By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Jan 31, 2011 at 9:02 AM

Someone once joked that God put a "G" on the Packers helmets to let the world know he was rooting for Green Bay.

We're not laughing, because it just might be true.

Unless you're a Steelers or a Bears fan, you have to admit that the Packers are an extra special franchise. As a non-profit, community-owned team in a city with a population of only 100,000, the 91-year-old Packers are an anachronism in modern-day sports.

Never mind their NFL-leading 12 championships (and counting), or the fact that the Super Bowl trophy is named after "Saint" Vince Lombardi. Never mind legendary moments like the Ice Bowl or some guy named Brett Favre and all of his many records. The current Packers are also loaded with talent, too. And they do it in a stadium that has been sold out since 1960, which has nothing to do with the fact that face-value tickets are among the lowest priced in professional sports.

Overall, there might be teams with more fans, but per capita, and in Wisconsin overall, the Packers are nothing short of a way of life. Do you have any doubt that if Ron Wolf ever ran for governor of Wisconsin, he'd win?

If the New York Yankees and Manchester United are everything that's wrong with sports, the Packers are everything that's right.

We're obviously taking a light-hearted "homer" attitude in this article, but here at OnMilwaukee.com, we're as swept up with green and gold fever as you are.

And we know you'll agree that based on these 100 reasons, in no particular order, that the Packers are the greatest sports franchise in the history of the universe:

  1. We won Super Bowl I
  2. We won Super Bowl II
  3. We won Super Bowl XXXI
  4. Three words: No Jerry Jones (or any other rich owner)
  5. "G" on the helmets proves God is a Packers fan
  6. Fuzzy's #63 Bar & Grill
  7. There's always something for TV stations to talk about; Packers' victories keep newspapers in business
  8. Only indisputable fact that proves Wisconsin's superiority over Illinois
  9. Tailgaters create the world's finest cuisine in Lambeau's parking lot
  10. Only Green Bay could make a jerk like Brett Favre seem like a nice guy (for a while)
  11. Lambeau Field's inexpensive season tickets, assuming you're not one of the 83,000 people on 90-year season ticket waiting list
  12. The only football team with a Broadway play about our coach
  13. Mark Chmura's sweet keggers
  14. Parking on lawns boosts local economy
  15. Blaze orange is the third team color
  16. Forgot your flask? The guy next to you probably has one or two
  17. Packers bars, all around the world
  18. It's hard to beat the sight of a 300-pound lineman a on kid's bike
  19. Shirtless fans in sub-zero weather
  20. You can't buy stock in the Seahawks
  21. Gilbert Brown's grave digger burger at Burger King
  22. Reggie White's direct line to God
  23. Charles Martin body-slamming that punk Jim McMahon -- who ended his career playing for Green Bay (and still got booed)
  24. Clay Matthews' flowing locks
  25. Barry Sanders held to -1 yard in playoff game on Dec. 31, 1994 ...
  26. ... and Yancey Thigpen's dropped touchdown on Christmas Eve the next year
  27. The Monday Night Miracle
  28. Don Freakin' Beebe
  29. Brett's changing the play at the line of scrimmage ... Rison is wide open ... touchdown!!
  30. Bart Starr made Rawhide Boys Ranch a household name
  31. The Instant Replay game
  32. The Raji shake
  33. Most storied franchise in NFL history despite Randy Wright
  34. Tony Mandarich (just kidding)
  35. Esera Tuaolo, one of the few players in the NFL to admit he's gay
  36. Fritz Shurmur, may he rest in peace
  37. Vern Biever's legendary photographs
  38. Season tickets are family heirlooms
  39. Domes are for Vikings (and Minnesotans)
  40. Packers gave Green Bay something to talk about other than toilet paper
  41. One more football team than Los Angeles
  42. The Packers Hall of Fame
  43. Lee Remmel
  44. The franchise that justified the construction of I-43
  45. Zubas and mustaches
  46. Stadium full of snowmobile suits
  47. Mike Holmgren: we still miss ya, coach
  48. The muted sound of 146,000 mittens clapping
  49. Reggie White / Sean Jones sandwiches
  50. Packers Sundays boost state's entire economy
  51. Lil' Wayne loves 'em
  52. Singlehandedly keeping the Schnapps industry afloat
  53. Our bench warmers are other team's franchise players
  54. Chris Farley was a Packers fan
  55. The Lambeau Leap ...
  56. ... invented by the beloved LeRoy Butler
  57. The only team that could make make "Bang the Drum" cool
  58. Thirty years of awful teams, and Lambeau was still sold out
  59. Reasonable scalpers
  60. Back to back to back MVP
  61. Someone has to beat the Bears every year
  62. Jim Irwin
  63. Max McGee, may he rest in peace
  64. Larry McCarren
  65. In the unlikely event of a water landing your cheesehead can be used as a flotation device (true story)
  66. Fandom stretches into UP and Minnesota ... and beyond
  67. Only meat packing-related team name in pro sports (we think)
  68. Renovated Lambeau still feels like Lambeau ...
  69. ... and explaining to visiting fans that they finally made it to heaven
  70. World's largest wide receiver statue
  71. 20 years, two quarterbacks (except for Matt Flynn)
  72. Kuuuuuuuuhn!
  73. Kooooooonce!
  74. Ray Nitschke Memorial Bridge, Mike Holmgren Way, Lombardi Avenue, Brett Favre Pass
  75. Da da dat, da dada dat, Go Pack Go!
  76. Titletown has a nice ring to it
  77. Tickets so sought-after that disputes over them can tear families apart
  78. It's the Lombardi trophy
  79. Starr, Dowler, Touchdown!
  80. Lambeau Field is so awesome it's in two cities at once
  81. Even though Lambeau only held 52,000 at the time, over 120,000 people claim to have been at the Ice Bowl
  82. Sitting in the same seats our grandparents sat in 60 years ago
  83. The "Bears still suck" chant
  84. Priests end Mass early so everyone can make noon kickoff, and it's acceptable to wear Packers jerseys to church (even in the off-season)
  85. Bob Harlan used to answer his own phone
  86. We even watched during the Lynn Dickey era
  87. Fickle, but focused and fanatical fan base
  88. Old-school jerseys and merchandise among best sellers in NFL
  89. Wayne "There is your dagger!" Larrivee left Chicago for Green Bay
  90. Donald Driver, a stand-up guy
  91. Kroll's burgers before the game
  92. Desmond Howard's Heisman pose
  93. Buying a beer for a visiting fan and watching the look of amazement on their faces
  94. No professional cheerleaders to distract players
  95. Chester Marcol brought tailgating inside Lambeau
  96. More NFL championships than any other team
  97. High standards: even legends like Paul Hornung, Willie Davis and Jim Taylor do not have their numbers retired
  98. John Facenda made Lombardi seem even more bad-ass
  99. Aaron Rodgers could turn out better than his predecessor (who we shall never speak of again)
  100. Super Bowl XLV Champions (trust us)