Cheese heads to tame the crowd | Sports

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With the Ryder Cup approaching, the European team’s players had a gesture to please the local fans, and were even more combative in the last US edition (2016) in which they upset nearly every visitor until they were knocked out of position. some of the participants.

In a sign to sign the peace and leave a friendly wink for the fans who will be watching the tournament live, European golfers appeared on the training ground on Thursday with two details: a giant cheese hat and a green ribbon on the tournament’s polo shirts. official equipment.

Both symbols have a very special meaning in relation to the NFL team from Wisconsin, the Ryder Cup scene (which was played at Kohler). Specifically, the Green Bay Packers, whose fans often proudly wear a giant cheesecloth on their heads. Colloquially, they are called “Cheeseheads” and are a symbol of identity with an origin related to one of the products known in Wisconsin.

cheese symbol origin

The green stripe on the sleeves simply honors the color of the Green Bay Packers. Besides cheese, they are both symbols of the American football team, which has eleven NFL titles and four Super Bowls.

But where does the cheese symbol come from? What is the origin? The answer is simple. Wisconsin produces nearly a quarter of the cheese made in the United States. It is made on farms and from milking, which is sometimes done in adverse climatic conditions and below zero. It symbolizes the spirit of the hard-working.

For this reason, fans, wherever the Green Bay Packers play, flock to the stadiums with their heads covered in flashy hats or hats with large chunks of cheese on the head.

But beyond those huge decorations, there is a broader context regarding the Green Bay Packers’ rivalry with the Chicago Bears. When the latter won the Superbowl in 1985, they began calling their rivals “Cheeseheads” disparagingly.

Ralph Bruno, The “Cheese” Revelation

However, Wisconsin fans were not offended and the first to don a giant cheese hat was a fan named Ralph Bruno.

In 1987, he showed up to the state with a giant cheesecloth on his head made of stuffing foam from his mother’s chair. The idea caught everyone’s eye and other fans asked Bruno for hats like him. This is how he began making the famous cheese heads which he would later sell at sporting events.

Eventually, he created and patented a company called Formation Inc that manufactures cheese-related products for Green Bay Packers fans. Their famous hats cemented the identity of Green Bay City, the youngest (100,000 residents) to be owned by an NFL franchise.

An idea that was delayed for two years before that

The idea of ​​playing for Team Wisconsin symbols was floated by the Ryder Cup team two years ago. Everyone thought they’d wear a different uniform, and Captain Padraig Harrington suggested he wink at the local audience with Green Bay Packers’ clothing and symbols.

After walking around with cheese on his head and green ribbon on sticks, Harrington left a few kind words for local fans: Why don’t you recognize Wisconsin, where are we going to play? I’m a Petraeus fan, but now I’m a fan of the Green Bay Packers.”

Harrington changed the color of the NFL jersey for a few days. His teammates also became Green Bay fans. And all, to try to appease the reckless American fans, who, perhaps, seeing the cheese on the heads of European players, were not very cheerful during the Ryder Cup duels.

Juan Jose Lahuerta

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