GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A love for one another was tested Thursday night as their two favorite football teams met in Detroit. The Lindquists were glued to the TV screen moments after the Lions and the Packers kicked off in Ford Field.
“Let’s go!” C.J. Lindquist yelled out.
The couple wore their opposing team’s jerseys as they watched the game inside the “Packer Room.” The Lindquists say they have a good reason to wear their jerseys.
“The last time I was in all my Packers garb playing against the Lions, the Lions won, and I want the Lions to win. So, superstition tells me that the Packers' garb is the reverse. Last year, I made him wear a Lions jersey to the Lions-Packers Thanksgiving game, and the Packers won,” C.J. said.
The couple has gone to more than 30 Lions games, but when the two NFC North teams meet up, it's their favorite one to go to.
“We've done 26 years of the Thanksgiving game. And if they're playing the Packers, he's in Packers gear,” C.J. added.
Six minutes into the first quarter, two defensive penalties by the Packers put the Lions in striking distance. Number five running back David Montgomery ran it in for a Lions touchdown.
Kerry Lindquist was disappointed to see his team be down at the start. Still, the die-hard Packers fan, since he was a kid growing up in Green Bay, believes in his team.
“I didn't move to Green Bay until I was about 10, and then I graduated from Green Bay, and ... guess what, there's not a whole lot to do in Green Bay. You're either a Packer fan or there is nothing else to do,” Kerry said.
After the couple moved into their house in Grand Rapids, a shrine was built to honor his Packers team. Kerry is part owner of the Wisconsin football team.
“She’s jealous; she had to buy two [stocks], even though she's not a Packer fan,” Kerry said.
C.J., who grew up as a Lions fan, has been amazed to see her team win 11 games this season.
“I think they can go in the distance,” C.J. said.
Over the past couple of years, she has been slowly sneaking some Honolulu blue into a very green-and-yellow wall.
“We have some wine glasses. I have an autographed helmet. I have an autographed football and actually, on the wall, most of those pictures are from our Thanksgiving Day trips or our Lions games that we've gone to, because we go every year. So there's a lot of Honolulu blue in those pictures,” C.J. said.
The couple both looked to watch a good football game, but the two made a bet during the interview.
“If I win, you buy. If you win, you buy,” Kerry said.
That bet didn’t pass C.J. She changed the bet to if she wins, he buys.
“Loudest I've ever heard that place,” Kerry said.
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