The Green Bay Packers have several traditions. The Lambeau Leap, which Packers players perform after they score a touchdown at home, and the wearing of the cheesehead during Packers games are chief among them.
Now where does the tradition of wearing a cheesehead hat come from?
What Is the Origin of the Green Bay Packers’ Cheesehead Tradition?
As most know, the state of Wisconsin is known for producing cheese, but the oldest use of the term “Cheesehead” comes from across the ocean. The oldest uses date back to World War II, but more recently, it started with Chicago Bears fans during their 1985 Super Bowl run.
Packers fans turned it into a term of endearment for those who supported the team. According to the site As Goes Wisconsin, the cheese hat’s creator Ralph Bruno came up with an idea in 1987. Tired of the trash-talking Bears fans, Bruno decided to give them something to talk about.
“People from Chicago would refer to us Wisconsites as Cheeseheads, and it got worse after the Bears won the Super Bowl in 1986,” Bruno told the Huff Post. “I thought, ‘What’s the big deal? I like cheese. Wisconsin makes some of the best cheese in the world. I’m proud to be a Cheesehead.'”
He took a chunk of his mother’s couch foam, cut a wedge out, and burned some “holes” in it to resemble the dairy product. He showed it off at a Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox game.
At first, the idea didn’t catch on until some women took notice and thought it was a cute idea. It became so popular that Bruno turned it into a business called Foamation.
“When people ask how many we have made, I say … ‘If you start on the West Coast and put a Cheesehead down and start laying them the tip to the back, that it will eventually get you to the East Coast and in the water over in New York,'” Bruno said in a radio interview.
You can always identify a Packers fan by the cheesehead gear that they wear. It has become an international symbol for Packers fans worldwide and a multi-million dollar business for Bruno, who also makes other products for companies like Pepsi, Popeyes, and various NFL teams like the Philadephia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.
Yet, Bruno does draw the line for making cheeseheads for the Packers’ rivals. Once, Bruno said he turned down a huge offer from the Minnesota Vikings for purple cheeseheads when former Packers QB Brett Favre had joined their team.
“When Brett Favre joined the Vikings, we turned down a huge order to do a run of purple Cheeseheads because that would be [selling] out the flagship. We left a lot of money on the table because we’re down to Earth and have some ethics,” he said.
Yet despite that, Bruno has turned a once-insult into profit and a very popular symbol that is recognized across the football landscape. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t get a $5,000 loan from his bank when he started. He doesn’t have that problem now.