ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Green and gold painted faces and thousands of Packers fans are getting ready to cheer on their favorite team.
Among the crowd, will be a group that has’s traveled a very long way.
“This is my third time here now. I’ve been here the last two years as well and I’m just as excited as the one’s who’ve come for the first time,” said Charlotte Midgley of Leeds, England.
Midgley and 30 others make up the U.K. and Irish Packers group.
Despite soccer being a much more popular sport in the U.K., Midgley tells WLUK American football happens to be at the top of the list for many in the group.
“That’s what drew me to American football is more the, kind of, atmosphere around it. It’s much more kind of a family and celebration.” UK and Irish Packers group co-founder Ryan Peacock says the group started four years ago as a way to bring more U.K. and Irish football fans together.
“So, now what we’ve got is quite a big community whether it be online or during different meet ups throughout the year. We try to do three or four meetups throughout the year”
Members of the group say they’re looking forward to being at Lambeau Field so they can tailgate, and of course, watch the game.
“To congregate in a car park and to have like barbecue and drinks and that’s completely new,” said Callum Thomson of Northampton, England.
“You’ve got to tailgate. That’s almost part of like, um, the must-dos.” Visiting Green Bay also means spending plenty of time at Lambeau.
“Spend as much money as we can in the Pro Shop, get some cheese curds, that’s pretty high on the list,” Peacock said.
“There’s the Lambeau Leap statue as well,” Thomson said.
The group also plans to head to Madison Saturday to watch the Badgers play at Camp Randall.
