Talk about a wedge issue.

Bainbridge Island City Manager Doug Schulze banned cheese from city hall Friday due to the upcoming Seattle Seahawks game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday in the NFC Championship. But outrage over the ban exploded faster than mozzarella sticks that had been left too long in the deep fryer at Applebee’s.

As noted in Executive Order 121212, enacted by Schulze on Wednesday, the cheese ban was necessary due to the “Cheeseheads” — Packers fans who “are frequently seen wearing obnoxious wedge-shaped foam hats painted yellow.”

With Bainbridge city hall itself filled with 12th Man fans of the Seahawks for Blue Friday, Schulze was hoping to keep the building a cheese-free zone.

The Review reported the ban — which includes cheese-flavored products — Wednesday, and Schulze was soon besieged by television, radio and print reporters from Washington and beyond.

Reuters, the international news agency based in England, put two reporters on the story. ESPN’s “Mike & Mike” talk radio show did a segment. Following soon, television stations in Seattle, including KOMO, Q13 and KING5.

An article appeared on National Review Online, on The Huffington Post and on NFL.com.

Then came CNN, and the Washington Post.

And Sports Illustrated, who called Bainbridge a “Seattle suburb,” said: “Showing support for your local team is always a shrewd move for a politician, but taking delicious cheese away from constituents could easily backfire.”

Even the Farm Journal’s AG WEB chimed in, and noted, “Finally, a city official with some gumption. While some cities have tried unsuccessfully to ban wearing saggy pants, Bainbridge Island (Washington State) City Manager Douglas Schulze didn’t risk losing a city council vote. This week Schulze issued an executive order banning the possession and consumption of cheese inside City Hall.”

Schulze and others at city hall have been a bit taken aback by the reaction.

“It’s been a cheesy week,” said city spokeswoman Kellie Stickney.

Schulze said he expected the tongue-in-cheek ban to get a little notice, mostly local.

“Within a couple of hours, it was drawing national attention. It was totally unexpected,” he said.

Some islanders, surprisingly, got a little cheesed off about the ban, possibly because the best things in life are brie.

Mike Spence, a Bainbridge lawyer who also serves on the school board, is a longtime Packer backer. He fired off an email Wednesday to jokingly let Schulze know he was overstepping his authority and that only the health district had jurisdiction to enforce health regulations.

Spence stopped by city hall Thursday afternoon wearing a Green Bay ball cap; he gave Schulze a bag of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos for Friday’s city staff lunch.

“He said we need to talk about this over a brat,” Schulze said. “I may have to take him up on it.”

Online, people who had read about the ban were unable to curd their enthusiasm.

In the comments section of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel’s website, Cheeseheads had a meltdown.

One called for a ban on Starbucks.

Another, identified as BVGino, wanted a more drastic response: “Are we going to take this sitting down?! HELL, NO!! Two can play at this game! Let’s ban jet airliners and computers!!!!”

And then there was Facebook, which bubbled over like a fondue pot that somebody forgot to unplug.

“I hope your city govt gets sued over this stupid cheese ban,” said a post by Rob Peterson on the city’s Facebook page. “Grow up! Youre elected officials. Not children. What youre doing is discrimination. I am deeply troubled by this immature act. I shal be contacting several lawyers for consultation as to the legally … Good Day!”

Schulze said Cheeseheads were threatening to come to Bainbridge and take over city hall in protest over the ban.

At one point, Schulze added, he thought about getting an empty refrigerator box and dressing it up as a “cheese detector” and putting it next to the doors into city hall.

He said he decided to abandon the idea.

Schulze’s week has been filled with media interviews, including with two radio stations in Milwaukee, and Schulze said Thursday he was going to be back in city hall at 4:30 a.m. Friday for a Skype interview with an NBC affiliate in Milwaukee that’s known as the Packers’ station in the region.

“That should be fun,” he said.

89 WLS, the AM radio station that bills itself as “Chicago’s Talk Leader,” did an interview, too.

“They said, ‘We share a dislike of the Packers, so you are with friends,'” Schulze recalled.

Schulze said he hasn’t been turning down requests from reporters and media outlets.

“I figured I opened the door, and I got to stand in it,” he said.

By Friday afternoon, even PETA — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — had stepped in with gouda intentions.

PETA announced it was rushing a care package containing “a basket of tasty vegan cheeses” to city hall.

“Cutting out cheese and other animal products is the best thing that caring people everywhere can do for animals and to improve their own health,” PETA Associate Director Ryan Huling wrote in a letter to Schulze.

“PETA hopes that after trying these delicious vegan cheeses, you’ll decide to bench dairy products for good. Enjoy the game,” Huling wrote.

Enforcing the ban has proven to be difficult. Four pizzas were sent anonymously to city hall Friday afternoon.

They were eaten by workers at city hall.