Ahh, Packers fans often make themselves an easy target for ridicule. Somewhat less often … well, no, fairly frequently current and former players do as well. Today is no exception.

Remember Bill Schroeder? Yes, THE Bill Schroeder? The moderately successful, decent wide receiver from the late 90s and early 00s who last played with the Pack in 2001 and last donned an NFL uniform in 2004?

Something called the Sheboygan Press is reporting that Schroeder will hang ’em up and retire as a member of his hometown team.

To borrow an underused phrase popularized by Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live, “Well, la de frickin’ da.”

As mentioned, Schroeder was a decent complementary receiver for the Packers during his handful of seasons with the team. He caught 225 passes and 20 touchdowns for the green and gold. He then enjoyed three more forgettable seasons with Detroit and Tampa Bay.

But did anybody really miss him after 2004? I mean I’m sure every once in awhile he’d pop up in conversation during the inevitable Packers gameday drinking games. And he is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

Did he really do anything worthy of an announcement that he is going to retire as a member of the Green Bay Packers some four years after he last put on a jersey? This “retiring as a member of my original team” trend is getting a little bit trite. Career backups and utility infielders are now grasping at one last chance for glory with these pointless one-day contracts.

If Jerry Rice wants to retire as a 49er? Sure. No problem. Emmitt Smith wants one last moment in the sun as a member of the Cowboys? There’s room for some showmanship when you are the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.

And it’s admirable that Schroeder wants to become active as a Packer alum, doing whatever he can for the team and the community. More power to him. But until he catches another 700 passes or so I don’t think it warrants a write-up in the local newspaper. The guy has been gone for four years, for goodness sake.

It’s time for someone to put a stop to such nonsense before I call up my high school coach and tell him we have to hastily set up a press conference so I can acknowledge before the world that my football career has ended and that I will always be a member of the LeSueur-Henderson Giants.

Good day.