Two Cheeseheads were sitting in a bar ...

Luis Pena

Football fans from all around gathered at the Newport Beach Brewing

Co. to watch teams collide during the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

The Newport Beach Brewing Co. was the site of excitement as fans

gathered to watch the Green Bay Packers versus the Seattle Seahawks

and the Denver Broncos versus the Indianapolis Colts.

Brian Jojade from Wausau, Wis., came to Newport Beach to visit his

friend Bill Hess, a former Wisconsinite and now a Newport Beach

resident, and to watch their team, the Packers, play.

“Its always the Green Bay Packers, because there is no other team

like the Packers,” Jojade said.

The Green Bay-Seattle game was very exciting for Jojade and Hess

because of the long passes and the exciting finish. The game was tied

and went into over time, which gave the two Cheeseheads more reason

to root for their team.

“It’s just like being back in Wausau right now except for getting

up at 10 a.m. in the morning to watch the game was kind of rough,”

Jojade said. “Normally, it starts at noon, but here, it’s at 10 a.m.

But they still have beer.”

“I’m not freezing,” Hess said. “I can go see a beach after this.”

When Green Bay Packer Al Harris ran for a touchdown to win the

game in overtime, it was satisfaction for the two Cheeseheads, who

cheered the loudest at the bar and kept cheering when others had

stopped.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re at, it’s still a Packers game,”

Jojade said.

Michelle Jacobs of Newport Beach said that she was on the edge of

her seat throughout the game and thought Green Bay was going to sweep

the game. Then the game went into overtime.

“We typically know that the team that gets the ball first has a

good chance of winning, and the Seahawks got the ball first, and we

were concerned, and then the Green Bay Packers took it home,” Jacobs

said.

Jacobs not only admired Green Bay as a whole but its quarterback

Brett Favre, whom she called “all American.”

Andrew Hicks came from North Hollywood to watch the game with

friends at the Newport Beach Brewing Co. He had no favorite teams

playing because he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan, but he still enjoyed

coming out to watch.

Watching a sports game and getting involved in it is why Lauren

Peyton of Newport Beach came to watch the game.

“Indianapolis is my team,” she said. “If they don’t go to the

Super Bowl, I am going to die. I wake up in the morning thinking

about Indianapolis, thinking about Indianapolis.”

Rhonda Ardoin, a Raiders fan from Newport Beach, came to watch the

teams play because she loves sports and athleticism in general. She

doesn’t care which team is playing or who the underdog is: for her,

its about the love of the game, she said.

* LUIS PENA is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at [email protected].