The religious aspect the Packers presents in the community is a subtopic to how they affect culture. Packer fan culture has been accumulated over the years through the fans support of players, support during a financial crisis, and Green Bay’s undying love for the sport of football. Religion has been a prominent influence over the years beginning with Vince Lombardi and his spread of religion to his teammates and players, now to today with local churches around Green Bay.
Life Church, a nondenominational church in De Pere, is specifically influenced by the Packers and their faith and work closely with them. The interview above is Sonny Hennessy, the co-pastor at Life Church. Her and her husband Saun, the head pastor, run the church and spread their faith across De Pere and the Green Bay area. She specifically says how Green Bay Packer pride is different from other football teams in regards to the love the fans have for the community. The Packers have been a long time fan-owned team with financial support coming directly from the fans and community for years. This, she says, is the foundation for Packer love and why she feels the fan base is so strong; the fans are becoming and owning a part of a team they have come to love.
She also goes on to say how the Packers have specifically influenced her church through the sermon times and when they expect people to show up to worship on Packer Sundays. The church is specifically busy during their 8 am sermon. When there is a noon game they plan on many people attending including Packer players themselves. The later sermons are expected to have fewer attendees because people are off watching the game by the noon service. This supports the idea that even in regards to religion, the fans still plan their days around the Packers and make sure they can not only get in their early Sunday worships with some of the teammates, but enjoy the noon game as well.