In getting acclimated to Milwaukee and the overall Wisconsin sporting fan base, one thing through my first two months here that really caught my attention was the sniping at Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson, and the way he goes about his draft business.

It was sort of a low rumble at first, at times drowned out by interesting, up-and-down Milwaukee Bucks team and the start of the Milwaukee Brewers season.

Yet now, as the National League Football Draft is about to begin, I've heard all about how Thompson doesn't take who he should, and when he should. How he loves little known players from little known colleges. How, chances are, he'll bungle something, somewhere, over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

As someone who has watched the Packers from afar, it's fascinating.

In Chicago, Bears fans would look north and wonder why their general manager couldn't draft like Thompson.

Listening to all of the Thompson bashing the last couple of months up here, it made me wonder if that was a case of the grass being greener.

Closer examination proves one thing: Bears fans have it right, Packers fans have it wrong. Thompson is the real deal, and any Packers supporter should be excited about this weekend and what that man will do in reshaping this roster.

While the draft has exploded into a true made-for-television event, few fans can actually sit by the television with true excitement over what their organization will do. For all of the time and money poured into evaluating these players, the odds remain slim that a team will actually draft correctly, and then develop correctly.

Need Packers fans look any further than Cleveland, Miami, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Oakland?

And they definitely don't need to look any further than the last two years – a Super Bowl champion in 2010 and a 15-1 team last season.

Since taking over prior to the 2005 draft Thompson's teams have gone 67-45 with four playoff appearances, including three in a row heading into this season.

His draft record is impeccable.

You can say he didn't have to work too hard to pick Aaron Rodgers at the end of the first round in 2005, but no one would have blamed him back then for passing on what is now the best quarterback in football.

That was probably his weakest draft class, but if you nab Rodgers and Nick Collins in your first two rounds, that makes up for the misses later – especially considering he took the job just three months before the selection process and was working with a coach he would soon fire.

So from 2006 to 2011, seasons in which he had a full year to evaluate talent and find players to fit the coaching style of Mike McCarthy, Thompson has been on fire.

The man has drafted a Defensive Rookie of the Year (A.J. Hawk), a Defensive Player of the Year (Clay Matthews), an NFL and Super Bowl MVP (Rodgers) and fellow Pro Bowlers B.J. Raji, Greg Jennings and Nick Collins.

Those are just the "proven stars" in that they have titles to attach to their names. It wouldn't be a stretch to say Jordy Nelson or Jermichael Finley will be Pro Bowlers as soon as this season.

Then you've got solid starters or contributors every sustainable winning NFL franchise needs – guys like Mason Crosby, James Starks and even Brady Poppinga.

Without a doubt, Thompson will select a player or three the draftniks consider a reach or a project or one the fans have no idea about. But that's the point of this thing – he's supposed to know more than them, and you.

And his track record has proven he does. So sit back, enjoy it, and look forward to Sundays.