The Green Bay Packers are one of the most popular National Football League teams ever. They’re highly popular in their home state of Wisconsin, for a start — but they also have a huge fan base outside of the state, and even outside of the country. This unusual position is great for the team and for the fans — but for people on the outside, the question is “why”.

There are plenty of reasons why the Packers are so popular. They are owned by their fans, for a start. They’re also near the top when it comes to championship titles. This is frequently reflected when new NFL gameday odds roll out, which often have the Packers listed as most likely to win. This post will be investigating the popularity of this Wisconsin team and look at why and how they win over their fans.

Fan-led ownership

One of the major reasons why the Green Bay Packers are so popular is that they are owned by a public company rather than a single multi-millionaire owner. Their legal structure is one of the most unusual in the whole of the NFL. The team is owned by a firm called Green Bay Packers, Inc., which is a designated not-for-profit corporation. The Packers are the only team in the major football league which is set up and operated in this manner, so it’s pretty exceptional.

The legal structure of this team is set up in such a way that nobody can own more than a small minority of shares — which means that decision-making is democratic across the organization, and nobody is left with significant overall control. This gives fans a real voice in the decisions of the company — not least of which is the fact that it has been able to stay in the relatively small city of Green Bay, which compared to many of the other teams in the NFL is quite phenomenal. It also speaks to the area’s legacy of working-class communities — communities which once, and to some extent still do, form a fan base for the team.

Top-quality football

It should also be noted, however, that the team is excellent at football as well as have this unusual history in terms of ownership. There’s an argument to be made that the Packers are the best team to have ever graced the NFL, with some of their metrics being close to unrivaled. They have been in the NFL since 1920. In that time, they have won 13 titles as of the time of writing.

While the Packers have not won the most Super Bowls in history, the team is high on the list when it comes to the number of championships they’ve won. This is the sort of achievement that, when coupled with the fan ownership aspect, can inspire loyalty for decades on end — and gives fans a reason to stick around. The odds often reflect this performance too, suggesting that those fans who enjoy placing a wager or two on games will stay around to cheer their team on and hopefully win some cash.

Loyalty inspires loyalty

Finally, it’s also worth remembering that fans rarely switch sides. Many Green Bay Packers fans have inherited their loyalties from their parents, grandparents or friends. This is especially true in a place like Green Bay, where decades ago there were tight-knit communities of workers and friends who all shared pride in the city’s team.

This sort of local loyalty is present everywhere to some extent, but it’s especially pronounced here in a small community like this. The Packers have proven to be a focal point that the whole community can gather around in recent, tougher times for the economy of Midwestern states like Wisconsin. While some of the blue-collar jobs might no longer exist, the Packers are still around — and can act as something of a local point of pride.

In short, there’s no one single reason why the Green Bay Packers enjoy such widespread popularity. One potential reason is that the team is fan-owned and legally structured in a way that doesn’t leave room for takeovers, while another is that they’ve managed to score very highly when it comes to accumulating championship titles. Perhaps, though, the Packers have inherited loyal fans who have passed down this fandom through the generations and have simply never left Lambeau Field.