Good morning and happy Thanksgiving all of you who are reading this column on the holiday! I hope you’re all able to enjoy some time with football, family, friends and food. It’s my favorite holiday of the year, and I’m very excited for everything that lies ahead for the day.

In my Thanksgiving Day column last year, I sprinkled a few reasons throughout the article for why I was thankful for the Green Bay Packers. In the spirit of the holiday, I decided to revisit that once again this year.

So here you are: five reasons for Packer fans to be thankful this year.

1. Public ownership structure

The recent stock sale was yet another reminder of the benefits associated with not having an owner.

There’s no arrogant billionaire capable of holding the city or county hostage for tax dollars for improvements or a new stadium, or threatening to move the team if they don’t get their personal palace funded for them.

There’s no tycoon without any football experience or knowledge meddling in the everyday affairs of the team.

The Packers’ public ownership structure also gives insight into NFL finances that the league would very, very much rather keep private. You can see why that ownership structure is outlawed throughout the rest of the league.

The Packers are the Packers because of the public ownership structure. While the stock may not be stock in the traditional sense, it is a fantastic symbol of the unique connection between the team and its fans, and a great way for the team to remain financially competitive in a tiny market without having to unfairly tax local residents.

2. Matt LaFleur is the coach

I think Packer fans are generally quite thankful for Aaron Rodgers, who has done a significant amount to make this team competitive for the last 14 years. But Matt LaFleur still doesn’t get the credit he deserves for the job he’s done, in my opinion.

When LaFleur was hired, there were a lot of “meh” responses around the internet. After his first press conference, people panicked, saying the Packers hired a greenhorn who was in over his head.

LaFleur has proved a lot of people wrong. The team has nine regular season losses across most of three seasons. The culture of the team has completely changed under his watch, and the offense was brought into the modern era. He’s done a great job of bringing in talented assistants who have made a big difference as well, many of whom will likely soon be in contention for promotions of their own (something we didn’t see much under Mike McCarthy). 

LaFleur was exactly the right coach at the right time for this team.

3. Lambeau Field

If there are any of you reading this who have not been fortunate enough to get to Lambeau Field for a game at least once in your life, I would strongly encourage you to do whatever is in your power to make it happen. It truly is a unique, special experience.

Walking out from the concourse into the stands is a really special experience. And if you’re able to get the stadium tour, you actually get to walk through the tunnel and out into the field itself. 

Just thinking about it gives me chills. There’s been so much magic that has happened in that space and there is a history there that doesn’t exist at most American sports venues.

Moreover, the fact that it is one of the few remaining stadiums that has not sold off naming rights is something I VERY much appreciate.

What a special thing to have all to our own as Packer fans.

4. Great football

There are always going to be vocal minority who screams and whines about “ONLY TWO SUPERBOWLS!” but this fanbase has been so incredibly blessed by the football gods over the last three decades. All except maybe one or two fanbases would gladly switch places with Packer fans. Nearly uninterrupted success, hall of fame quarterback play, meaningful football every year, incredible victories (and yes, heartwrenching defeats). 

The fan experience is absolutely incredible, and once again we have a team that could potentially challenge for a championship.

Can never take that for granted.

5. Tremendous organizational history

This kind of goes along with the previous point, but what other organization in the NFL has a history as rich as the Packers?

13 championships. More than a couple dozen Hall of Famers. Legends of the business. The league’s trophy bears the name of the team’s greatest coach. The Ice Bowl. The Instant Replay game. Chester Marcol. Bart Starr. Brett Favre playing after his father’s death. Aaron Rodgers taking over for a legend. Curly Lambeau’s rivalry with George Halas. Randall Cobb’s game winners.

You could go on and on. 

I’m so thankful to be a Packers fan.

Wisconsin Beer of the Week

Last year around this time I wrote about Untitled Art’s delicious Hazelnut Imperial Stout. Well the good folks at Untitled Art rolled out a nice surprise earlier this fall when they released a barrel-aged version of that same beer. 

This delicious beverage comes in at 13% ABV and is as thick as molasses. It’s sweet, smooth and hits the spot on a chilly fall or winter evening, with a nice hazelnut taste that isn’t too overpowering and a barrel aged flavor that finishes pleasantly instead of harshly.

Lately Untitled Art brews have been getting a little overly sweet for my tastes, but this one has found a really nice balance between sweetness and booziness, and it’s no wonder it’s earned a whopping 4.43 rating on Untappd out of more than 10,000 check-ins.

You may still be able to find this one at your local liquor store. I purchased it a month or so back from Woodman’s.

It’s stout season, folks!

EXTRA BEER: Thanksgiving Edition

Thanksgiving Day is one of my favorite beer days of the year, because it’s one of the several days in which I bust out some of my rare beers/bombers to share with friends and family. These are beers I’ve kept aging for months or years and have been waiting for an opportunity to split with some of my favorite people.

Here are a few that I’m anticipating will make an appearance:

• All Too Well (2021) by 1840 Brewing Company, Flanders Red Ale/Sour. 6% ABV, fermented with a Belgian yeast strain in stainless in June of 2019, refermented and aged in second-use wine barrels with a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria for 25 months.

• Black Friday (2019) by Lakefront Brewery, Russian Imperial Stout, 13.2% ABV. Chocolatey stout with caramel and roasted malts with vanilla and oak flavor.

• Witchcraft (2015) by Brenner Brewing Company, 13.5% ABV. I’ve had this one aging for six years. The last bottle of one of my all-time favorite beers, brewed by a company that no longer exists and never really made anything else worthwhile. A true unicorn. A Russian Imperial Stout aged for a year in bourbon barrels and virgin Missouri oak barrels with nine malt varieties, molasses, honey and Anodyne coffee.

• Old Friends From Young Years (2021) by 1840 Brewing Company, Biere de Garde, 9.3% ABV. Brewed in July 2019 and fermented with a Norwegian farmhouse yeast in a third-use oak puncheon. After over a year of primary fermentation/maturation in oak, moved to stainless with blueberry and blackberry for another year.

• Twenty (2018) by Central Waters Brewing Company, Barrel-Aged Stout, 13.5% ABV. Central Waters’ 20th anniversary stout, featuring a blend of several barrel-aged stouts each aged at least two years. Cellared for another three at my home.

Cheers from my Thanksgiving celebration to yours.

Around the NFC North

Here we go once again around the NFC North leading into week 12.

-The CHICAGO BEARS are rumored to be firing head coach Matt Nagy after today’s game against the Lions, rumors that Nagy himself immediately shot down at his press conference on Tuesday. How could would that be, firing the guy on Thanksgiving? I get that you want to do it going into the mini-bye to give an interim coach a bit more of a shot, but sheesh. Regardless of what happens with Nagy’s job this week, he’s essentially a dead man walking for the remainder of the season, so I guess they may as well rip the Band-Aid off, holidays be damned.

-The DETROIT LIONS once again get to torture the entirety of America as we’re forced to watch them play Thanksgiving Day football. To me though, there’s something soothing and reassuring about seeing the Lions getting pasted every Thanksgiving. It really is the kickoff to the holiday season. Plus, maybe this week they’ll manage to make Nagy look good enough to convince the Bears to give him more time.

-The MINNESOTA VIKINGS are certainly a matchup problem for the Packers, and are capable of being a good football team. The problem is this team swings wildly from one week to the next so you never know who’s going to show up. They could end up being a tough out in the postseason, they could get demolished in the first round, or they could utterly collapse and fail to get there at all--literally any of these outcomes is within the realm of possibility for this team. Anyway, Paul Allen is a douchebag.

Matt LaFleur: Officially the NFL’s hottest coach

It’s nothing we didn’t already know, but Matt LaFleur is totally the hottest coach in the league, and it’s official due to science, ya’ll.

Okay, so it’s a poll of 300-some women based on Google Images results. But still.

Oh wow, Matt LaFleur hottest coach confirmed.

h/t u/codesherpa on reddit pic.twitter.com/BPRZhFPqCZ

— r/GreenBayPackers on reddit (@redditPackers) November 24, 2021

LaFleur ranked first, edging out Miami’s Brian Flores, the Jets’ Robert Saleh, Arizona’s Kliff Kingsbury, Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin and the Rams’ Sean McVay. Women in the survey were asked to rank each coach on a 1-10 scale based on the first 10 photos returned by Google Images.

The man may not be getting the credit he deserves in Coach of the Year races, but at least he’s getting other much-deserved attention, amirite.

Also, ignore how high Bill Belichick is. Please.