Sports Biz with Darren Rovell

There's Nothing Like The Packers Economy

Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
Getty Images

Green Bay, Wisconsin, is one of my favorite places on earth. I know, it sound strange. Who'd pick the frozen tundra over the waves in Maui? Um, me.

I'm a business reporter and I just love what happens here. A place where, despite the tough economic times for blue collar Americans, buying and supporting everything Packers is part of life. A place that ridiculously has its own NFL team even though their city has the same population as Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Consumers here actually feel the "need" to have the new Aaron Rodgers jersey even though times are tight and don't even a flinch with the credit card. I did some "reporting" at the Green Bay Distillery, a new bar that surrounds Lambeau Field, and spoke with its owner.

The $3 beers from Wednesday night would be $5 tonight. If it weren't about the Packers experience, patrons would refuse to pay. But the owner knows that a beer sipped close to a stadium is simply worth more on gameday.

We're not out of this mess, as President Obama can certainly attest to, and that's why it's pretty awesome to be part of the party with the fans of the Super Bowl champs, who —at least on gamedays — are laughing and spending like nothing ever happened.

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