(Dec. 29) -- Jim Becker of Racine, Wisc., has always been a Green Bay Packers fan.
He's such a devoted fan that, in 1952, when the demands of a growing family meant he'd have to give up his season tickets, he began selling his blood four times a year to cover the cost of the seats.
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Jim Becker
Jim Becker, second from left, takes in a Green Bay Packers game with his family.
He has been to 206 home games, only missing three Packers games in that time.
Becker's devotion to the Packers isn't just a pastime -- it has also saved his life, TV station WDJT reports.
After 23 years of selling blood quarterly, a routine physical revealed that Becker had a rare and fatal disorder that causes excess iron in his blood -- the same disease that killed his father at age 43.
Since Becker, now 79, didn't know he had the same disorder, he had no idea he had been keeping the disease from shutting down his vital organs by having blood drawn regularly.
"There's no cure for it," Becker told WDJT. "They said the only way to lessen it was to give blood, because the blood draws the iron out of the system."
Becker is hoping his luck when it comes to the Packers holds up, as he's been nominated for this year's Packers Fan Hall of Fame. Voting continues through Jan. 31 at the Packers Web site.
If Becker wins, he'll get four club seats to a home game, but will have a problem deciding which of his children will join him. Ten of his 11 children are Packers fans, too.
To read more, go to WDJT.
