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Football and Wine: New York Giants

by Nancy Parode

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a New York Giants themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Giants fan?

 The year was 1925.  Five teams asked to join the National Football League, bringing the total number of teams in the organization to 23.  Only one of those five teams, the New York Giants, is still active in the NFL.  The Giants' first owner, Tim Mara, paid $500 for the team; today, according to Forbes.com, the New York Giants are worth approximately $1.3 billion dollars – a nice return on investment, even by New York standards.

Football and Wine: Baltimore Ravens

by Nancy Parode

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Baltimore Ravens themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Ravens fan?

 Proud to Wear Purple

 It's safe to say that most football fans in Baltimore will never forgive football owner Robert Irsay for moving his Baltimore Colts to Indianapolis under cover of darkness in 1984, leaving Charm City without a NFL team.  A city obsessed with football had to wait until 1996, when Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell brought his team to Baltimore, to break out the tailgating gear and cheer at a local professional football game.  The Baltimore Ravens, named in honor of native son Edgar Allan Poe, were instantly embraced by their new fans, who happily traded Colts blue for Ravens purple.

Football and Wine: Pittsburgh Steelers

by Nancy Parode

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Pittsburgh Steelers themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Steelers fan?

 Steeler Nation

 Wherever you go in the U. S., you will find fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In fact, the team is so popular that its fans are called the "Steeler Nation."  You can join Steelers fan clubs in nearly every major U. S. city, including Atlanta, Kansas City and Tampa.  Part of the reason for all of this enthusiasm is the team's long history; founded in 1933 as the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Steelers are the fifth-oldest National Football League team.  The main reason, however, for the Steelers' popularity with fans is the team's outstanding record.  No other team has won as many Super Bowls – six – as the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Steelers' all-time roster includes some of the greatest names in professional football history: Ernie Stautner, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, John Stallworth, Jack Lambert, and, of course, current quarterback "Big Ben" Ben Roethlisberger.

Football and Wine: New England Patriots

by Nancy Parode

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a New England Patriots themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Patriots fan?

 Ask any pro football fan about the decade's top NFL franchises; chances are high that the New Enland Patriots will be on that fan's short list of the league's best teams.  Since 2001, the Patriots have won three Super Bowl titles and made the playoffs eight times; coach Bill Belichick has been named NFL Coach of the Year three times.  The Patriots' strong record of success under Belichick's leadership attracts the admiration of football fans across the country.

The New England Patriots played their first season in 1960, in the now-defunct American Football League.  At that time, the team was known as the Boston Patriots; the team logo featured "Patriot Pat," a football-playing Minuteman.  In 1970, the Patriots joined the National Football League and broke ground on their new stadium, Foxboro Stadium, located in Foxborough (also spelled "Foxboro"), Massachusetts.  The next year, playing in their new stadium, the team became the New England Patriots.  In 1976, the team qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time.

Football and Wine: Dallas Cowboys

by Nancy Parode

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Dallas Cowboys themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Cowboys fan?

 Whether or not you hail from Texas, you probably know the Dallas Cowboys as "America's Team."  From coast to coast, you can buy Dallas Cowboys gear at retail stores, thanks to the team's enormous national fan base.  Although the Cowboys have their fair share of detractors, no one who follows professional football would dispute the claim that the Cowboys have proven that an expansion franchise can achieve legendary status.

The Dallas Cowboys came to life in 1960 as the first modern NFL expansion team, although they were originally called the Dallas Steers.  The name was quickly changed to Rangers, then to Cowboys when the new team's owners learned that the name "Rangers" was unexpectedly unavailable.  Coach Tom Landry built the Cowboys' program year by year, taking the team to its first NFL championship game in 1966 but losing to the Green Bay Packers.  The next year's NFL championship rematch against the Packers quickly became famous as the "Ice Bowl," played in freezing conditions with wind chills plunging below minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  The Cowboys lost Super Bowl V to the Colts in 1970, but came back the next year to win Super Bowl VI under the leadership of quarterback Roger Staubach.

Football and Wine Series

by Brad Prescott

Baseball and Wine combines the great American pastime with wine enthusiasts. Find out the wines served at various ball parks across America and what wines your favorite team chooses to celebrate with.

Football and Wine: Green Bay Packers

by Nancy Parode

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Green Bay Packers themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Packers fan?

 The Green Bay Packers are unique in several different ways.  They hail not from a big metropolitan area like New York or Dallas, but from a relatively small city in northeastern Wisconsin; Green Bay has a population of approximately 105,000 people.  The team, a nonprofit corporation, is not owned by a prosperous businessman or consortium of investors but by 112,158 shareholders; they are people from all walks of life who share a love of football and are willing to buy shares that pay no dividends and cannot be sold in order to support their team.  The Packers do not have official cheerleaders; they discontinued the cheerleading program in 1998 and use cheerleaders from nearby St. Norbert College and University of Wisconsin Green Bay.

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