In a state better known for gold panning than the NFL, cheering for the green and gold is pretty common.
On a recent trip to visit family in the Last Frontier State, I noticed at least four Packers mailboxes on Chena Hot Springs Road near Fairbanks and, passing by Fred Meyer’s to pick up grocery store, I spotted numerous Packers magnets and stickers adorning parked cars. I rarely saw signs of people cheering for other NFL teams: instead, it was all about the Packers.
This was also evident during my stay in Anchorage, the state’s largest city.
Why, 3,300 miles from Lambeau Field, are Alaskans more aligned with the Packers than the Seattle Seahawks (the geographically closest team)? Or the Minnesota Vikings or the San Francisco 49ers?
I made a few calls and sent a few emails to find out.
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Everyone I talked to cited one person as the reason why, in recent years, there are so many Packers fans in Alaska. Daryn Colledge, an offensive guard on the Super Bowl XLV team during the 2010-2011 season, is originally from North Pole, Alaska, 12 miles from Fairbanks. If his name rings a bell, it’s also because he co-founded Three Fat Guys Winery in Sonoma with two other former Packers players: Tony Moll and Jason Spitz.
There was also another Alaska Packers player: Tom Neville, a graduate of Ben Eilson High School at Eilson Air Force Base, 24 miles south of Fairbanks, who drew a statewide audience, according to NBC affiliate KTVF Channel 11/CBS affiliate KXDF. 13 in Fairbanks. Neville, a guard who played for the Packers between 1986 and 1988. The stations also shared that in the late 1960s and early 1970s there was a migration of young families to Alaska from the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
But this fandom dates back well before Neville and Colledge joined the team.
“Before the creation of the Seahawks in 1977 (the closest thing to a home team), many of us were tied to teams that played in snow and freezing temperatures,” says Jerry Evans, head of Explore Fairbanks public relations. . “Believe me, the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field often looked like the fields we played on. That’s why I was a Vikings fan before 1977.”
Joan Malcheski, the Packers’ director of branding and marketing, who oversees fan engagement, agrees that cold weather easily unifies. “Packers and Green Bay fans are also known for braving the weather at Lambeau Field, which Alaskans can certainly relate to,” she says. “Enjoying the cold and snow comes naturally to us and enjoying the long winter months is something we all have in common, so Alaska fans would fit right in here in Green Bay.”
In fact, in 2017, a group of Packers fans in Alaska went to a preseason game at Lambeau Field for the first time, resulting in a story broadcast by Green Bay’s NBC affiliate station. And, according to the Packers, there are 25 season ticket holders in Alaska, making Milwaukeeans’ drive to 43 North seem like child’s play compared to the miles they’ll travel for a game at residence. Along the same lines, 2,000 Packers shareholders are from Alaska zip codes.
Green Bay Packers data Packers everywhere (a social network for Packers fans) supports a strong Packers fan base in Alaska. According to the Green Bay Packers, more than 17,000 people in the fan database live in Alaska, a state with a population of just 733,000, and the state has 30,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook. Anchorage actually has the 35th highest number of subscribers in the country. According to the Packers, viewership in Alaska on game days is strong, consistently delivering one of the highest ratings of any program in the market.
Rocky Barnette, a radio host in Fairbanks with Magic 101.1 FM, hosts Monday Night Football promotions and events at local bars and pubs. “There’s no shortage of Packers fans in Alaska,” he said. “In fact, every time they do these surveys, the Packers are consistently the ‘Team Alaska’ winners.
Jack Bonney, vice president of communications at Visit Anchorage, spoke about the Packers bars. “Crossroads is a popular bar for Packers fans,” he says, “and Peanut Farm, Anchorage’s largest sports bar, also hosts a regular contingent of Lambeau faithful.”
If you’re in Alaska and want to connect with Packers fans, it’s easy because there are eight registered Packers barsincluding Angel Creek Lodge in Two Rivers, Alaska, 50 miles from Fairbanks. Accommodating just 38 people, there are also five rustic cabins for overnight stays.
