The Green Bay Packers sold more than 21,000 of these blaze orange hats.

Kudos to the Green Bay Packers for raising $105,000 for 27 Wisconsin hunger relief charities through the sale of blaze orange and camouflage Packers hats during the last year. All told, "The Pack" sold more than 21,000 of the special hats last season through their "Hunting Down Hunger" program.


For the last five years or so, Major League Baseball has also created a great Mother's Day promotion by using pink bats as a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen For The Cure effort to stop breast cancer. The partners also have a slick new Honorary Bat Girl promotion for the 2010 event.

A few years back, I made an inquiry into the NHL; "Would the NHL ever use blaze orange hockey sticks for a game to highlight Pheasants Forever's efforts to create wildlife habitat?" My plan: Pheasants Forever would auction off all the sticks and use the money to create wildlife habitat. No response. Same inquiry was sent to MLB with orange bats. No response. No doubt my calls and emails were not getting to the ears and eyes of the right folks.

I even pitched blaze orange uniforms & hats for OPENING DAY (think South Dakota pheasant hunting opener) of the new Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants this May. Unfortunately, the Fighting Pheasants already had a paying sponsor lined up for a magnetic schedule giveaway & fireworks . . . sigh . . .

Certainly, someone within the major sports leagues understands the crossover between hunters, habitat and their fan base. And, they undoubtedly will be able to see the extensive network of grassroots volunteers and the great habitat work being accomplished for the benefit of all species of wildlife, water quality, and society at large. But alas, I've not yet found "that someone" in the four major sports leagues.

The Packers orange hat press release has got me following that same line of thinking again today. I'd buy a blaze orange Detroit Tigers or Detroit Red Wings hat. Would you buy a blaze orange Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, or Pittsburg Penguins hat? How about a blaze orange Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Vikings or Los Angeles Lakers hat?

Do you know someone at MLB, NFL, NHL or NBA that could turn the idea of "Hunting Down Habitat" a reality? Forward this blog to them and send them my email address (stpete@pheasantsforever.org).

Thanks!

And while you're at it, post a comment below about which team's blaze orange logo you'd like to have on your head for the pheasant opener this autumn.