No Packers, No Life movie night highlights Japan-Wisconsin connections

WAUNAKEE, Wis — Under clear skies and a full moon, more than 50 members of the JASWI community gathered on September 26 for an outdoor movie night on the Asahi Octopi Taproom lawn. Bundled under blankets on an early fall night guests enjoyed food and drinks from the taproom while watching the 2025 documentary No Packers, No Life on a big screen thanks to generous support from the UW-Madison Center for East Asian Studies.

The movie follows the Japanese Packers Cheering Team on their first journey from Tokyo to Green Bay to see a Packers game in person. It showed the power of shared passion and people-to-people connections to build bridges across cultural and linguistic barriers. In the film they state, "there's something unique and special about the Packers being owned by the people" that the Japanese fans found "charming." For the cheering team, being welcomed in by the Green Bay community reinforced that passion and connection to Wisconsin.

Producer Ty Morse joined JASWI for the screening and answered questions. He shared that the cheering team has now visited four times from Japan and the Packers have never lost when they are here, so they hope to continue visiting and cheering. He encouraged all the viewers to share the documentary with others and help spread this amazing story across Wisconsin and beyond. It is currently streaming for free on Tubi and you can find the link and trailer on the movie website.