Cheeseheads

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"Cheesehead" can refer to:

• A nickname (sometimes used disparagingly) referring to a person from Wisconsin,^[1] referring to the large volume of cheese production of the locale.

"Cheesehead" hat

• The name of a brand of foam hat shaped like a large wedge of cheese, worn primarily by fans of the NFL Green Bay Packers at football games, but also worn in other contexts by Packer fans.

Origins

The term "cheesehead" began as a derogatory term used by Illinois sports fans (namely those of American football and baseball) referring to opposing Wisconsin sports fans. The term, however, was quickly embraced by Wisconsinites and is now a point of pride.^[2] The original display of a "cheesehead" hat was at a Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago White Sox game in 1987.^[3] It was handmade by Ralph Bruno out of foam. It was made popular by center-fielder Rick Manning, who saw the hat while playing. Bruno started a business to sell the hats as novelties. The "Cheesehead" trademark is owned by Foamation, Inc. of St. Francis, Wisconsin, which began manufacture of the wearable, foam cheesehead in 1987.^[4]

External links

• Foamation Inc.

References

1. ^ Kapler, Joseph, Jr. "On Wisconsin Icons: When You Say 'Wisconsin', What Do You Say?" Wisconsin History Spring 2002; pp. 18-31
2. ^ Foamation: About Us, http://www.cheesehead.com/aboutus.asp .
3. ^ Cigelske, Tim (September 8, 2005), "When I was 30: Ralph Bruno: Cheeseheads were spreading", MKE, http://www.mkeonline.com/story.asp?id=353849&format=print .
4. ^ Prunty, Brendan (January 19, 2008), The Origin of the 'Cheesehead', http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2008/01/the_origin_of_the_cheesehead.html .