Why are Green Bay Packers fans called Cheeseheads?

Here’s Why Green Bay Packers fans are called ‘Cheeseheads’
If you’ve lived in or visited Wisconsin, chances are you’ve put a foam cheese wedge on your head. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of the Green Bay Packers or not, ‘Cheesehead’ has become synonymous with Wisconsinite over the years. Well, here at Van’s Honda, we’re huge Packers fans and we want you to know the cool history behind that mysterious label.

Here’s why Green Bay Packers fans are called ‘Cheeseheads’.

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1. Wisconsin is America’s Dairyland
Wisconsin produces 26% of America’s cheese, making it the #1 cheese-producing state. 90% of the milk Wisconsin produces goes towards making cheese. Agriculture in Wisconsin is serious business; the state is home to more than 64,000 farms spread out over 14.3 million acres. Those farms contribute $88.3 billion to the economy each year.

Cows in a pen at a State FairSo yeah, you could say that cheese is a little important in Wisconsin.

2. The Illinois Rivalry and Name-Calling
‘Cheesehead’ derives from the Dutch insult kaaskop, literally meaning ‘head cheese’. It was a schoolyard way of calling someone an idiot or dense. Supposedly, some time after WWII, Illinoisans started to call Wisconsinites—Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Brewers fans in particular—’cheeseheads’, harkening back to the Dutch insult. Similar to dirt-and-dust streaked Wisconsin miners adopting the term ‘badgers’ (even making its namesake the state animal and UW-Madison’s mascot), Wisconsin residents took up the mantle of ‘Cheesehead’, the term becoming a mark of pride. So much so, that Ralph Bruno decided in 1987 that he’d make a cheese wedge-shaped hat and wear it to a Brewers game. Needless to say, it caught on.

3. Green and Gold
The Packers’ original colors were blue and gold. However, their colors changed to green and gold in 1935. The change from blue to green may be significant, but the yellow remaining is what’s important here. Imagine for a second that the team colors changed from blue and gold to green and red. Now picture how out-of-place and awkward such an unapologetically-yellow foam cheese hat would look with those colors. As it stands now, the famous wedge matches the current team colors perfectly, making it feel like such cheesy headgear has belonged there all along.

Going to Lambeau for a game?
Stop and chat at Van’s Honda, right here in Green Bay, WI. We’ve got a huge new Honda selection as well a bunch of Certified Pre-Owned Honda vehicles for you to choose from.