|
 "Our allegiances to different teams didn't become
an issue until I came home one day and went up to my boys' bedrooms
and saw these awful green and yellow posters of Brett Favre and Reggie
White that my husband, Bill, had pinned all over the walls," says
Carol Zimmerman of Chaska. "I mean, out of the womb of a Viking
woman came my sons, born into the heart of Minnesota. How dare he turn
these little boys into Packer fans!"
Singer/songwriter Zimmerman, whose voice is a blend between Kathy Troccoli
and Bonnie Raitt, decided to use their fierce rivalry to add to her
concert repertoire. "I wanted to have a fun song about Bill. It's
a requested song now," she says.
Zimmerman's break into radio airplay came when she was playing a holiday
concert at Christmastime in 1999 at Bobby and Steve's Auto World Grill
near the Metrodome and Chuck Knapp walked in. Knapp, a former radio
personality of KS95, is now the morning drive co-host for the Christian
radio station KTIS. Zimmerman knew Knapp was an avid Vikings' fan and
performed the song. "Why don't you do a recording of this and I'll
play it next football season," Knapp told her.
"So I laid down the basic tracks," says Zimmerman. Mark Johnson,
pastor of The Creek Community Church in Maple Grove, sings male lead.
"He has the perfect, gruffy, macho, Packer-sounding voice,"
Zimmerman says.
Knapp played the song both times the Vikings and the Packers faced each
other last fall. No sooner had the song hit the airwaves and the phones
at KTIS began to ring. "Couples of 'mixed' marriages, half-green,
half-purple, came out of the woodwork," recalls Knapp. "They
went bananas. They went tapioca. They wanted this song. It instantly
became the big border battle song of the NFL, so to speak," says
Knapp. Zimmerman quickly threw a single together and was bombarded with
requests.
The response has been an eye-opener for Zimmerman. "Women in the
same boat have written to say that this song has added an element of
fun to help smooth over a sometimes stressful situation in their marriage,"
she says. "People say they now can recommend that non-Christian
friends listen to Christian radio because they'll hear some songs like
mine that are fun and entertaining and 'not in-your-face' conviction
kind of songs." That's because, Zimmerman says, "This music
is a little bit on the edge. It's definitely rock 'n roll. You're just
not going to hear a guy like Mark on your everyday Christian radio station."
Another benefit for Zimmerman has been meeting Ragnar, the Vikings'
mascot. "We've even got an upcoming concert at a men's sports conference
in March together," she says.
So just how bad is the rivalry between purple and green at the Zimmerman
home? Zimmerman says she's had to moderate her feelings living with
three rabid Packer backers, but credits their shared faith in God as
having put the football border wars into perspective. "For Bill,
raising the boys as Packer fans over the years has created a huge father-son
bond. He loves bringing Drew and Jordan to Lambeau Field. If Bill had
to raise them liking a different team, he wouldn't even know how to
do it. And the boys are getting to experience what their dad did when
he was their age," she says.
As chief interior decorator in the Zimmerman home, Carol does have some
concerns about the colors. "The boys' rooms are completely yellow
and green. It's such an awful shade of green. It doesn't go with anything."
Is there any purple in the house? "Absolutely not," Zimmerman
says with a sly smile. She adds, "But in the sunroom I have periwinkle
and lilac colors and being boys, they don't recognize that as being
purple, so I'm still being true to my state."
"When a Viking and a Packer Fan Fell in Love" is featured
on Zimmerman's newest CD, "The Things I Love" which will be
available at Northwestern Bookstores in April. "It's about our
spouses, sports, kids, the Lord, and we can't forget, junk food."
For concert information, or to purchase her CDs (the single is still
available) you can reach Zimmerman at carolzim@juno.com.
Home |