About ten years ago, beautiful wife Sandy came up with a surprise holiday gift—a large Green Bay Packers flag. Flagpoles weren’t allowed in yards in the planned community where we lived in Utah. I often flew Old Glory from a standard attached to the building adjacent to our garage door, which was in keeping with community rules.
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| What so proudly I once hailed. |
The second flag posed a bit of a problem during football season. So we devised a sharing system that became an amusement for most (but not all) of our neighbors. A Bears fan down the street definitely was not amused. Neither was a Cowboys fan across the street, but he launched a counter attack by displaying his own team colors. The Bears fan merely seethed.
The sharing plan was simple. If the Packers won their weekly game, their flag was displayed soon after the contest ended. It flew until Wednesday, when it was displaced by the Stars and Stripes. The national flag stayed up until the Pack won again.
When we moved three years ago, our new place had a regulation flagpole installed by the previous owners in the lawn beside the house. There also was a standard beside the garage door, almost exactly like the one in Utah. No rotation problem here. But as one who fancies tradition, the Geezer continued to display the Packers banner in the old way—up after a win, down on Wednesday until the next win.
For almost two years, the rotation worked well. Toward the end of last year, however, it got a little old. The Packers ended the season with six consecutive victories. It became drudgery to take the banner down and reinstall it every week.
Prospects were even better for the team this season, so the Geezer devised a labor-saving strategy—leave the flag up until the Packers lost. The new plan seemed a stroke of genius as the Packers won 11 straight games.
This week, Sandy devised a new strategy for our annual holiday lighting display. Lights were strung most of the way around the garage. The design placed lights perilously close to the Packers flag. With any sort of breeze, the flapping banner threatened to destroy a key part of Sandy’s display. Something had to give. Guess what won out.
Ho, Ho, Ho . . . . Packers, you’re on your own now, you know.
6 comments:
When travelling in the USA I was always impressed by the number of 'stars and stripes' flags outside people's homes.
In the UK it is hard to find our 'Union Flag' displayed anywhere, even on public buildings. However when it comes to international football (soccer) the flags of England, Scotland and Wales spring up all over the place.
Were your holiday lights yellow and green? Dianne
John: There always were U.S. flags flying outside public schools and all government buildings. 9/11 prompted a big surge in flag flying at homes and businesses. I noticed few national flags in my two travels through several countries in central Europe.
Diane: Basically, the bulbs are red and green. Not a single yellow. Darn.
Wayyyyyyyyy cooooooooool! Sandy sure knows the way to make you smile!
You gotta sometimes have the holidays win out...sorry Packers. I am sure you will fly again soon!
Amusing! Reminded me of a young couple who purchased the house across the street from us. My husband was an Ohio State alumni. OSU had been on a winning streak, but when Univ. of Mich. prevailed that year in their eternal rivalry my husband planted a white flag in our yard thoroughly delighting the neighbor's UM alumni wife.
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