Milwaukee Man's Classic Packers Polka Song Revamped For Playoffs

WAUWATOSA, WI—We are living in a time of reboots from the '90s, from shows such as "Sex and the City" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" to snacks such as Dunkaroos. It seems only fitting a catchy Green Bay Packers jam did the Lambeau Leap forward to the year 2021.

Eddy J. Lemberger of Milwaukee wrote the polka song “I Love My Green Bay Packers" in 1993. The catchy song dropped names such as Willard Scott, Bill and Hillary Clinton and talk show hosts Phil Donahue, Regis Philbin and Oprah.

Lemberger wrote more than 20 Packers-inspired songs such as "Title Town Twist" and "Lambeau Limbo." He knew that if someone wrote a Packer song set to polka music, it would be a big hit in Milwaukee, he told Patch. His prediction was correct.

Touchdown for a songwriter

After recording the song, the Milwaukee resident sent it to stations in Green Bay. Within a week, the song was playing on the radio in Milwaukee. After getting the team's blessing, Lemberger started selling a cassette of "I Love My Green Bay Packers." Below is the original song from 1993.

Bill Wenzel, the owner of Packer Fan Tours at the time, hired him for several years to perform at tailgate events in Dallas, San Diego and Tampa, Florida, Lemberger said. He attended the "Great Tampa Tailgate," which drew about 2,000 Packer fans to Clearwater Beach, Florida. A reggae band took a break, and Lemberger was asked to sing his song. "I sang the song to over 2,000 fans, and they all went crazy," he said.

Lemberger told Patch it seemed as if every station in Milwaukee played his song during the 1997 Packers’ playoff run to win Super Bowl XXXI. After that attention on "I Love My Green Bay Packers" began to wane.

Nearly three decades later, Wisconsin native and musician Jason Fabus worked with Lemberger to create an update to the song just in time for the Packers to take on the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs Saturday.

Culture of green and gold

Fabus, a professional jazz musician and saxophonist, grew up in Wauwatosa and moved to California in 2012. He grew up on everything Packers and polka and even has a polka band called West Coast Prost.

When people are kids, they look at the players like they are superheroes, he told Patch. "You get older now and feel there is a culture behind it and is a part of Wisconsin culture that we rally behind the Packers and what they do," he said.

The Green Bay Packers are bigger than just a football team, he added. It connects all fans, even across the country. One time, Fabus was camping in California and asked for directions. Someone noticed his Packers hat, and as the person was from Milwaukee, he was happy to help.

The gangs all here (virtually)

"I remembered the ['I Love My Green Bay Packers'] song and even had the cassette tape," Fabus recalled. He felt the throwback song needed a new groove, so he reached out to Lemberger in October.

Because of the pandemic, the two collaborated virtually over four days. The members of West Coast Prost — Fabus, Gabe Sears, Tim Gill, Gareth Price, Brian Clancy and Chuck Hughes — also worked remotely. Fabus mixed the song, and Nathan Hatton produced a new video. "Everyone had to do it on their own in their house," Fabus said. "It is the theme of COVID-19 right now if you are a musician. You have to work from home."

Lemberger, Fabus and a friend from Colorado came up with updated references in the lyrics, including “I’ll bet them Kardashians are secret Packers fans” to replace “I’ll bet even Ditka’s a secret Packer fan.” Ellen DeGeneres and Miley Cyrus are just a few of the other well-known names dropped in the new version.

Fabus even sings references to social media, such as "the gram" for Instagram. Here is the updated version of the song.

Lemberger said he wanted the original and updated versions to be universal. That's why there is no mention of specific players. "Something told me not to put players in there because they could be traded," Lemberger said.

For the video, Fabus had to unearth all his Packers swag and give it to band members to wear, since they are all Californians. The Wisconsin transplant had a ton of hats and shirts but didn't have the ultimate Packers item: the Cheesehead Hat. "I went on Facebook and asked if anyone had a Cheesehead Hat, and sure enough, they rallied behind the request," Fabus said.

Lemberger was thrilled with the end product and the experience of revisiting his Wisconsin classic.

"This new one [song], there is something about it," he said. "It has the same charm as the original, maybe more so."

Both Lemberger and Fabus are hopeful the Green Bay Packers take notice of the update and hear the tune at Lambeau Field soon.

You can view the video of the updated song on YouTube. The track is also available for digital download.