Insurance agent from State Farm Packers commercials speaks out

GREEN BAY -- Mike Sollie was a pretty decent college baseball player at North Carolina State, but that's not why he was the guy to meet at various tailgates Sunday before the Packers vs. Giants game at Lambeau Field.

In a Packers stocking cap and a hunter's beard, it's hard at first to recognize Sollie, who has achieved a bit of national fame, as the insurance agent in the State Farm commercials featuring Aaron Rodgers, B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews.

FOX6's Ted Perry talked with Sollie Sunday before the game, and asked him who he thinks is the most natural actor, of the three. "If I were smart, I would say either B.J. or Clay, because those guys are animals on the football field, and I wouldn't want to upset them in any way, shape or form, but Aaron was definitely kind of in his element, especially the second time around," Sollie said.

Like the athletes, Sollie is playing himself in the commercials. He really is an insurance agent based not in Green Bay, but in Raleigh, North Carolina, and until this past Monday, he never dreamed he would be at Lambeau Field for a playoff game. Then, he received a call from Stacy Jensen, a marketing agent who represents many of the Packers players. "I've never heard of her, and she surely has never heard of me, and she just said 'how would you like to go to the game this weekend?'" Sollie said.

Since then, Sollie and his wife, Cami, have been blown away with the generosity of other Packers fans, who have offered everything from free beers, to prime parking. "We were at the Raleigh airport, and we ended up talking to these folks, and they are from Green Bay, and they now live in Creedmor, North Carolina, and we just sparked up a conversation, and we were talking about coming up here for the game, and they invited us to come here to this tailgate spot!" Sollie said.