If ever we needed a distraction at a Packers game, it's today's clash of the infrequent winners of Green Bay and the chronic losers from Detroit.
So cue the bikini girls. They're back for another year, and this time they're rocking Lambeau for a worthy cause.
You may recall last season when the three girls - women, in real life - grabbed national attention by dressing for July on a frigid January day at the NFC Championship Game in Green Bay.
The modest bikinis were bright yellow, so the TV cameras had no trouble finding them in Section 126 on the Packers' side of the grandstand. And thus began a blitz of media exposure and interviews.
"I think it lasted two, maybe three weeks, and then it kind of died down after that," said bikini girl Liz Gray, 22, a UWM student from Wausau. "This is such a little blip on the radar, what we do. I can't imagine what celebrities go through."
Most of the attention was positive, but she and the others tried to ignore the rude blogs that critiqued their bikini photos.
All that goose-pimpled bare skin attracted Maxim magazine, but a photo shoot never materialized. The girls say that's OK with them, especially when they think about impressing potential employers.
"We weren't sure that's the kind of rep we wanted," Liz said. "That's not why we were doing it."
They're just having fun, the girls say. They've gone "Baywatch" at the last - and usually coldest - home game of the season for the past half-dozen years. They dance around during breaks in the action and then cover back up.
"We all usually get a cold after the game, but it's worth it," said Amanda Connors.
One of last year's swimsuit crew, Jen Connors, has since begun working for the Packers as a fully dressed marketing intern.
"They had no idea who I was when I came in for an interview," said Jen, who is from the Mauston area and was a graduate this year from UW-La Crosse.
She'll be busy working on game day. Her sister, Ashley, 21, will join Liz and Amanda, 22, both cousins, in the bikini corps.
Pat Connors, father to Jen and Ashley, will be at the game, too. He's sort of the girls' manager, and a year ago he was tirelessly arranging their interviews and fielding pitches for product tie-ins, none of which came to fruition. He knew the clock of fame was running.
"It was like a gallon of milk. It was going to go sour on you," he said.
This year, they're going with pink bikinis for breast cancer awareness. The plan is to charge a few bucks to have a photo taken with the bikini girls, with the proceeds donated to fight the disease.
Amanda, an artist from New Lisbon now living in Chicago, intends to donate all of her tips from Saturday night at her bartending job. Her plan was to drive up to Green Bay when she got off work at 3:30 this morning.
As of Friday, the girls were still debating what their poster would say. In the past, they've mostly waved pro-Favre signs, before he joined a certain East Coast team.
"It's been a rough season, but we all still love the Packers. That's why we do crazy stuff like wear bathing suits," Amanda said.
"I've heard the weather is going to be nice," Ashley said.
This time of year in Wisconsin, nice means you're not in danger of freezing to death - even in a bikini at Lambeau Field as the Packers try to vote down a Motor City bailout.
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