Raymond T. Rivard photograph

What a year it’s been for football fans and sports fans of all stripes in the state of Wisconsin.

The Packers win a Super Bowl and then continue on a 19-game winning streak; Beast mode continues well into October for the Milwaukee Brewers; and the Wisconsin Badgers ride the wave all the way to Pasadena, Calif., and the Rose Bowl.

Count your blessings, folks. Count them every day. Enjoy this time, document it, remember it and savor it. How many other states can boast such accomplishment? Not many … maybe Massachusetts and the Patriots and Red Sox.

Here’s to hoping our new year continues as the past year has. Gotta love every minute of it and look forward to even better times in the future.

And with that, we here at Lombardiave.com send out our new year greetings to all our readers and friends. Have a great year and let’s celebrate together!