GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — As fans of the only NFL team that finished the 2021 season undefeated at home, some Packers diehards are making sure the term "home field advantage" rings true by encouraging season ticket holders to only resell their tickets to fans of Green Bay and not the divisional enemy, San Francisco.
Many Packers fans say they're more motivated to fortify the home crowd than in previous playoffs after seeing AT&T Stadium overrun by 49ers fans last week during the NFC wildcard game against the Dallas Cowboys.
"We saw what happened in LA, and we also saw what happened in Dallas. Which, I was very surprised there were a lot of San Francisco fans," Jason Ells, who sold his season tickets on Facebook this week, said. A Facebook friend messaged him about the tickets, but Ells had to be sure he was a Packers fan before selling to him.
"I know he wasn't from Wisconsin, so I said 'I just got to check and make sure you're a Packer fan,'" Ells said. "He said 'yes, I'm a Packer fan. 30 years ago I couldn't say that, but now I am.' So I said 'okay, we'll sell them to you."
Chuck Gylock is a Packers fan in Escanaba, Michigan, who wasn't interested in making the two-hour drive home after the Saturday night game.
"I know a lot of people locally that like to go to games," Gylock said. "So I just put it out on my Facebook page and a local teacher – you know she's a Packer fan – bought the ticket ... I don't deal with anybody but Packer fans."
Kyle Cousineau has gone farther than the average fan by has been using his platform on Twitter to help connect Packers fans looking to sell and purchase postseason tickets since 2013. Sellers direct message him, Cousineau advertises the listing in a Tweet, and he then connects interested buyers with the seller – at no charge, just out of the goodness of his green and gold heart.
"All of these people on Twitter were talking about selling tickets to opposing fans because they were the highest bidder and I said to myself, it just didn't really make sense because I know that there is a market obviously for Packer fans," Cousineau said.
While Cousineau understands that visiting fans boost the local economy by spending out-of-state money in the area, but he wants the Packers players to truly benefit from their hard-earned home-field advantage.
"I've been to games, like the 2007 NFC Championship game when they lost to the Giants, and there was so much blue and red in the stands. It was offensive!" Cousineau said. "I've been at the 49ers games when Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers came here and beat us. It was offensive that there were so many 49ers fans."
At the time of publication, Vivid Seats' Fan Forecast technology estimated the Saturday night Lambeau Field crowd to be 74% Packers fans and 26% 49ers fans. The algorithm used is based on the company's ticket sales and other proprietary data.
"It's going to be so important that our fans are nice and loud for us, and they either keep their tickets and come to the game or sell 'em to Green Bay Packer fans," head coach Matt LaFleur said.
