Packers fan wins German NFL Fan of the Year Award
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SCHWEINFURT, Germany (WFRV) – Without the Packers, Matthias Kraus’ life would not be what it is.
“I’m crazy. With the Packers, I’m crazy,” he said. “It gives me goosebumps right now, just thinking about walking into the stadium.”
For Kraus, walking into Lambeau entails nearly a 5,000-mile journey from his town of Schweinfurt, Germany.
“If you can see the pack, you don’t go to see the Seahawks and Bucs in Munich,” he said. “Last year was the first one in Munich, they easily could sell three million tickets.”
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Kraus has been to 22 Packers’ games, 19 at Lambeau, while attending others in Las Vegas, Minneapolis and London. The 56-year-old has been a fan since the 90s, falling in love with the green and gold because of Brett Favre, team history and its unique publicly owned aspect when he was introduced to football.
“It became a little bit more popular in my hometown, with all the soldiers that we have in Schweinfurt,” Kraus said.
Turns out, Kraus is pretty popular himself, and won Germany’s NFL Fan of the Year Award. It means a round trip to the Super Bowl and a personal message from his favorite quarterback.
“That was unbelievable. I was speechless for nearly three or four days,” he said. “It meant so much to me that I got a personal message from Jordan Love. And I won the prize to go to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas with my wife, they pay for the flight, the hotel, the tickets, that’s a dream come true for me.”
His wife has gotten roped into Packer fandom, too, they got engaged on the Lambeau Field turf. On top of that, she played an important role in Kraus’ long-running tradition with Aaron Rodgers, in which he takes a picture with Rodgers every time they meet of Rodgers signing the previous picture they took together.
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His wife bought him the large photo for Christmas, but Kraus said it was not complete without Rodgers’ signature. Hesitant, she convinced him to take it with on the plane.
“I took the picture into the airplane, and always I had to explain,” he said. “When I saw him I couldn’t think, so my mouth was just moving and I said ‘Hi Aaron Rodgers, I’m your biggest fan,’ something like that. That was the beginning of that. And it happened again and again and again. Nice guy, really nice.”
“That special thing going on between Aaron Rodgers and me, I met him 15 times and he was always so friendly.”
Being a super fan of the Packers goes beyond having a special connection with players, Kraus is also touched by the passion of his fellow fans.
“I know some really really good fans. It’s like having another family 5,000 miles away,” he said. “It’s not only being a fan of the Green Bay Packers, I’m a fan also of these people.”
