The old car preened in the summer sun and beckoned all comers from an empty corner of the Dairy Queen parking lot.
Of course, we wandered over. It isn’t every day you spot a pristine 1950 Packard Super 8 Deluxe in Shawano, Wisconsin…or anywhere else, for that matter.
And this one, a self-and-accurately-proclaimed SHRINE, really caught our eye with its Packer themed decor. Its owner, Dr. Alfredo Cintron, gave us a little tour.
Of course, I imagined the stories that car could tell. Born nine years before Coach Lombardi came to Green Bay, it shuttled passengers through some dismal seasons. You could almost hear Packer announcer Russ Winnie’s voice come barreling through that old radio, and then get cut off as the driver switches the channel in disgust. On one dismal November day in 1958, midway through a 1-10 season, the Packers lost 56-0 to Baltimore.
Ahh, but those 60s made up for all that misery, didn’t they? I imagine that old Packard cruising up Highland Avenue on the way to City Stadium. Maybe it even sat in the Lambeau Field Parking Lot during the Ice Bowl. A well-maintained vehicle like that probably started right up after that historic game, and drove some very happy, very frozen people home.
We looked closely, leaned so far over that shiny green and gold hood we could see our faces clear as day, but we didn’t see any mention of the 70s or 80s Pack. Good times, they were, just not particularly memorable.
And then came Reggie White and the glorious 90s. I wonder if that Packard drove any fans over to Austin Straubel Field to welcome home the 1998 Super Bowl Champions.
Maybe it, like a lot of us, even made the trek to Dallas on those snow-covered roads to see the Packers beat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. The ploughs came out and the Lombardi Trophy came home, which made the long drive back to Wisconsin much, much easier.
We’re gearing up for a fresh new season, and I know that beautiful SHRINE is too. Dr. Cintron said the Packers have invited him and his car to join them when they host the NFL draft in April, which will make another great memory for that classic car.
Today, in honor of the 2024 season opener, we join that old car in wishing our team well. It’s going to be an exciting year.
Go Pack(ard) Go!
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It would be a bit of a haul, but… maybe a drive down Packard Avenue in Cudahy, where the local high school sports teams are known as, of course, the Packers! Cheers and thanks all around, ma’am.