BELOIT — Josh Johnson had more than a casual interest in the outcome of last Sunday’s NFL playoff game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

The National Guardsman from Janesville knew he would be attending today’s NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay if the Giants managed to pull off an upset against the top-seeded Cowboys.

“I was scared to get off the couch because I was afraid that something would happen (during the game),” said Johnson, who had tickets for the Packers’ playoff win over Seattle last Saturday, but had to give them up because he had Guard duty.

The Giants held on for the win, and now Johnson, who served in Iraq several years ago and watched Packers games on videotapes sent to him by his parents, is on his way to Lambeau for the game of a lifetime.

“The first thing I said to my boss (on Monday) wasn’t even ‘Hi,’” the 23-year-old said. “It was, ‘I need Monday off.’”

With a win today over the Giants, the surprising Packers will advance to Super Bowl XLII Feb. 3 in Arizona. Adoring fans in Rock and Walworth counties will celebrate that development in creative ways, but it’s hard to imagine the excitement exceeding what occurred this past week in the run-up to today’s title game.

‘Way of life’
As championship week began, Beloit’s Jerry Johnson goaded Giants fans on Internet sports message boards. “We’ll tip our cheesehats to you … the smell of brats will fill the air,” he wrote to New York fans on one such site. “We might have to break out our windbreakers for this one. Never underestimate the power of the football shrine known as Lambeau. Football’s not just a game, it’s a way of life.”

Indeed, that is the case for many families in southern Wisconsin.

“I can remember going to grandpa’s house for that first (Packers) Super Bowl, because they had the color TV,” said Brian Williams of Beloit, whose family owns House of Carpets on Cranston Road in Beloit.

The business now stocks a large 5-foot by 8-foot Packers rug that a customer recently installed in a sea of deep-green carpet.

“It just came out,” Williams said. “The NFL gave the rights to the manufacturers.”

Jerry Johnson planned to get up early today and cook a turkey before settling in to watch the two conference championships with his wife and sons. The “born-and-raised” Packers fan thought about heading north for the game, but then did a little research on tickets earlier in the week. He discovered it would take lots of green and maybe even a little gold to attend the game.

“I’ve seen on eBay groups of four tickets going for $1,500 to $3,000,” he said.

The Rev. David Howie of Lake Geneva lived for a time in Green Bay and learned quickly that on Sundays both God and the Packers will be served.

“Living in Green Bay, you learn that it’s all about the team,” said Howie, pastor at Lakeland Community Church in Elkhorn. “Being a fan, the team becomes a part of your culture and a part of your life.”

That’s certainly the case for Leslie and Mike Lindaas, the owners of the Tobacco Shack in Beloit, who have been showing Packers pride all week long by wearing a rotating wardrobe of team apparel to work.

“Tomorrow’s Brett (Favre) day, and today’s Reggie (White),” Mike Lindaas said Tuesday. “I love Reggie.”

The couple have a 65-inch television and are hosting about 25 people for the game today. Their Packer parties will become more elaborate once they finish turning their garage into Packers Central.

“I’m in the process of building my Packer party room,” Lindaas said. The room will house bleachers, green turf-style carpeting painted with white lines, and more than 30 signed pieces of Packers memorabilia, including three helmets autographed by Brett Favre.

Not business as usual
Other business owners also are finding ways to celebrate the Packers’ success — and make a few extra bucks in the process.

Champs Sports Bar and Grill in Lake Geneva had former Packers great Fuzzy Thurston in town Friday to sign autographs.

“Over the years, we’ve had several Packer players come to sign autographs,” said Champs co-owner Chuck Loth.

In Beloit, the four co-owners of Hanson’s Tavern are taking advantage of Packers fever, even though three of them are Chicago Bears fans. Though she regularly roots for Chicago, “I’m actually a Brett Favre fan,” conceded Tammy Fiedler, whose husband Rich is the one real Packers fan in the bunch.

Hanson’s planned drink specials and half-price appetizers for today’s game.

Karma’s Bar and Grill in Janesville is tripling its staff in anticipation of a large crowd today.

“We normally have one person bartending on Sundays,” said co-owner Tammy Likely, who plans to add an extra bartender and an extra cook. “We just want to pack the house.”

People planning their own Packer parties have boosted business at area bakeries and grocery stores.

Javier Garcia, owner of Panaderia Bakery in Janesville, said Tuesday he had seven orders since the weekend for cakes decorated with Packers pictures or logos.

“Every season those orders pick up,” he said.

Debra Duggan, co-owner of Take the Cake in Lake Geneva, made her son a cake in the shape of Lambeau Field to take to school Thursday.

“I’ll probably use something for the goal posts; I’m not sure what, and of course I’ll put stripes for the yard lines,” she said of her special creation.

TV upgrades, Packer pets
C.J. Killgallon, a sales representative with Brother’s Main TV and Appliance in Janesville, said the team’s playoff success has been a boon at a time when sales typically are slow.

Killgallon said TV purchases are up about 30 percent, thanks to Packers fans who want to watch the Super Bowl run on a high-definition model.

“We had a guy who needed a TV delivered last Saturday and he had us scrambling to get it in before 3 p.m. when the Packers played,” Killgallon said.

The Petsmart store in Delavan, meanwhile, is selling more specialty leashes and collars with a Packers theme.
“A lot of people want their pets to show their support for the team as well,” said Manager Nicole Cunningham.

Packer chic
If there’s one thing Packers fans know how to do it’s dress for the part. At Kryptonite Kollectibles in Janesville, “Our cheesehead hat orders are going through the roof,” said Steve Ziegler, the store’s manager of shipping and receiving. “We just received one of our biggest orders ever this week because I would have run out of them.”

Both Kohl’s and Blain’s Farm and Fleet also have large supplies of Packers merchandise.

“Our clothing sales have gone up significantly within the last week or so,” said Blain’s Communications Coordinator Renee Tarnutzer in Janesville. “If the Packers win on Sunday, we will be getting NFC championship T-shirts and sweatshirts Tuesday at the latest.”

On the field
As for the game itself, Beloit’s Johnson, among others, is predicting a cakewalk for the Packers. The final score, he said, will be 32-14.

“I think they’ll handle New York well,” he said.

Janesville’s Josh Johnson sees the Packers winning by two touchdowns, 24-10.

“I would love to say it will be a high-scoring affair,” he said, “but with the Giants’ pass rush, I don’t think Favre is going to take many five- to seven-step (pass) drops.”

Johnson is well aware that the game-time temperature could be as low as 0.

“I’m hoping for some decent weather and some good blocking,” he said.

Packers fanatic Terry Duller of Milton thinks the Giants will put up a better fight before falling, 28-21.

“I just think that the Giants are playing pretty good ball, and I think in those weather conditions, that will be the amount of points scored,” Duller said.

Howie, meanwhile, is hoping for a bit of divine intervention.

“I always pray for the Packers to win," the pastor said. “Many people might not realize it, but there are a lot of men on the team with really strong faiths. I heard that (defensive end) Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila saw a movie earlier in the season called ‘Facing the Giants,’ which was produced by a church in the south. After seeing that film, he went back to the coach and said he was sure they would make it to the Super Bowl, and he wanted to share what the film taught him with the team. So I think they are going all the way.”

Not that Howie is claiming to have any special knowledge.

“God hasn’t told me that is what is going to happen,” he said, “but that is what I am hoping for.”