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Excitement comes by the shovelful
Fans get inside access to Lambeau but have to work for it
By MEG JONES
Posted: Dec. 27, 2007
Green Bay - Fifty-seven-year-old John Hein works for the Taylor County Highway Department, which means this time of year, he spends his days removing snow.
Hein, who is on vacation this week, decided to wake up early Thursday so he could get on the road at 4:30 a.m., drive about 150 miles and. . . shovel snow.
For eight bucks an hour.
To think that Hein and hundreds of other people here Thursday are nuts would be missing the point, or at least something a Bears fan might think.
Because it wasn't just any sidewalk, steps or porch that needed shoveling.
At 8 a.m. Thursday, Hein and hundreds of other snow-shoveling hopefuls were lined up at Lambeau Field for the chance to clear out the wet, sloppy snow that coated aisles, seats and Lambeau Leap real estate.
"I've removed snow from a lot of places, and now I'm going to be able to say I've been to Mecca," said Hein, who heard about the opportunity Wednesday night. He planned to spend his earnings on gas to get home.
Snow usually is removed from the hallowed confines by Lambeau maintenance workers with leaf blowers. But when there's lots of snow - and on Thursday it was a foot deep in many spots - and it's wet, the Packers call in the shovel cavalry. Even though more snow is forecast for today, the stadium was cleared out Thursday to keep the job manageable on Saturday, said Ted Eisenreich, director of facility operations. The Packers take on the Detroit Lions at home at noon Sunday.
"If we would've waited until Saturday, it would've taken too long," Eisenreich said.
The horde of shovelers is cut off at 300 because any more would just get in each other's way as they walk back and forth to the two long ramps carrying snow down to the field, Eisenreich said.
Hein was one of the lucky ones. After the Packers' 300 shovels had been handed out, more than twice that number of fans snaked outside the stadium. Most would go home disappointed.
Denise Dundas, 44, of Sharpsville, Ind., showed up 45 minutes early with her husband, Tom, and 17-year-old son, Andrew, but "we were cut off, and they said we could wait," she said.
The family was visiting relatives in Tigerton when they heard the call.
Eventually, as some shovelers left, the Dundas family got in. When they return home, they'll have a story to tell their friends and neighbors.
"That's why I wanted to come here, so I could say I shoveled Lambeau Field on my vacation," Denise Dundas said.
For some, it was a chance to get inside a place where tickets haven't been sold to the general public since Vince Lombardi stalked the sidelines in black shoes, white socks and fedora.
"It's such an honor," said Ted Mick, 44, of Green Bay, who has never seen the Packers play at Lambeau. "I wanted to see what it looked like from the inside. Boy, there isn't a bad seat in the house."
After pushing off the snow at Section 114, Row 41, Seats 10 through 15, Mick shed his ski jacket, leaving two layers of clothes. He had joined the line at 6:15 a.m., because the last time he reported for snow removal duty, before the Dec. 9 game, he didn't get a shovel.
"I was a reserve, like the football players waiting for someone to go down," Mick said.
By 8:15 a.m., those in line were told shovels were gone. Some stuck around and eventually got in. Inside there wasn't much talking - just the sounds of scraping shovels, the beep-beep of front-end loaders scooping up snow on the sidelines and the rush of snow tumbling down two long troughs.
Even though Eisenreich knows many would do it for free, the team offers cash to make sure enough hardy people show up. The Packers paid about $10,000 to the shovelers Thursday.
Last year was so balmy, the Packers didn't need any help with snow removal.
On Thursday, it took about three hours to clear out the stadium. About 10:30 a.m., three dozen lucky stiffs were called upon to go down on the field to pull back the tarp. Among them were Derek Glaser and Zach Zonn, both 19 and from Appleton.
"He called me last night," Zonn said of Glaser, "and said, 'Want to shovel snow tomorrow?' And I'm like, 'Are you serious?' And then he said it was at Lambeau, and I'm like,'Yeah!' "
As they each collected $22 in cash for their work, Glaser and Zonn said they couldn't believe they'd actually been paid to walk on the 50-yard line.
"Now if I could get Brett Favre to sign my money, I'd frame it," Glaser said.
From the Dec. 28, 2007 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Excitement comes by the shovelful
Fans get inside access to Lambeau but have to work for it
By MEG JONES
Posted: Dec. 27, 2007
Green Bay - Fifty-seven-year-old John Hein works for the Taylor County Highway Department, which means this time of year, he spends his days removing snow.
Hein, who is on vacation this week, decided to wake up early Thursday so he could get on the road at 4:30 a.m., drive about 150 miles and. . . shovel snow.
For eight bucks an hour.
To think that Hein and hundreds of other people here Thursday are nuts would be missing the point, or at least something a Bears fan might think.
Because it wasn't just any sidewalk, steps or porch that needed shoveling.
At 8 a.m. Thursday, Hein and hundreds of other snow-shoveling hopefuls were lined up at Lambeau Field for the chance to clear out the wet, sloppy snow that coated aisles, seats and Lambeau Leap real estate.
"I've removed snow from a lot of places, and now I'm going to be able to say I've been to Mecca," said Hein, who heard about the opportunity Wednesday night. He planned to spend his earnings on gas to get home.
Snow usually is removed from the hallowed confines by Lambeau maintenance workers with leaf blowers. But when there's lots of snow - and on Thursday it was a foot deep in many spots - and it's wet, the Packers call in the shovel cavalry. Even though more snow is forecast for today, the stadium was cleared out Thursday to keep the job manageable on Saturday, said Ted Eisenreich, director of facility operations. The Packers take on the Detroit Lions at home at noon Sunday.
"If we would've waited until Saturday, it would've taken too long," Eisenreich said.
The horde of shovelers is cut off at 300 because any more would just get in each other's way as they walk back and forth to the two long ramps carrying snow down to the field, Eisenreich said.
Hein was one of the lucky ones. After the Packers' 300 shovels had been handed out, more than twice that number of fans snaked outside the stadium. Most would go home disappointed.
Denise Dundas, 44, of Sharpsville, Ind., showed up 45 minutes early with her husband, Tom, and 17-year-old son, Andrew, but "we were cut off, and they said we could wait," she said.
The family was visiting relatives in Tigerton when they heard the call.
Eventually, as some shovelers left, the Dundas family got in. When they return home, they'll have a story to tell their friends and neighbors.
"That's why I wanted to come here, so I could say I shoveled Lambeau Field on my vacation," Denise Dundas said.
For some, it was a chance to get inside a place where tickets haven't been sold to the general public since Vince Lombardi stalked the sidelines in black shoes, white socks and fedora.
"It's such an honor," said Ted Mick, 44, of Green Bay, who has never seen the Packers play at Lambeau. "I wanted to see what it looked like from the inside. Boy, there isn't a bad seat in the house."
After pushing off the snow at Section 114, Row 41, Seats 10 through 15, Mick shed his ski jacket, leaving two layers of clothes. He had joined the line at 6:15 a.m., because the last time he reported for snow removal duty, before the Dec. 9 game, he didn't get a shovel.
"I was a reserve, like the football players waiting for someone to go down," Mick said.
By 8:15 a.m., those in line were told shovels were gone. Some stuck around and eventually got in. Inside there wasn't much talking - just the sounds of scraping shovels, the beep-beep of front-end loaders scooping up snow on the sidelines and the rush of snow tumbling down two long troughs.
Even though Eisenreich knows many would do it for free, the team offers cash to make sure enough hardy people show up. The Packers paid about $10,000 to the shovelers Thursday.
Last year was so balmy, the Packers didn't need any help with snow removal.
On Thursday, it took about three hours to clear out the stadium. About 10:30 a.m., three dozen lucky stiffs were called upon to go down on the field to pull back the tarp. Among them were Derek Glaser and Zach Zonn, both 19 and from Appleton.
"He called me last night," Zonn said of Glaser, "and said, 'Want to shovel snow tomorrow?' And I'm like, 'Are you serious?' And then he said it was at Lambeau, and I'm like,'Yeah!' "
As they each collected $22 in cash for their work, Glaser and Zonn said they couldn't believe they'd actually been paid to walk on the 50-yard line.
"Now if I could get Brett Favre to sign my money, I'd frame it," Glaser said.
From the Dec. 28, 2007 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
