The city with a Pack mentality

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- With the undefeated Green Bay Packers on top, fan Jeff Weyers is going over the top.

Weyers, a local developer who bought a house next to Lambeau Field solely for staging charity tailgate parties, is trying something new -- and eeewww -- for tonight’s nationally televised game against Chicago.

He’s roasting the hindquarters of a black bear.

“With the Bears just coming off the Super Bowl, and the Packers starting out 4-0, there’s just an extra little magic in the air,” said Weyers, whose so-called “Bear-B-Que” will benefit local war veterans. “Everybody seems to be up a level this year.”

This is only the second time since 1967 that the Packers have won their first four games, and the team has won eight consecutive games dating to last season. Last Sunday, quarterback Brett Favre set the NFL record for touchdown passes; he has 422.

Even optimistic Packers fans might have been satisfied with a 2-2 record through the first quarter of the season. After all, Green Bay hasn’t reached the postseason in three years, having finished 4-12 in 2004 and 8-8 last season.

“They’re 4-0 in the NFL. That’s a legit team,” Minnesota safety Darren Sharper, a former Packers standout, told reporters after losing to Green Bay last Sunday. “How many teams start out 4-0? Not too many. So, they’re a legit team.”

The Packers, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts are the league’s only undefeated teams.

Green Bay’s offense is built around Favre. The Packers throw 68% of the time, and they have not been able to establish a running game. With former backfield star Ahman Green now playing in Houston, Green Bay has averaged a league-worst 54.3 yards rushing a game. Clearly, the situation troubles Coach Mike McCarthy.

“I’m not interested in throwing 45 times a game,” McCarthy recently told reporters. “I had a coordinator once tell me it’s more fun to throw the ball. It is, but that’s not the best answer over the course of a year.”

As predictable as they might be, the Packers were able to pull off upsets over Philadelphia, the New York Giants and San Diego in the first three weeks. Green Bay was favored in last Sunday’s victory at Minnesota.

Favre has completed 65.9% of his passes for 1,205 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions. Late in the second quarter of the Vikings game, Favre threw the 8,359th pass of his career, breaking another record he shared with Dan Marino.

“Our quarterback is making excellent decisions, spreading the ball around to 10 different receivers,” McCarthy said after the victory over Minnesota. “We’re doing a lot of positive things in the passing game.”

Of course, Favre is no typical NFL quarterback.

Just as Green Bay is no typical NFL city. With a population of slightly more than 102,000, it’s far smaller than any other in the league. The Packers are the only non-profit, community-owned major league sports franchise in the country.

NBC’s John Madden said he gets chills every time he comes to Green Bay to announce a game.

“You go to Lambeau Field and you’re right in the middle of a small town and the leaves are changing here and the Bears are coming in,” Madden said in a conference call. “There’s just something about the Bears at the Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field, it’s just football. It’s America.

“It’s the history, the tradition, the passion; it’s everything I love about the game.”

When the Packers are playing, the streets of Green Bay are empty. Stores in the area don’t play Muzak on their public-address systems but play-by-play from the game -- although it’s not as if those stores get much foot traffic on a fall Sunday, especially this year.

“If you want to make brownie points with your wife, go to a craft fair on the day of a Packers game,” said Brent Weycker, owner of the Titletown Brewing Co. “There will be plenty of parking.”

Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt has an even better idea: “Take her to the game.”

That’s easier said than done. Tickets for today’s sold-out game are going for at least three times face value, with online prices this week ranging from $175 to $648. Schmitt, who has four seats on the 50-yard line, said he has gotten more ticket requests in the past three weeks than he has fielded in five years.

“I’ve got friends calling I haven’t heard from in a while,” Schmitt said. “It’s, ‘How are you doing, Mr. Mayor? We met at a conference once, remember?’. . . There’s a pretty special buzz in town right now.”

Business is booming at Weycker’s restaurant, which is located in a classic railway depot on the Fox River. It’s next door to the Ray Nitschke Bridge, named in honor of a legendary Packer and -- because the Hall of Fame linebacker was a teetotaler -- christened with a bottle of root beer.

Outside the eatery is a 24-foot plaster statue of a nameless Green Bay receiver standing on a giant football and reaching for a pass. It used to be in front of the Packers Hall of Fame, then was moved downtown before being supplanted by a 9/11 memorial.

Weycker said having the Packers in town, especially now that the team has an unblemished record, “makes us feel a little bit bigger than we really are.”

Like the statue, many of the players have a larger-than-life reputation around town.

“We love the Packers win or lose,” the mayor said. “But these are good guys in the community. I’ve been to three charity events in the past week, and there were Packers at every one of them.”

The bear-roasting Weyers, along with his brother, bought four houses next to Lambeau Field for prime access to home games. With three of those, they treat clients to dream football weekends.

They use the fourth house to host 10 tailgate parties a year, for family, friends and business associates.

Last year, they raised $10,000 for Freedom House, an organization that helps single mothers. They’re aiming to raise $20,000 this year for the veterans.

“People go away from Green Bay almost amazed that people are so friendly here,” he said. “It’s one of the few stadiums in the NFL where you can come wearing the opposite team’s colors, and about all you might get is some good-natured ribbing and teasing.”

Unless, that is, you make the mistake of wearing a bear suit.

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sam.farmer@latimes.com