BOISE, Idaho — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to take on the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field this Sunday at 1:05 p.m. MST on FOX.
Boise "superfans" John Ravina and Chris Stewart are ready to watch their teams slug it out and have been fans for decades.
“I’ve basically been a fan ever since Brett Favre took the field,” Ravina said. “I’ve just been in love with everything about that team and the organization.”
“So I actually became a Buccaneers fan in 1996,” Stewart said. “I lived in Tampa, followed the team since then.”
Ravina is a local Packers fan known for sporting a cheesehead in public on game day and typically spends his Sundays at Burger N’ Brew on State Street in Boise.
Stewart is a lifelong Tampa Bay fan and has a helmet signed by a player who played in the 2003 Super Bowl-winning team.
“Yeah, I actually picked that up at Idaho’s largest garage sale. I saw it and ran over to it,” he said. “I think I paid a dollar for it. The guy told me it was Mike Alstott’s autograph, so that was definitely a find out here in Boise, Idaho.”
It has been 10 years since either team has been in the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game. The last time Green Bay played for the NFC title was in 2011, which led to Aaron Rodger’s first Super Bowl victory against the Steelers.
The last time the Buccaneers played for an NFC title was in 2003, which they ended up winning under former coach Jon Gruden’s leadership, followed by a Super Bowl victory.
Ravina and Stewart both hope their teams come out on top this weekend, but are excited for the challenging matchup.
“Making the playoffs was such a huge accomplishment with everything the teams had to face this year,” Stewart said. “Obviously I want the win, but I’m just hoping for a real good, competitive game.”
Ravina is excited to watch Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady drive after drive.
“Some of the most amazing athletes in the game are going to be shining,” the ‘cheesehead’ said. “I mean offense, defense, special teams, it’s all going to be there, and I just hope it’s a great competitive game.”
Ravina is confident Aaron Rodgers will come through with the conference title.
“I’m telling you right now, Brady is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game, but you don’t have Aaron Rodgers,” Ravina said to Stewart.
Stewart fired back: “Didn’t you guys have Aaron Rodgers earlier when we beat you this season?”
Ravina shrugged the regular-season loss off and mentioned the Packers have beat the Buccaneers 33 times out of the 56 games they have played together.
The Packers will face the Buccaneers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on Fox at 1:05 p.m. MST.
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