GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Packers fans might recognize one of the smallest – and furriest – superfans outside Lambeau Field.
Vinnie James, a 12-year-old chihuahua, has been rolling around home games in a football-shaped cooler for nearly a decade. His owner, Gloria Baenen, says her daughter first found the timid pup on Craigslist, and since then, he’s become a staple of the game-day experience.
“We love putting smiles on people’s faces,” Gloria said. “And I think he’s beginning to like the attention.”
Each game day, Gloria says it takes nearly two hours to make one lap around the stadium, stopping for pictures every few feet. Some fans have been following Vinnie for years.
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“Last year a gentleman came up to me with his son,” she said. “He told me, ‘I brought him here when he was four years old… now we’re meeting him again.’”
Baenen built Vinnie’s ride herself after spotting an old football cooler at a flea market. Now held together with glue, she says the family is looking for a replacement before the next season kicks off.
Vinnie has even met Packers legends like Mark Murphy and Mason Crosby over the years, but Gloria says that’s not what it’s about.
“It’s only a game,” she said. “We’re just here to have fun, and I think most people are here to have fun.”
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Gloria’s son-in-law, Peter Stalter, says the bond between owner and dog is hard to miss.
“Inseparable… hands down, no questions about it,” he said. “More pictures with away fans than with our own — he’s just a staple here.”
And while fans line up for selfies every game, Gloria admits she has one bone to pick: “Nobody’s ever given me a bratwurst in return.”
