The fact that Vikings fans get rowdy to the point of arrest or ejection at Lambeau Field should not be terribly surprising considering the nature of the rivalry (and, let's face it, the interaction of the fan bases). But what's fairly fascinating is being able to put raw numbers to perceptions, which is what a special online report from Packers News has done for us.
The lengthy report begins with a tale of a Vikings fan arrested during last year's 42-10 loss against the Packers at Lambeau (yes, the one Christian Ponder was forced to start. Even if he had to pay what is reportedly an $880 fine, he at least didn't have to watch the end of the debacle). We learn that four of the 67 fans arrested at Lambeau last season hail from Minnesota — second-most of any other non-Wisconsin state, with Illinois leading the way.
Even more interesting are the ejection and arrest totals in Packers home games against NFC North opponents over the years.
In the past 10 season, there have been at least 13 arrests at a Vikings/Packers game at Lambeau three different times: 2005 (the year after the Randy Moss playoff moon), 2009 (the first Brett Favre season in Minnesota) and 2010 (the second Favre year in Minnesota).
Ejection totals also reached a 10-year high for any regular-season Packers home game against an NFC North opponent when there were 60 for the Vikings/Packers game in 2010 (a tense 28-24 Packers win in which Favre played). It went to another level in the playoffs a couple years ago.
Per the report:
Vikings games averaged about 41 fan ejections. Bears games averaged 38. In fact, Green Bay's win over the Vikings during the January 2013 playoffs had the most ejections of any game during the past decade. That night, police arrested 21 fans and booted out 91 spectators.
While the ejections aren't broken down in quite as much detail by state, there is this: Last season, Green Bay-Fox Valley area fans accounted for about 30 percent of all ejections. The other 70 percent came from those living elsewhere in Wisconsin or another state.
