Another season is in full swing yet the Chicago Packers continue to see a lack of engagement by their fans. The team ranks 12th at the gate which is an indication that their attendance is below where it should be. When asked about attendance at the park, team manager Kyle Levin stated “I could care less how many people watch us. My commitment is to the boys on the field.” Levin’s statement seems to be a reflection on the general feeling of apathy in the community that the team is emanating. Clearly if the team does not care about its fans, the fans will in turn not care about the team. Those feelings of apathy seem to be magnified by Levin and the rest of the team’s ho-hum approach to building their team.
When new general manager Larry Link took over, the Packers were a team mired in mediocrity. They had a total of four winning seasons out of the twenty seasons of existence. Link was hired and proclaimed to be the one to finally turn the team into a perennial winner. Up to this point, it has been more of the same for the team. Almost nothing has changed. The stadium as well as the teams winning percentage both remains just as they were before Link was placed in charge. When asked about Link’s performance, Packers owner Wilfred Hocking also emitted apathy, “He’s doing fine I guess” he stated. With a response like that, without delving into specifics, Hocking seems to be in a similar vein as the fans of the franchise.
With an apathetic fanbase, manager, and team owner clearly the team must feel good about going out every day and doing battle with their opponents, however after consulting with a couple of team members the overall tone remains unchanged during our observation. “Who do we play today?” pitcher Joseph Kinsley asked aloud. “Does it matter?” catcher Thomas Clark responded in the moment. “I think its Detroit,” second baseman Alvis Allen shouted from a short distance away. The opponent that day in fact was St. Louis. Although players need to show up and just play no matter whom the opponent may be, when a team shows no specific interest or strategy in their actual opponent that day they are propagating the apathetic view that seems to be common.
Surely, their must be someone who cares about the Chicago Packers. Well, that person appears to be their general manager. “I might not always have something profound to say or feel like making my presence known,” Link proclaimed, “you can rest assured I am operating behind the scenes. In the shadows if you will.” It’s hard to argue as Link might be discussing strategy with his manager, team, or owner in private behind closed doors. Such a stance may not necessarily produce high attendance numbers, but those may be on the horizon. Link announced, “If you don’t win the fans will stay home”. With that sort of attitude it sounds like the team needs to find a winning formula. Although the wins have not exactly been rolling in, Link appears to still be working on it. “Stick with us folks,” he said confidently. For a team that appears to be stuck in the mud going nowhere, at least their general manager appears to not be bitten by the apathy bug like everyone else.
