Dear Wisconsin friends

Dear Wisconsin friends,

You are a stubborn, hearty, hardy lot. I know this, because I sat with more than 72,000 of you when the Giants played the Packers at Lambeau Field in 2008. We don’t like to talk about that one because we lost and it turned out to be Brett Favre’s last game in a Packer uniform.

But, I remember it well. I remember that the -24 windchill didn’t scare any of us away and how we all stayed in our seats for more than 3 1/2 hours, through all four quarters and the overtime, because, until the very second Lawrence Tynes’ field goal split the uprights with that 47-yard field goal that broke our hearts, we thought we were heading to the Super Bowl.

I admire the faith and fortitude of Packer fans as much as I do our team. I’ve written before about our ability to withstand extreme temperatures by dressing appropriately for cold weather games. We layer up. We wear hats and we cover our faces.

That’s right, Wisconsin friends. I know you can cover your faces because I’ve seen you do it en masse and I’ve seen you keep them covered for nearly four hours at a shot. It’s not that hard.

It’s even easier to wear a face mask. They’re lighter and easier to anchor behind your ears.

Friends, if you’re refusing to wear face masks, you aren’t doing so because it’s too hard. We live in Wisconsin, where the Motion W often stands for Wind Chill and Winter and “Woah! It’s colder than I thought out here!” We cover our faces most of the year as a matter of course.

Why are so many of you refusing to wear a simple mask in places like stores, churches and public transportation where you can’t maintain the CDC recommended six-foot distance?

I know we’ve all been receiving conflicting information from a variety of sources as this confounding virus makes its way around the world. But, it has become increasingly clear that if you wear a mask and I wear a mask, we will decrease the potential to pass the virus between us exponentially.

This is pure, not poli, science.

We’re so lucky here to have space to breathe freely. We can move through life pretty easily maintaining that six-foot minimum. It is only in crowded places that we’re asked to wear our masks. That isn’t so hard.

It’s pretty easy to obtain a mask and, if that’s what’s holding you back, let me know because I know several people and organizations that will provide you one for free.

Yesterday, we received a gift the Packers are sending all their season ticket holders — two comfortable face masks with a note encouraging us to stay healthy and safe during these challenging times. I’m hoping Packer fans will wear them when they need to with the understanding that doing so will help us all and, hopefully, hasten the day we can watch a football game safely at Lambeau again.

Until then (and it may be a while), stay safe out there and Go Pack Go!