![\"WISN](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769814740_494_wisn.png\")
<\/p>\nPopular Irish podcaster named Packers’ nominee for international fan of the year<\/p>\n
Stephen O’Brien founded the UK and Irish Packers Fan Club in 2013<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYOUR FULL FORECAST OF SOME SNOW HEADING OUR WAY IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. >> AND IRISH PODCASTERS, THE PACKERS NOMINEE FOR THE NFL INTERNATIONAL FAN OF THE YEAR. >> LET\u2019S GO THE LIFE OUT HERE. WHAT THE HELL\u2019S GOING ON OUT HERE? HEY, WHAT ABOUT THAT? >> NOW. >> >> THAT IS ONE IMPRESSIVE INTRO THERE. STEVE O\u2019BRIEN IS THE HOST OF EUROPE\u2019S MOST POPULAR PACKERS PODCAST. HE ALSO FOUNDED THE UK AND IRISH PACKERS FAN CLUB IN 2013. HE\u2019S ONE OF 32 NOMINEES ACROSS THE LEAGUE WHO WILL RECEIVE A TRIP TO THE 2026 NFL DRAFT IN PITTSBURGH, AND THAT\u2019S WHERE THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED. WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE STEVE WITH US HERE THIS AFTERNOON. JOINING US LIVE FROM IRELAND. GOOD TO HAVE YOU WITH US. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS HONOR? >> I WAS SURPRISED BY THE PACKERS. I WAS FOOLED. DEREK SENT ME AN EMAIL AND SAID, HEY STEVE, YOU WOULDN\u2019T MIND COMING ON AND DOING A QUICK SORT OF, YOU KNOW, GIVE US YOUR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SEASON. AND I SAID, ABSOLUTELY. AND THEN WHERE\u2019S ROLL THE BALL OVER AND REVEALED THAT I WAS THE INTERNATIONAL FAN. AND I THINK I\u2019VE BEEN FLOATING ON CLOUD NINE SINCE. >> THAT IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. HOW DID YOUR PACKERS FANDOM BEGIN? WHAT ARE THE ORIGINS? >> THIS IS A VERY LONG STORY AND I\u2019M IRISH, SO IT GETS LONGER DEREK. RIGHT. BUT I\u2019LL TRY I\u2019LL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT. THE BIG EVENT OVER HERE IS THE SUPER BOWL, RIGHT. BECAUSE IT\u2019S FREE TO AIR. WHEREAS TYPICALLY IF YOU TRY TO WATCH PACKERS GAMES, CERTAINLY WHEN I STARTED YOU\u2019D HAVE A PAYWALL AND YOU KNOW, YOU\u2019D HAVE TO GO SORT OF EVERY WHICH WAY TO TRY TO GET IT. SO JUST ONE OF MY FRIENDS SAID TO ME, HE WAS A BIG INTO AMERICAN FOOTBALL. HE WAS THE QUARTERBACK FOR MY COLLEGE. AND HE SAID, LOOK, PICK A TEAM. SO I DID. SO I WENT HOME AND DID MY HOMEWORK. I LOOKED AT THE LIST OF TEAMS AND I SAW THE FALCONS AND THAT\u2019S A BIRD. I SAW THE LIONS AND THAT\u2019S AN ANIMAL. AND I SAW THE BEARS AND THEY SUCK. SO I SAW THE PACKERS AND I WAS LIKE, WE DON\u2019T HAVE ANY PACKERS IN IRELAND. I DON\u2019T KNOW WHAT ANIMAL THAT IS. AND INSTANTLY IT BRINGS YOU TO THE ACME PACKERS, THE INDIAN PACKING COMPANY, CURLY LAMBEAU. AND THEN YOU GO INTO VINCE LOMBARDI. AND AGAIN, AS I SAID, I\u2019M IRISH AND THE BLARNEY STONE HERE IS RIGHT BESIDE ME, RIGHT. SO I COULD GO ON AND ON. BUT JUST FROM THE HISTORY STANDPOINT. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE GREATNESS ON THE FIELD, IT\u2019S A KILLER COMBINATION. AND I WAS HOOKED FROM THE BEGINNING. >> YOU\u2019RE GOING TO FIT RIGHT IN JUST WELL HERE IN WISCONSIN WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT OF THE BEARS. I GOT TO ASK YOU THOUGH, WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES PACKERS FAN BASES SO GREAT? BECAUSE IT\u2019S GREAT TO SEE THE PACKERS FAN BASE, GLOBAL. >> JUST WE\u2019RE KINDRED SPIRITS. I FEEL LIKE THE IRISH PEOPLE ARE VERY LIKABLE WISCONSINITES. WE\u2019RE FARMERS MOSTLY. LOVE A BIT OF CHEESE AND BEER. WOULD YOU BELIEVE. AND JUST A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE. CERTAINLY WHAT WE\u2019RE USED TO IN SPORTS ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND, BOTH IN IRELAND AND THE UK. SOME OF THE MATCHES BETWEEN RIVAL TEAMS CAN GET A BIT CHIPPY AND A BIT, YOU KNOW, ROUGH. SO WHAT WE SAW WHEN WE WENT TO GREEN BAY WAS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE SAYS THAT THE PACKERS FANS ARE JUST SO WELCOME. AND THAT\u2019S WHAT I SEE HERE. AND EVERY I BRING TOURS OVER TO GREEN BAY AND HAVE THEM FOR THE LAST DECADE OR MORE. AND IT JUST ABSOLUTELY SURPRISES ME EVERY TIME, DEREK, THAT EVERY PERSON ON THAT TOUR SEEMS TO HAVE THE SAME KINDRED SPIRIT OF JUST KINDNESS, FANATICAL FANDOM FOR THE GREEN BAY PACKERS, AND REALLY DO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PACKERS ARE ALL ABOUT. THAT COMMUNITY SPIRIT, THE GREATNESS, YOU KNOW, GOING WAY BACK WHEN. AND OF COURSE, EUROPE IN GENERAL IS A VERY OLD PLACE. I CAN LOOK OUT MY WINDOW RIGHT NOW AND SEE A FIELD IN IRELAND AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE ROCKS AND THOSE WALLS WERE LAID BY SOMEBODY HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. SO WE REALLY GET A NICE APPRECIATION HERE FOR THE HISTORY OF IT. SO AND THAT\u2019S WHAT THE GREEN BAY PACKERS ARE ALL ABOUT ABSOLUTELY STEEPED IN HISTORY. SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, STRANGELY, ALTHOUGH WE\u2019RE VERY FAR APART, I THINK WE\u2019RE VERY SIMILAR IN A LOT OF WAYS. >> ABSOLUTELY. AND IN HONOR OF THE NOMINATION FOR YOU, THE PACKERS COMMISSIONED A MURAL IN YOUR HOMETOWN FEATURING DANIEL WHALEN, A PACKERS PUNTER WHO HAILS FROM IRELAND. WHAT DOES THAT RECOGNITION AND THAT MURAL MEAN TO YOU PERSONALLY? >> IT\u2019S LIKE I KEEP TELLING PEOPLE, I FULLY APPRECIATE THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY A DREAM. DEREK, YOU ARE NOT REAL AND NOBODY\u2019S REAL. AND I WILL WAKE UP EVENTUALLY, BUT I JUST DON\u2019T WANT TO WAKE UP JUST YET. I WANT TO CALL THE DRAFT PICK IN PITTSBURGH AND THEN WAKE UP. LOOK, IT\u2019S AN INCREDIBLE HONOR. AND TYPICAL OF THE PACKERS, RIGHT? THEY MANAGE TO FIND THE LOCATION IN MY TOWN. I DON\u2019T KNOW HOW THEY FOUND IT. IT\u2019S A SPECIAL GRAFFITI DEDICATED AREA. IT\u2019S BESIDE A NATURE WALK THAT EVERYBODY VISITS. IT\u2019S BESIDE A PLAYGROUND WHERE ALL MY KIDS, MY KIDS INCLUDED, HAVE THREE SONS. THEY GO AND PLAY THERE. THERE\u2019S A SKATE PARK WHERE PEOPLE CAN BE SORT OF LITTLE REBELS IF THEY WANT TO BE, AND THEY MANAGE TO FIND A FANTASTIC ARTIST CALLED STEPHEN CONSIDINE, WHO WAS A WHO HAS AN UNBELIEVABLE STORY HIMSELF. HE\u2019S FROM THE TOWN OF ARKLOW, WHERE THE MURAL IS, AND HE HAS THIS GREAT JOURNEY OF MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS. SO THE PACKERS MANAGED TO GO OUT AND GET SOMEBODY FROM THE COMMUNITY WHO CAN PAINT LIKE BANKSY AND LEONARDO DA VINCI. OBVIOUSLY, THAT LIKENESS IS UNCANNY. IT\u2019S QUITE LARGE AND, YOU KNOW, THEY PUT IT UP ON THE WALL THERE. IT\u2019S AN INCREDIBLE HONOR BECAUSE CERTAINLY IN IRELAND, LIKE I DON\u2019T, I DON\u2019T THINK I DESERVE IT, RIGHT? I MEAN, I DON\u2019T KNOW WHO DESERVES A MURAL, BUT CERTAINLY IN IRELAND A LOT OF FOLK HEROES GET MURALS HERE. AND SO IT\u2019S SEEN AS THIS MASSIVE HONOR. SO TO SEE MYSELF IN MY HOMETOWN WITH A MURAL LIKE THAT, WHICH I DEFINITELY THOUGHT WAS I INSULTED ALL MY FRIENDS UNTIL I DRAGGED THEM DOWN TO SEE IT. IT\u2019S JUST SO FITTING, AND IT\u2019S JUST A PERFECT ENCAPSULATION OF WHAT THE GREEN BAY PACKERS DO AND HOW THEY VALUE THEIR FANS. AND I\u2019M ON. AS I SAID, I\u2019M FLOATING RIGHT NOW. I\u2019M ABSOLUTELY ON CLOUD NINE. IF I AND I AM, I WILL GET OLDER EVENTUALLY, I\u2019M SURE. AND I WILL TELL PEOPLE THIS STORY THAT THERE\u2019S A MURAL OF ME SOMEWHERE, AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THEY\u2019LL SAY, YOU NEED TO GO AND LIE DOWN. NOW. YOU\u2019VE HAD, YOU KNOW, YOUR HAPPY TIME AND YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO GO AND SORT OF RELAX BECAUSE IT JUST DOESN\u2019T SOUND REAL. AND THAT\u2019S JUST THE LEVEL THAT THE PACKERS TAKE IT TO. SO I\u2019M JUST FLABBERGASTED. >> IT IS AMAZING. REAL QUICKLY, CAN I GET A GO PACK GO FROM YOU. >> GO PACK GO IRISH ACCENT. LET\u2019S GO. >> ALL RIGHT. >> STEVE O\u2019BRIEN, NOMINEE FOR INTERNATIONAL FAN OF THE YEAR. JOINING US LIVE FROM IRELAND. GREAT TO HAVE YOU AND HOPE TO SEE YOU STATESIDE HERE. AND GOOD LUCK ON THE NOMINATION. AND O\u2019BRIEN\u2019S GOING TO FIND OUT IF HE\u2019S THE WINNER THIS YEAR OF THE INTERNATIONAL FAN OF THE YEAR CONTEST AT THE NFL DRAFT IN PITTSBURGH.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Popular Irish podcaster named Packers’ nominee for international fan of the year<\/p>\n
Stephen O’Brien founded the UK and Irish Packers Fan Club in 2013<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tUpdated: 11:05 PM CST Feb 24, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n