MJD talks into a mic
NFL Network commentator Maurice Jones-Drew during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Where is Green Bay, Wisconsin?
That’s a question that popped up on a recent segment of game analysis on NFL Network. Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew didn’t know.
“You can look at a team like the Packers, that’s, a little, I don’t know if it’s north, west or whatever it is from Chicago,” Jones-Drew said of the Green Bay Packers, shortly after their NFC North rival Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football.
“Hold on, you don’t know which direction Green Bay is from Chicago?” The host asked MJD. Jones-Drew agreed to play the game.
“I’ll go west,” MJD said.
West is Iowa.
Then Jones-Drew couched his guess a bit.
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"You don't know which direction Green Bay is from Chicago?" pic.twitter.com/gHF57UaZdn
— Outsports (@outsports) October 25, 2026
“Northwest.”
OK. Better.
Northwest of Chicago is Minneapolis. Still, he was on the right track with his second guess. Maybe with someone in his earpiece yelling, “Northwest!!”
Without getting too technical, “north” would have been the most-appropriate answer. Drawn in a straight line, Green Bay is about 182 miles north and about 19 miles west of Chicago. So it’s 10 times as north as it is west.
Though “north northwest” wouldn’t have been too far off.
Cary Grant might agree.
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MJD in GB
Despite playing in the NFL for nine seasons, Jones-Drew actually never played a regular season game in Green Bay. Yet he did play in two preseason games at Lambeau Field, one each with both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders.
In his one season with the Raiders, he even scored on a 40-yard touchdown run for — at the time — Oakland.
In about a decade as a running back in the NFL, MJD gained over 10,000 yards rushing and receiving and scored 81 touchdowns, putting him in the top 100 all-time for TDs scored.
It’s understandable that even a guy who’s been there at least twice might not know where Green Bay, Wis., is. It is by far the smallest market of any city with a team in the Big Five: NBA, MLS, MLB, NHL and NFL.
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Green Bay has a little over 300,000 residents. The next-smallest Big Five city is either Winnipeg or New Orleans, each with about three times the number of residents.
Buffalo is a bustling metropolis compared to Green Bay.
The gay community in Chicago has a rich history, centered around Boystown and the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field. Outsports held its first-ever Pride event in Chicago in 2016. Market Days is an annual community fave.
The LGBTQ community in Green Bay has a couple dedicated spots to congregate, including bars Nepalese, The Roundabout and XS.
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Gay, straight or otherwise, it was funny to watch MJD stumble through his NFL geography live on national TV. It’s not hard to understand a former player not quite knowing where
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