Packers, Cowboys Put a Lot of Stock in Outcome

I’ve been told by officials that despite incredible public demand, they will put aside a share of Green Bay Packer stock for purchase at Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.

Sure, it would look good hanging between the pair of deer heads on the living room wall, a nice balance to the Denver Bronco helmet with the built-in telephone, but after watching the Packers lose to the Indianapolis Colts last week, I think I’ll wait until the stock drops in price.

“It won’t; no dividends either,” explained Liz Snyder, a representative of Jacobson Rost, hired to promote the sale of 400,000 shares of stock in the Packers at $200 a share with a $15 handling fee. “In fact, I was sitting there watching that game with the Colts and thinking, oh, no, what’s this going to do to everything, but the next day we got more hits than ever on our web site. These people in Wisconsin are incredibly loyal, and they love their Packers.”

Don’t we all.

“As of today we’ve had 110,000 calls on our 800 line, and 5 million hits on the Internet site [www.packers.com] to get the necessary documents to buy the stock,” Snyder said. “We’ve already started selling the stock--it’s first come, first served. We’ll have a trailer at the game Sunday for people to pick up the paperwork to send in for the stock, and they can purchase up to 200 shares. The majority so far are buying two or three shares for Christmas presents.”

(Imagine the look on your wife’s face on Christmas morning as she unwraps her present to find her very own share of Packer stock.)

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to own a piece of the Packers with full voting rights when issues come up,” Snyder said.

Could we get everyone to vote on the issue of whether Brett Favre will be compelled to talk to the media more than once a week?

“The last time they sold Packer stock was in 1947 for $25 a share, and with today’s value of the dollar, those shares are worth about $770,” Snyder said. “But nobody is selling them. They are passed on from generation to generation.

“You just have to get one; I got mine and I wasn’t even a Packer fan. But this is all so intoxicating that I just got caught up in the whole spirit of it and had to have one.”

Hold me back.

Five weeks to go in the season, and while the Packers’ scheme to raise $80 million appears to be a winner, Green Bay’s playoff fate remains in doubt.

Sunday, they play the Cowboys for the first time at Lambeau Field since 1989, the first time in the state of Wisconsin since 1991 (when they played in Milwaukee), and they have been waiting for this game for some time after suffering eight consecutive losses to Dallas.

“We’ve done it before against the Packers,” said Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith, who has averaged 101.6 yards and one touchdown in five regular-season meetings with the Packers. “We have to do it again, no matter what the weather elements are. We expect it to be very loud and very rowdy. But those fans can’t be more rude than the people in Philadelphia and New York.”

Still, it would not be a good idea for Smith to make like the Packers and jump into the stands after scoring a touchdown.

“This game obviously has been a big game on a lot of people’s calendars for a long time,” said Dallas Coach Barry Switzer, who has never been to Lambeau Field. “And certainly for the people in Wisconsin, in light of the fact we haven’t been up there and because [of] the success we’ve had against the Green Bay Packers. There’s a lot of emotion for this game for those people.

“It’s become a more meaningful game because both teams need to win. They’re in a tie atop the division, and we need to win for all the obvious reasons. It’s not two teams with great records. It’s two teams that need victories. That gives this game a different flavor than what everybody probably predicted.”

The winner picks up steam with four games to play in the race for the playoffs, while the loser might have to think about hanging on for wild-card consideration.

The races with five games to play:

* NFC CENTRAL: Three-way tie among Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Green Bay, with the Buccaneers having the easiest schedule down the stretch. Green Bay has a 5-1 division record, a significant tiebreaking advantage, while Minnesota is 3-3 and Tampa Bay 2-3 in the division. The Packers and Vikings meet a week from Monday night, and Green Bay has lost five in a row in Minnesota. Minnesota has games on the road against the first-place Jets and first-place 49ers, and the Buccaneers still have two games left with the hibernating Bears.

Showdown game: Green Bay at Tampa Bay, Dec. 7. If Green Bay loses, Packer fans can sit around the old stove warming themselves--using Packer stock as fuel.

Predicted division winner: Green Bay (12-4).

Predicted wild-card selections: Tampa Bay (11-5) and Minnesota (11-5).

* NFC EAST: The Giants have a one-game lead on the Cowboys and Redskins, and a 4-0 division record as well as a 6-1 conference mark. With all tiebreakers falling the Giants’ way, the Redskins or Cowboys are going to have to finish with a better record than the Giants to win the division title. New York has two games remaining with Washington and finishes the season in Dallas. Washington catches a break with games against St. Louis, Arizona and Philadelphia, so even a split with New York might be enough to let the Redskins slip ahead. Dallas has three home games against Tennessee, Carolina and New York, a game on the road in Cincinnati and a major test in Green Bay.

Showdown game: Dallas at Green Bay, Sunday. If the Cowboys win, they have a chance to run the table and finish 11-5, which would be good enough to win the division title. A loss, and they are probably doomed for wild-card status because of tiebreakers.

Division winner: Washington (10-6).

Wild-card selection: Dallas (10-6).

* NFC WEST: San Francisco has wrapped up the division title and has the overwhelming edge for the home-field advantage throughout the playoffs because of the dogfights in the NFC Central and East divisions.

Showdown game: Denver at San Francisco, Dec. 15. A Monday night game that will be billed as a preview of the Super Bowl.

Division winner: San Francisco (13-3).

Wild-card selections: None.

* AFC EAST: Miami and the New York Jets are tied, but the Dolphins win any tiebreaker with the Jets because they have beaten them twice. Miami has two games remaining with New England, which is one game back, and if the Dolphins can split with the Patriots, they could be in position to lock up the division title. New England, reeling since a 4-0 start, has games against Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, in addition to its two key games against Miami. The Jets have three games against tough NFC Central opponents (Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Detroit), and games against Buffalo and Indianapolis.

Showdown game: New England at Miami, Dec. 22. The final game of the regular season and on Monday night with the Dolphins looking to clinch the division title and edge out the Jets.

Division winner: Miami (10-6).

Wild-card selection: New York Jets (9-7).

* AFC CENTRAL: Jacksonville and Pittsburgh are tied for the division lead and have split their regular-season meetings. If they win out, the Jaguars win the division title because of a better conference record. Jacksonville plays only one team down the stretch with a winning record--New England, and the Patriots aren’t exactly a huge threat. Pittsburgh has to go to New England and must play Denver at home.

Showdown game: Jacksonville at Oakland, Dec. 21. The Jaguars will have played in Buffalo a week earlier and will have to travel to the West Coast to clinch the division against an explosive Raider team trying to fight to save jobs.

Division winner: Jacksonville (12-4).

Wild-card selection: Pittsburgh (11-5).

* AFC WEST: The Broncos were on a roll, but suddenly Kansas City is on their tail, although the Chiefs don’t look very impressive with Rich Gannon at quarterback in place of Elvis Grbac, who has a broken collarbone. Both Denver and Kansas City must play the 49ers, but the Chiefs get them at home. Kansas City finishes the season against three teams with a combined record of 12-21. Denver must not only play in San Francisco, but in Pittsburgh as well.

Showdown games: Denver travels to San Diego on Nov. 30, and hosts the Chargers on Dec. 21. Win those games and Denver probably picks up all tiebreakers and wins the division title.

Division winner: Denver (12-4).

Wild-card selection: Kansas City (11-5).