Joey T\'s DHPF of the Month

Name: Scott Schwartz

Currently resides in:  Pulaski, Wisconsin

Q: What city/state were you born and raised?

A: Born in Green Bay, raised in Pulaski, Lived in one or the other my whole life.

Q: How long have you been a Packer Fan?

A: I’m pretty sure I came out of the womb a Packer fan, my parents were season ticket holders who attended the Ice Bowl.  They got to see the Lombardi team from the same seats I watched the Favre era!

Q: Why do you love the packers?

A: I’m from Green Bay, is that even a question?

Q: Who is your all-time favorite player? Why?

A: I have many favorites, it was always fun watching Favre. You would never label him as predictable. Tony Bennett was a great player and a hell of a nice guy. Gilbert Brown was a great player with a great sense of humor. Donald Driver was always quick with that 100 watt smile. The players I tend to admire are the guys who are more about the team than themselves.

Q: Who’s your favorite player now? Why?

A: Again, it’s hard to pick favorites.  I like the team oriented guys. Jordy, Kuhn, Cobb, Peppers and of course Rodgers.

Q: You recently met Dave Robinson at the Ultimate Packer Fan Connection.  Tell us about that

A: Meeting Dave Robinson and Bob Long from the Lombardi years and to be able to actually sit down and talk with them 1 on 1 was incredible. To laugh with them one minute over a St. Norberts training camp story and then talk about Vince Lombardi and how he forever changed their lives the next was an experience that is beyond words… I wish I could have seen them play. Back then it wasn’t about the money or the perks, it was about the love of the game. I asked Bob what he thought about the big contracts today’s players get and he said he wouldn’t have minded the big payday but he would have played for free.

Q: Tell us about the Jack Daniels Tailgate awards?  We understand you won it three times and missed a fourth?

A: 2000 to 2004 Jack Daniels ran a tailgate competition called “The Great American Tailgate Party” looking for the best tailgates across the country, they went to all the stadiums and looked for the best parties they could find. I won the 1st, 2nd and 4th years. The 3rd year they made me a judge for the competition so I wasn’t eligible. If the Pack had gone to the Super Bowl in those years I would have been mighty popular… 6 tickets all expenses paid. That didn’t happen but the people at Jack Daniels did throw me a hell of a reception after my wedding.

Q: Why do you tailgate so passionately?

A: I have met some of the greatest people in Lot 1 in the 25 plus years I’ve been tailgating. There are people in this group I consider to be my best friends. Some of them I don’t get to see but once or twice a year… but it’s like a greatly anticipated reunion, a Lot 1 Packer family reunion. The party we have in Lot 1 isn’t all me, it’s a group of 4 or 5 Diehards that bring in everybody, when 1 of them is missing the whole thing is just not right. Then there are 4 or 5 groups that come once a year to make it really special! A few years ago we were invited into the “Tailgating Hall of Fame”, that was an honor. One of the things that make it a great Tailgate is that we welcome fans from the opposing team. Steve “The Owner” Tate is a member of the “Professional Football Ultimate Fan Association”. When super fans from the other teams come to tailgate at Lambeau, Steve brings them to tailgate with us. Lot 1… It’s where the cool kids hang!

Q: Do you have any game day rituals in Lot 1? Gilmartins Tim the Die Hard Packer Fan. What is the origin of the tradition and how has it evolved?

A: I met Paul Gilmartin at a comedy club in Green Bay in the mid 90’s. He gave me a signed copy of “Tim” and it just became a thing. I think we just happened to be standing on the tailgate one time when “Tim” came on the PA system and we kind of acted it out, and the crowd response had us hooked. It used to be my good friend Mike Wertel and I standing on the tailgate reciting the poem, very loudly I might add, but he has kids now and doesn’t get to many games. Now it is my friend Justin Sipla from Iowa who stands next to me. We also recite “The Wedge of Allegiance” by Cheeseheads with Attitude, 2 or 3 shows a game… depends on our state of mind.

Q: Do you have a Packer’s man-cave in your home for watching the games you do not attend?  Tell us about it

A: Yes I do! I have my own little “Hall of Fame” in the basement. Floor to ceiling Packers… even some on the ceiling and the floor! Carpet from the locker room, chairs from Sky boxes, and lots of helmets and footballs. I think you get the picture… There is no more room for anything else but I can’t stop collecting. It’s not all Packer either, in one corner is a shrine to Jack Daniels, the bar is made from empty Jack Daniels barrels.

Q: Cribbage is such a Wisconsin tradition. Tell us about your Cribbage Play.

A: I like a good game of Cribbage, I have taught a lot of people how to play. I’m think that when I get older Cribbage may become part of the Game Day ritual.

Q: How about that recipe for Apple Pie we’ve heard so much about

A: Grandma Lambeau’s Homemade Cherry Apple Pie in a Bottle, Made with Love… and 190 proof liquor. The recipe is not mine to give away, sorry.  Just come to a game, there is always plenty. I bring up to 5 gallons a game now.

Any last words you\’d like to say to the Packer Nation?

Come on out to Lot 1 for a Green package game. I can’t guarantee that that I’ll be there for Gold package games but I sometimes am. Come join this Packer family reunion. 4 hours of game day excitement and love that you will find nowhere else on earth! Lot 1 @ Lambeau… Where’s your happy place?

Scott\’s Gallery