GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – In spite of some fans’ opposition to last season’s national anthem protests, it appears there won’t be an inordinate number of fans coming off the Packers’ season ticket waiting list of more than 130,000 people.
The team is still finalizing numbers, but Aaron Popkey, Packers Director of Public Affairs, told FOX 11 in an email it expects the renewal rate to be in line with previous seasons.
“We do expect it to be a typical year with respect to renewals, above 99 percent.
The Packers had nothing specific to report on whether any fans turned in tickets because of the anthem protests.
After three Packers players sat during the national anthem during a game at Lambeau Field in September, military mother Marilyn Limberg was among a number of fans who said they had enough of the green and gold.
“I felt very offended, very disappointed, very frustrated that the league wouldn’t do something or that even the Packers wouldn’t take a stand.”
A day after the players knelt, Limberg told FOX 11 she was thinking about turning in her season tickets. Seven months later, Limberg still has them.
“I won’t buy anymore Packers stuff. We are keeping the tickets because one of our other sons still wants to go to the games, so we still have the tickets, but I sell them to the fan club, all of them, as quickly as I can.”
There has been mixed reaction to the NFL’s announcement that players could now be fined for protesting the anthem.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin wrote on its Facebook page…
“Telling peaceful protestors to leave and do it behind closed doors is downright un-American. The NFL players’ protests have never been about the military or the flag – they’re about police brutality and white supremacy.”
Fans like Limberg, who turned away from the game, say they aren’t sure about the new policy.
“We were just discussing it in the house and we all feel let’s wait and see if they really do something about it because they can talk all they want. Even some of the teams have said we’re definitely not fining them if anyone wants to kneel, that’s their business.”
Limberg says it’s her business whether she decides to watch again.
