MONROE - It wasn't quite the Ice Bowl - more like the Nice Bowl, with its 22-degree kickoff - but nonetheless Packers fans in Monroe enjoyed another epic game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Those gathered at Flanagan's Shenanigans on the Square's south side endured the rollercoaster that was the Packers' 26-21 victorious divisional playoff outcome, marking the first time the two teams met at Lambeau Field in the postseason since that iconic New Year's Eve battle in 1967.
He was far from being born when that occurred, but the significance was far from lost on Monroe's Garrett Haffele, 27, who cherished the outcome.
"I actually watched the Ice Bowl - I literally went down to the grocery store and got the video - and I've been waiting for this day this whole week," he said. "To see (Cowboys wide receiver) Dez Bryant with a towel on his head, crying his eyes out, made my day."
Shortly thereafter his friend, 24-year-old Derek Wang, walked in to join the celebration. His gear was perfect as he showed off a vintage jacket commemorating the 1967 Ice Bowl.
"My mom gave it to me and said I should wear it," Wang said. "She bought it years ago but never had the occasion to wear it. It still had the tags on it.
"I'm going to be careful in it and not party too hard."
Ice Bowl nostalgia notwithstanding, the Green Bay win actually ended a four-game playoff losing streak to the Cowboys, three of which came in maddening fashion during the Packers' resurgence to prominence during the mid '90s.
But even more maddening was what the Rosenstiel family faced during Sunday's game. The wife is a Packers fan, the husband a Cowboys fan, and their son Ethan picked his Tony Romo Cowboys jersey for Sunday's occasion. They all cheered on their teams at Flanagan's while catching the action in between youth hockey games.
"I'm from a diehard Packers family and if we lose I'll hear about this for a long time," said Kari Rosenstiel at halftime. "I have five brothers, so this will go back and forth at all our family functions.
"And yes, I knew he was a Cowboys fan going into this."
Still, the barbs were flying early during the game. When asked why her son was wearing a Cowboys jersey, Kari said: "He's only 8, so he doesn't know what's right."
When asked to explain her husband, Kari's friend Kate Stuart chimed in.
"He was dropped on his head when he was little," she said, straight-faced.
Dan Rosenstiel, a Monroe native, was quick to defend his position on all fronts.
"I've been a Cowboys fan since I was little and it's been a little tough feeling like the minority," he said. "But as for my son, I told him it was a big game day and he had to choose a jersey. So I hung up both his Packers and Cowboys jerseys and I asked him to pick - so this isn't on me. I even took a picture to prove I laid out both of them."
Those gathered at Flanagan's Shenanigans on the Square's south side endured the rollercoaster that was the Packers' 26-21 victorious divisional playoff outcome, marking the first time the two teams met at Lambeau Field in the postseason since that iconic New Year's Eve battle in 1967.
He was far from being born when that occurred, but the significance was far from lost on Monroe's Garrett Haffele, 27, who cherished the outcome.
"I actually watched the Ice Bowl - I literally went down to the grocery store and got the video - and I've been waiting for this day this whole week," he said. "To see (Cowboys wide receiver) Dez Bryant with a towel on his head, crying his eyes out, made my day."
Shortly thereafter his friend, 24-year-old Derek Wang, walked in to join the celebration. His gear was perfect as he showed off a vintage jacket commemorating the 1967 Ice Bowl.
"My mom gave it to me and said I should wear it," Wang said. "She bought it years ago but never had the occasion to wear it. It still had the tags on it.
"I'm going to be careful in it and not party too hard."
Ice Bowl nostalgia notwithstanding, the Green Bay win actually ended a four-game playoff losing streak to the Cowboys, three of which came in maddening fashion during the Packers' resurgence to prominence during the mid '90s.
But even more maddening was what the Rosenstiel family faced during Sunday's game. The wife is a Packers fan, the husband a Cowboys fan, and their son Ethan picked his Tony Romo Cowboys jersey for Sunday's occasion. They all cheered on their teams at Flanagan's while catching the action in between youth hockey games.
"I'm from a diehard Packers family and if we lose I'll hear about this for a long time," said Kari Rosenstiel at halftime. "I have five brothers, so this will go back and forth at all our family functions.
"And yes, I knew he was a Cowboys fan going into this."
Still, the barbs were flying early during the game. When asked why her son was wearing a Cowboys jersey, Kari said: "He's only 8, so he doesn't know what's right."
When asked to explain her husband, Kari's friend Kate Stuart chimed in.
"He was dropped on his head when he was little," she said, straight-faced.
Dan Rosenstiel, a Monroe native, was quick to defend his position on all fronts.
"I've been a Cowboys fan since I was little and it's been a little tough feeling like the minority," he said. "But as for my son, I told him it was a big game day and he had to choose a jersey. So I hung up both his Packers and Cowboys jerseys and I asked him to pick - so this isn't on me. I even took a picture to prove I laid out both of them."