It was a bright (and cold) sunny day in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Lambeau Field was already filled to the brim with drunk Packer fans cheering on their team to victory over the Bears. There were cheeseheads everywhere, and shirtless guys (despite the 12℉ temperature) lining the endzone in hopes of getting warmed up by a player doing their Lambeau Leap. The chants of "Go Pack Go" were so loud you could probably hear them from Illinois.
Vlad Masters smiled as he sipped his martini in front of the largest flatscreen anyone could ever imagine, proud that his team was easily beating their number one rival. A Packers win always put him in a good mood, and good moods were slim pickings these days. Maddie was still angry with him from their previous meetup, where she didn't hesitate to pour scorching hot tea on his lap (it ruined her couch but she thought it was worth it). Vlad frowned as he adjusted the freezing bag of peas on his lap. That one still hurts. Additionally, Daniel was on a high from his mom rejecting Vlad and was making sure he rubbed Vlad's face in it every chance he got. Also, he was starting to really master his powers and was getting quite good at fighting. Vlad rubbed his sore arm which was singed from his last battle with said halfa. Hell, even Maddie the cat seemed to pick up on those Fenton vibes and scratched him all up the last time he tried cuddling with her, the evidence still bright stinging red on his hand holding his martini.
To elaborate, Vlad really needed a win.
The only thing that would make this Packer win better is if he actually owned the team. Vlad grumbled in frustration as he quickly finished off his martini in one large gulp. That was the one thing about his beloved team he was still bitter about: the fans owned the team, not some rich investor. Vlad couldn't live with a small share alongside the other almost 361,000 fans; he wanted it all. It was all or nothing to him.
Once upon a time, Vlad had a plan for taking over the town and rewriting some laws that would allow him to own the Packers but even that wasn't a guarantee. Packer fans were dedicated like no other. The team was so beloved, there would probably be a riot if he passed a law saying the fans could no longer own the team. He'd be public enemy number one.
Vlad poured himself another drink and raised his glass to the TV as the game ended, the Packers beating the Bears 24-14. That's why the Packers were so beloved - they always got the job done.
Hmm. Vlad pondered an idea. If the Packers kept losing, would the fans still love them as much? Or would the losing streak make fans turn their backs on the team, allowing for Vlad to buy the team as the new owner?
Vlad's grin resembled that of the Joker or the Grinch when he had an awful idea. With his ghost powers, he could possess the ball and make them lose, all without being seen. No target on his back.
It was worth a shot.
Several weeks later back in Amity Park, one Danny Phantom received an odd request. Upon collecting his fan mail at his PO box (fan mail kept him going when he thought about quitting), he saw a letter from the Green Bay Packers. Curious, he tore open the letter.
Dear Mr. Phantom,
The city of Green Bay, Wisconsin would like your help. There seems to be a curse or a ghost haunting Lambeau Field. There is simply nothing else to explain for the peculiar encounters fans have been reporting over these last few weeks, and we are concerned this could have something to do with our unexplainable losing streak.
We have seen reports of your good doing with the paranormal one state over, and would like to request your assistance. Please help us.
Sincerely,
The City of Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers
Danny found the request quite odd, but he had time as his parents and Valerie were helping a lot with the Amity ghosts lately. He just needed some sort of excuse for his parents if he was going to be gone for a few days. Knowing his parents would never call up the Mansons unless they absolutely had to, Dany told them he and Tucker were going on a short road trip with the Mansons and assured them he would be back in time for school on Monday morning.
Sam and Tucker agreed to back him up, but he didn't want to drag them out if this wasn't a ghost and instead was just a streak of really bad luck (plus, Tucker didn't want to go after Sam told him the Packers don't have any cheerleaders). But deep down, Danny knew he couldn't ignore this. He would feel terrible if innocent people were at risk because he thought a ghost would never haunt a football team. Why would they? Well...considering there was the Box Ghost who haunted boxes, anything could be possible, he supposed.
And that's how Danny Phantom found himself at Lambeau Field on a chilly Sunday December morning, his yawning appearing almost like his ghost sense in the crisp air. He wasn't actually cold, his ice core helped with most of that, but even as a ghost Danny still had some human quirks, like his "breath" fogging in cooler weather. The joys of being a halfa. Tucker always found it quite hilarious.
As the team warmed up on the field, Danny scanned the area for any ghostly activity. Nothing so far. He couldn't help but smile at all the fans still piling in to support their team despite the losing streak. They were dedicated, and he could only hope that someday he would have fans like that who would have his back even when he messed up. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were great for that, but it would still be nice to know the general public had his back too for once.
At the literal strike of kickoff, Danny's ghost sense finally went off. So, there was a ghost after all. Granted, it could just be the Dairy King, but when the football suddenly went off in another direction, he knew there was a ghost trying to sabotage the team.
"Here we go," he muttered to himself as he turned invisible and flew up into the sky. He didn't want to distract people from the game if he had to fight someone. "Come out come out wherever you are," Danny lightly sang. When he saw the football starting to go in another random direction, Danny sent out a small ectoblast near the ball, careful not to interfere with it. He grinned as his plan seemed to work; the small blast made the ghost flicker in and out of invisibility for a brief moment. "Gotcha."
Danny took off for the ghost, blasting it again. He raised an eyebrow when he heard an "oh butter biscuits" after the strike.
"...Vlad?"
Plasmius suddenly appeared, dropping the ball in the middle of the field. "Daniel?"
Danny was almost at a loss for words. "What are you? Why? What...you're sabotaging the Packers? I thought they were your team? Why would you want them to lose? Are you sick or something? Are you actually even Vlad? What are you-"
"Ugh, stop! Yes, yes, it's really me! Please just shut up!" Vlad rubbed his temples as if he was getting a headache.
"But why? I thought this was your team?" Danny frowned in confusion, still skeptical if this was his nemesis or not.
"They won't let me buy them!" Vlad cried out.
"...so?" Danny floated criss-crossed as he tried to figure out what was going on.
"So I want them to be mine!" Vlad yelled as if it was obvious.
"And losing will help that?"
"Yes! Maybe! I don't know! Look, I need to focus. Aaron freaking Rodgers is making it extremely difficult to lose, I have to stay on my game." Vlad dove down towards the field.
Danny took off and intercepted him, dragging him by the collar of his cape further into the air so they could talk. "Yeah, he is pretty gouda!"
Vlad ignored the cheesy pun.
"You know," Danny added, "for a fruit loop, you sure do have more holes in your head than Swiss cheese. The team won't sell to you. The fans are too dedicated." Danny pointed to the field below, where fans were cheering loudly as the Packers just tied the game during this conversation. "They're green and gold, you're just greedy and old."
Vlad growled as he blasted Danny in the stomach, trying to make another dive for the football. Danny rolled his eyes and tackled Vlad mid air, twisting one of Vlad's arms (his singed one at that) behind his back uncomfortably. "Let. Me. GO!" Vlad roared. He squirmed for a moment, but Danny held his arm tight. It was too painful to struggle. Vlad let out a sigh in frustration. "Look, I'll cut you a deal. You let me do this and I'll...I'll...I'll let you play in a game! But just one! When I own them, they will be back on their winning streak, I can't have your incoordination messing that up!"
Danny laughed heartily. "Do you think I'm that blockhead Dash or something? No way. Plus, it looks like it's already too late." Vlad glanced down at the game, seeing that the Packers were up 37-6 at the half. This would be hard to reverse.
"You buffoon! You're ruining everything!" Vlad went intangible and escaped Danny's grip. "And you're gonna pay for that old comment!" He started charging up his hands for a big ectoblast.
Danny sighed and quickly launched the Fenton Ghost Fisher at him, wrapping him up to the point where Vlad's arms were bound to his sides. "I don't know, I thought it was pretty grrrate!" Danny dragged out the R's like he was Tony the Tiger. "Get it? Great, grate? A cheese grate?"
Vlad groaned again. "Stop with the stupid puns already!"
"Oh, am I milking this too much? I thought you would find it really moooving." Danny smirked.
"UGH! I can't take this anymore! I'll let myself into the thermos! Just make it stop! Let the Packers win!" Vlad struggled against the rope.
"Aw, this was fun though. But, if you insist…" Danny sucked Vlad into the thermos and capped it. He was both irritated and amused that he was able to win this battle by simply annoying Vlad into the thermos. That was a new one.
Danny grinned as he floated down to the field, settling next to the head coach on the sideline. "Well, you were right, it was a ghost. I got him though." Danny shook the thermos and internally grinned when his heightened ghost sense could hear Vlad yelling at him to stop.
The coach gratefully shook his hand. "Thank you so much, Mr. Phantom. We cannot thank you enough! Will you stay here as we finish the game and end this haunted losing streak?"
Danny grinned, "you cheddar believe it." He could imagine Vlad rolling his eyes. Sam would be proud. One of her favorite hobbies was trash talking the mayor on Twitter.
The Packers ended up dominating the game, ending their streak of bad luck. As a thank you, the Packers offered Danny Phantom a share of the team, making him a part owner.
You could almost, even through the thermos, almost hear Vlad screaming over the 81,441 chants of Go Pack Go from the true owners of the team. Almost.
GO PACK GO! :)