GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — For the first time in two years the Packers faithful gathered Friday for a playoff pep rally.
Over a hundred fans turned out in Downtown Green Bay to hype themselves up ahead of the NFC Divisional playoff matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. They heard from former Packers Wide Receiver Antonio Freeman and team President Mark Murphy.
The Preble High School band performed as well.
Mary Kay Charbonneau came dressed as the “Packers Angel”. She drove down from Norway, Michigan.
“It’s just great, you smile, you glow because you’re here!” Charbonneau said, her voice raising with excitement. “It’s just awesome! I can’t explain it. It’s just happiness! Happiness galore!”
Norway, just east of Iron Mountain, is about a two hour drive from Green Bay. Traveling from slightly further were the Garcia family, all the way from Oakland, California. Miguel had the honor of being the only person in the crowd wearing the bronze, white, and red of the San Francisco 49ers.
He was not used to the single-digit temperatures on Friday afternoon.
“Not at all. It’s freezing,” Garcia told WTAQ. “I expected it to be this cold, though. I’ve got on my Lake Tahoe winter gear, so I think I’ll be OK.”
Miguel’s wife, Michelle, is a bay area Packers fan.
“My best friend was a Packers fan, and a family from Green Bay moved in,” she explained. “So to irritate her I’d dress up my daughter as a Packers fan, and it just didn’t stop, 26 years later.”
The Packers didn’t hold pep rallies last year, a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kickoff is at 7:15 on Saturday night.
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