Wanda Boggs, a third-grade teacher from Brookfield, Wisconsin, enthusiastically described by her class as "the greatest fan in the whole history of football," has been named as the fifth annual honoree to the Packer FAN Hall of Fame.
In the process, her pupils' testimonial helped her make history, Mrs. Boggs becoming the first woman to be so honored in the five years the FAN Hall of Fame has been in existence.
Her nomination was heartily endorsed in an accompanying essay by her pupils at Brookfield Elementary School, who asserted, "G is for graph. Mrs. Boggs can hardly wait to pull out her graph each Monday morning. She goes crazy when the Packers' side is higher. She goes 'kaplooey' if their opponents' side is higher. She is a Packer maniac.
"O is for obsessed with the Packers. Mrs. Boggs is so obsessed she has green all around her. She has a Packers flag in her classroom and Packers stickers on her door.
"She dreams about Brett Favre and thinks she is Brett Favre the second.
"C is for cheesehead," the essay continued. "Mrs. Boggs is an awesome Packers fan. She likes to eat cheese three times a day. She looks funny with cheese decorations in her hair. She even has cheese earrings. Mrs. Boggs does not care if she looks crazy and foolish.
"P is for persistent fan," the essay summed up. "Mrs. Boggs will never reach a dead end of being an extreme Packers fan. Mrs. Boggs will explode like a volcano if the Packers win. If the Packers lose, she'll never stop being a Green Bay Packers fan."
In recognition of being selected to represent all fans as the Packers FAN Hall of Fame's fifth honorary fan, Mrs. Boggs will be saluted on the Lambeau Field JumboTron board during the Packers' final regular-season home game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday (Dec. 22).
She also will receive a $500 Packers Pro Shop gift certificate and a road trip for two to a 2003 Packers away game (including tickets, air fare and hotel accommodations).
In addition, she will attend and be recognized at the Packer Hall of Fame Induction Dinner next July and be permanently recognized in the Packer Hall of Fame.
In the election process, Packers fans were asked to vote on the 10 finalists – chosen by the Packers FAN Hall of Fame selection committee – whose stories best represented all Packers fans.
The finalists, in addition to Mrs. Boggs, included Marion Barker, East Troy, Wis., Betty DeBrower, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Pat Eisch, Menasha, Wis., Nancy Haberman, Whitewater, Wis., James Jorgensen, Green Bay, Wis., Jon Knepper, Allentown, Pa., Larry Primeau, De Pere, Wis., Sarah Spring, Clute, Texas, and Kenneth Whitcomb, Green Bay, Wis.
The group included six women, seven Wisconsin residents and one Iowan, one Texan and one Pennsylvanian.
Balloting for the FAN Hall of Fame, international in scope, yielded thousands of votes from throughout the United States and countries around the world.
Previous FAN honorees have included Mel Knoke of Appleton, Wis., 1998; Louis Gardipee of Black River Falls, Wis., 1999; Ed Jablonski of Wausau, Wis., 2000; and Paul Mazzoleni of Green Bay, 2001.
The Packers FAN Hall of Fame, established by the Green Bay Packers and the Packer Hall of Fame, is exclusively sponsored by ShopKo, Stein Gardens and Gifts, Best Buy and Bielinski Custom Homes.
