Team

No time to be gloomy about football being over, Packer fans. The offseason can be fun -- the NFL makes sure of that. Besides providing top level entertainment, the National Football League is one of the most brilliant marketing organizations in all of corporate America. The league has thought of many, many ways to keep our attention on football almost year-round -- even if we enjoy other sports such as Major League Baseball.

The Start of Free Agency

My friends who are fans of teams that participate in free agency, like the Redskins or even the Eagles, tell me that this can be quite an exciting time. You get to speculate with your buddies about which free agents could help your team and why. For Packer fans of course, this is a period of quiet reflection about our perennial lack of salary cap room.

The Schedule Being Released

The drama surrounding this event seems to build more and more every year. Although we pretty well know who the Packers will be playing in the upcoming season, it's still thrilling to see the "when". You get to dream about which games at Lambeau you'd like to attend. Or for Packer fans outside of Wisconsin, we get to see if the Pack will be playing an away game near where we live. And in these economic times, knowing the schedule well in advance is beneficial because we can begin saving up in April to possibly be able to afford the tickets in October.

The NFL Draft

I find myself getting way too caught up in the excitement prior to and during the Draft. I buy all the magazines that discuss the college players eligible to be drafted, and I pick the ones I'd like the Packers to consider. Why I spend time on this is not clear because I know absolutely nothing about the art and science of assembling a football team. But then, history has shown there have been a number of General Managers of NFL teams who don't seem to either. The difference is, of course, that they get paid big bucks to make their consistent errors in judgment. I on the other hand have the out-of-pocket cost for all the magazines.

A Virtual Trip to the Packers Pro Shop

If you've never visited the Packers online store, you definitely should make it a high priority in the offseason. They have almost every item you could think of to make a Packer fan better dressed for the upcoming season, to show Packer pride with flags, banners, and bumper stickers -- even to improve the dor of your home by having it completely decorated in Green and Gold. After I invested in these home improvements, I noticed the number of Bears and Vikings fans who came over started to dwindle, which is nice.