Go, Pack, Go! Packers, downtown Green Bay host pep rallies

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - There were plenty of events for Green Bay Packers fans ahead of Saturday’s playoff game at Lambeau Field.

Downtown Green Bay hosted a pep rally Friday at 3:30 p.m. Fans gathered at the Packers Heritage Trail Plaza at the corner of Washington and Cherry Streets.

There was music, selfie stations, hot cocoa and giveaways. Look for Packers-inspired vehicles.

The Green Bay Preble Pep Band and Drumline and local dance teams performed.

The GBBRAT were on site as the “Unofficial Traveling Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.”

The Packers organization held its own pep rally outside of Lambeau Field at the Johnsonville Tailgate Village, with doors opening at 4 p.m. and the actual event starting at 6 p.m.

“I can’t wait to see those sunshine people just get killed. Get killed,” Denise Thomson of Niagara, Wisconsin said as she was laughing. “I can’t wait for Aaron Rodgers to do his thing, and Devonta Adams.”

Action 2 News spoke to fans from all over the country walking around Lambeau Field both rooting for the Packers and the 49ers, as the teams prepare to clash.

Riley Schoeban, a 49ers fan from Los Angeles, traveled with his friend Alex Olmstead to Green Bay for the first time to watch the playoff divisional game at Lambeau.

“Ready with all our cold weather clothes. I had to go out and buy a decent amount more. Never really lived or been in cold weather, so I had to dig up the ski gear,” Schoeban said.

Olmstead says he was impressed with the history depicted throughout Lambeau.

“There’s so much history here. It’s the Mecca of football. It’s pretty much like the birthplace besides Canton, Ohio. It’s been unbelievable,” Olmstead of Santa Clara, California said

Dr. Vincent Gonzalez was raised in Santa Barbara, California and says he became a Packers fan as a child after reading a biography on Bart Starr.

“My birthday is [Saturday] and so my wife said, ‘what about going to the Packers game?’” Gonzalez, who lives in Oklahoma City, said.

Last year, the packers scrapped their pep rally due to Covid-19 despite securing homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, only to end up losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during NFC Conference Championship game.

To close out Friday’s event at Johnsonville Tailgate Village were two former packer defensive players who were part of the 2010 Super Bowl winning team.

“The way the fans stick with the guys, through thick and thin, and that’s very important for us as players and we really appreciate that support,” defensive back Morgan Burnett said.

Former cornerback Sam Shields says the cold will play an important role Saturday night.

“If you’re not mentally tough for it, then you will not succeed out there. You know it’s football,” Shields said.

It’s Green and Gold Friday and fans are encouraged to wear Packers colors. CLICK HERE to share your spirit with Action 2 News.

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