Here come the cheeseheads: Sacramento’s Packer fans rev up for title game with 49ers

The Green Bay Packers are one of the oldest and most storied franchises in professional sports. So it’s no surprise they have a major following, even in Sacramento. Packers’ fans call themselves “Cheese heads” because of the iconic hats they wear.

The unique part about the Packers fan base in Sacramento is the different reasons they root for the team.

Eric Colvin serves as an assistant football coach at Inderkum High School and roots for the Packers because of his connection with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The two played together at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico and also at Butte Community College.

“I am a Packers fan due to that,” Colvin said.

Jeff Olsen became a Packers fan in the 1990s after the Raiders and Rams left Los Angeles.

“I made myself a free agent fan and seeing the tradition, history and passion of the fans was all I needed,” Olsen said. “To see a full stadium with (former Green Bay quarterback) Magic Man Don Majkowski at quarterback was awesome. Then Brett Favre arrived and it solidified my choice. He is my favorite quarterback of all time without question. I am now a shareholder and have been to Lambeau Field twice. It is the best stadium in all of pro football, without question. Packers fans in Green Bay are the nicest, most welcoming and loyal fans in all of sports.”

Olsen connects with Packers fans at Cheaters Sports Bar on Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento. It’s where a lot of Green Bay fans meet up for games, he said.

Amber Dalske and her family have roots in Wisconsin that makes her a Packers fan. Her grandparents grew up in Wausau, a city of about 40,000 people about 100 miles west of Green Bay. She has been a fan since she was born.

“Just being from Wisconsin, everyone is a Packers fan, so my grandparents and my dad’s siblings are all fans,” she said. “I’m one of those crazy superstitious fans, so I’ll be watching the exact same way I watched yesterday. At home on my couch, in my Packers onesie.”

Shyam Sundararaman grew up in India but said going to college at the University of Wisconsin made him fall in love with the Packers. He has been a diehard since.

“It’s a religion (being a Packers fan) in Wisconsin and I’m glad to be a part of the cult,” he said. “There are plenty of Packers fans in Sacramento and I meet them all the time and we greet each other with our chant ‘Go Pack Go.’”

Then there’s Marc and Jeanne Buljan.

Jeanne Buljan is a diehard Packers fan whose parents grew up in Wisconsin and has early memories of going to Lambeau Field with her cousins. Her husband Marc Buljan is also a diehard 49ers fan.

“For Sunday’s game we will have a houseful of guests and I will watch, cheering on my team and being positive either way,” Jeanne Buljan said. “I will congratulate all the 49er fans if they win, and be happy that a California team will go to the Super Bowl. My husband will be different. He will keep a close eye on the game, but he will do it while preparing food, restocking drinks and serving trays and just playing the host. If his team wins, he will be pleasantly happy and give me a hard time yelling at all the Green Bay fans about how sad it is to lose to San Francisco in another playoff game.

“We have two cheeseheads,” she added. “I have seen people wearing them while driving cars on the highway between Milwaukee and Green Bay.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 4:00 AM.