He loves Lambeau Field, even though this Packers fan has a different way of expressing it
GREEN BAY ‒ As Jeff Padon rounds the east side of Lambeau Field, the smell of burgers already cooking fills the air.
The grill smoke rises above Lot 1, the prime tailgating area for Green Bay Packers home games, creating a slight haze over the festivities. Padon prefers the taste of tailgate burgers over any other.
Colorful flags from all sorts of fan groups dance in the wind, signaling the start of the party. It's only a matter of seconds before Padon is enveloped with hugs and handshakes from people whose wardrobes consist of two colors, green and gold.
"The spirit, the goosebumps, the energy, the vibe, everything is the same as it is for the other fans," says Padon in American Sign Language (ASL). He's quickly engrossed in animated conversations with friends while the blasting music nearby goes unnoticed.
Padon, a Gold package season-ticket holder, comes to Green Bay from his home in Maryland three times a year, but he's well-known by other fans.
"I do have a lot of friends over there and it’s super fun," Padon says of Lot 1. "It’s like when you go to a homecoming game at college, you are meeting old friends. Every time I’m over in Lot 1, I’m reconnecting with all of those old friends ... and it’s fun to get caught up."
Steve "The Owner" Tate, a Packers Super Fan, met Padon in 2011.
"He's such a friendly guy and he’s patient with communicating. He’ll sign with you, he’ll try to read your lips. He will text with you. So he does what he can," Tate said.
Padon's dad — whose hearing loss was total, compared to his own 80-decible impairment — introduced him to Packers football in 1971, when he was 8. It was Bart Starr's last year as a player and running back John Brockington's first. Brockington became Padon's favorite player and, in time, a friend.
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Padon was raised in Beloit, "Only 10 blocks from Illinois, but that was a safe 10 blocks because I did not become a Bears fan," he said.
One thing Padon can hear, with the help of 77,000 friends in the Lambeau Field bowl, is the Go Pack Go! chant.
"I get the Go Pack Go! clear as a bell. It’s said often enough and repeated often enough," he said. "Other than that, I can’t understand what people are saying."
The Lambeau Field environment is the same
The environment of Packers game day is the same for him as other fans, even if it takes more work to communicate sometimes.
"Sometimes ... because I know people are talking and I see that somebody wants to talk to me, I have to get out my notepad so we can have communication. That’s a little bit of a challenge because it just elongates the time that it takes to communicate," he said.
Still, he welcomes the interaction, always looking to make new connections. Padon wears a Packers jersey with his birthdate, 27, on it in ASL, and a Cheesehead that says Green Bay Packers, also in ASL. He got the idea from watching Super Fans like Tate and Frozen Tundra Man Jeff Kahlow.
"Having this on makes a really big difference because people notice it immediately. That’s how I make friends here," he said.
He learned quickly that the Packers universe is a close-knit one, no matter your circumstances. The first year he had season tickets, he was sitting in the stands signing with a friend when he felt a tap on his shoulder. A woman wanted a photo of his jersey and they started talking in ASL. Turned out, she lived in Atlanta.
"She worked at the deaf school. I said do you know my stepdaughter?" he said. And she did. "We had this whole conversation, meeting here at Lambeau. If I had not had the jersey on, I never would have met that person. So, small world."
Padon brings friends to game because Lambeau is the best
Padon often brings friends to the games because, in his view, Lambeau is the best place for football.
"Absolutely No. 1. Completely awesome," he said. "The other ones, ehhh, you know I’m at a game and it’s OK, but the Lambeau experience is the Lambeau experience. When I invite my friends to game day here, everybody is very excited to come to Lambeau. Other games, they’ll go, but this is the top place to be."
Tate, who knows some sign language, said tailgating at Lambeau is about relationships, having a good time and forgetting about responsibilities for a few hours. It's a place for community within communities, which Padon fits right into.
"He’s invited people from his community," Tate said. "We were here one game with family and friends. It was winter ... One of these family members was blind and hearing impaired. They all had gloves on and he was signing into the person’s glove with gloves on and they could understand each other. It’s amazing the skills which you can learn to adapt when you want to get along with people, and Jeff does a really great job of that."
Padon said all stadiums have services such as close captioning on their scoreboards, because of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the Packers are more inclusive. In August, he co-chaired a Deaf Packers Festival at Lambeau Field.
Lambeau Field hosted Deaf Packers Festival
"A ton of deaf people came here," he said. "We were socializing, went through the Hall of Fame, took the tour. All of us were not exactly Packers fans, but they were curious. They wanted to come here and see Lambeau, meet other deaf people who are football fans. It was fantastic."
The closed captioning on the scoreboard made watching the game a much better experience.
"Before they did not have captioning and I didn’t know what was going on and I’d have to ask my neighbor what happened all the time. There was a lot of explanation and I was missing part of the game," he said. "Now it’s absolutely fantastic. I see the play. Look at that. Look up at the captioning to get the details of what’s going on."
Padon is a regular attendee of the Green and Gold Banquet, held during the first home game weekend of the season. He met Brockington there years ago and more recently become friends with LeRoy Butler, who came up to him and fingerspelled his name, which led to a friendship.
"I do really enjoy going to the Green and Gold Gala. That is fantastic. A wonderful experience. I meet so many players and I made friends with some of the players and now I’m close friends with LeRoy Butler. That’s a fantastic experience," he said.
During September, which was Deaf Awareness Month, the NFL and the team sold "I Love the Packers" shirts, using the ASL sign for love.
Inclusion is important for the ASL community in general, including many hearing people that know sign language because they have relatives with hearing impairment.
"The NFL really embraced that and started having us be more included," he said.
Contact Richard Ryman at rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers fan communicates his love of Lambeau Field with ASL
