PackersHome Member Name: wpr
Real Name (first only): Wayne
Age: 52
Hometown: Metamora, IL
Current City: Oregon, IL
Occupation: Insurance agent
1) How did you choose your screen name? initials. (I am not that bright and had to keep it simple.)
2) Could you tell us a little about where you grew up and about your family? Grew up in the Peoria area. Moved with the family to Rochelle when I was in high school. Have always loved sports even though I am not very skilled. Met my wife in college on a hay rack ride. (She threw hay in my face to get my attention.) We dated for 5 years before I proposed. We have 2 children. My daughter is attending North Central College in Naperville and should graduate this Spring. She is majoring in history. (She changed majors at least 4 times.) She took a couple of years off as she was in school at NIU where the shootings took place 3 years ago. She was about to enter the building where the shootings took place. She could hear the report of the gun and the kids screaming. She ran to another Hall only to find that the doors were already locked. When she turned around she saw one of the kids who had been in the auditorium and his face was spattered with the blood of another student.
My son was in the building next door and they locked him in the class room. One of his fellow students was from Bosnia and she had already been through way too many things like this in the past so he spent the time helping her overcome her fears. As most of you know he did a tour in Afghanistan. Survived a suicide bombing and made it home. Before the tour his was in college to become a CPA. Afterward he decided to become a Psychologist and work with Vets.
3) Did you play in any sports or where you involved with any High School clubs and such? I played football one year. As I mentioned I was not very good. I wrestled 3 years. After college I played softball for about 10 years or so.
4) How did you find the PackersHome? And what keeps you active on the site? Like so many other I joined the mass exodus from another Packers site after it was sold. I enjoy this site because there are not trolls or flamers on the board. There is a good mix of people on the various sides of issues. There are knowledgeable posters but they dont have to write a novel every time they post. I stay active because I enjoy interacting with those on the board.
5) What type of hobbies do you enjoy? Other than wasting huge amounts of time on PackersHome? I visit other sports boards but do not devote as much time to them as I do to PH. I like fishing but have not done a lot of it in the past few years. I like to travel. In the past few years I have been to Hawaii, took a cruise on the Mexican Pacific and another cruise on the Mediterranean.
6) What was your first job? delivering newspapers as a kid. Next I worked at a Hardees hamburger joint.
7) What is your fondest memory of your teenage years? I was still a teen when I met my wife. Boy were we young.
8) If you could have one moment being part of the Packer organization, what would it be? I would love to be in the draft room on game day. I would love to see the progression on the big board. To know why they selected one player over another. To have some insight on the personality and immeasurables of players.
9) What is your worst fear? I dont think I have any fears per say.
10) How many trips/games have you made to Lambeau Field? 20 or so.
11) Whats your favorite food? Italian. But that is part of my heritage. (Never ate a lot of German food growing up. Maybe because Mom did the cooking not dad.)
12) If you could live anywhere where would it be? Right here. Oregon, IL.
13) Name your favorite 5 Packers all time and explain the reason for one of them.
1. Bart Starr. Boyhood hero.
2. Brett Favre. He has been a rascal the past few years but I sure loved/hated his gunslinger attitude. How can you not love a man who loves the game so much. Put 'er in the old vice!
3. Reggie White. I loved how he tossed OL out of his way and made them look like little boys.
4. Don Hudson. Never saw him play but he was the original wide receiver. I cant imagine what he would have been like in todays game.
5. Clay Matthews. I love his passion. He inspires others with his desire to excel.
14) Where are some of the places youve been, and where are some of your favorites. I been to most of the States. Maui, Pearl Harbor, (Being on the USS Arizona and USS Missouri the same day is incredible.) 6 ports on the Mexican Pacific coast. Rome, Genoa, the Tuscany countryside, Naples and Pompeii. Barcelona, Toulon and Cassis France.
15) When youre not on PackersHome, what are you doing with your free time? tv, read, spend time with the family. Work.
16) What is one thing you've always wanted to do, but haven't done yet in your lifetime? Go to Alaska.
17) What other sports teams do you follow and why? St Louis Cardinals, LA Lakers, Chicago Blackhawks. University of Illinois basketball and football. Local high schools teams.
18) What lead to your following of the Packers? In the 60s they GB was king. There was not a lot of information. I remember reading about them in the local paper before I would deliver them. There was not much to the story living so far away from GB. Always an AP story.
19) Can you share one of your favorite memories of the Packers? The first time I took my son to a preseason practice. We watched them practice for a while. Since he was only 7 he got bored pretty quickly so we went over to the NFL experience. He had a blast. We went back to the field and watched the players leave. He saw all the players riding the kids bikes and he decided when we went back the next year we would have to bring his bike too. He was able to get a few autographs from the second or third string players but he didnt care who they were.
20) What is your favorite PackersHome memory and/or feature? All the excitement with GB winning the SB.
21) PM and post the next person to be interviewed.
"wpr" wrote: