive Packers teams of the past two decades. Green Bay won a Super Bowl championship in 1996 with Brett Favre at quarterback and another in 2010 with Aaron Rodgers under center.
Along with the Dallas Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers may have the most fans outside of their region of any NFL team. Its not difficult to watch Packers action on television as the team is a favorite of the networks that carry NFL football. Green Bay’s flagship radio station is in Milwaukee–50,000 watt clear channel WTMJ AM. Fans can find a Packers live radio stream on the radio station’s website as well as mobile applications like Tune In Radio. Fans who want to watch Packers football game online don’t have it so easy. The NFL provides streaming as part of their ‘Sunday Ticket’ package, but the subscription is expensive, and the digital access platform hampered by a poorly designed interface.
Fortunately, there are better options for Green Bay Packers live stream viewing. Smart fans don’t worry about the NFL’s fragmented broadcast system and instead watch Green Bay Packers online free. There are countless live sports streams available on the Internet covering an exhaustive array of leagues and teams. Many websites index these streams including Wiziwig, FrontRowSports, Stream2U and others. New sites come online often, and you can locate these with a Google search. It’s easy to locate a Packers football game online, and there are plenty of options to give you the best viewing experience. You can choose the perfect speed for your Internet connection as well as where to watch the game–on your computer, tablet/smartphone or television set. You’re in complete control of your Green Bay Packers live stream viewing and everything is absolutely free!