A Lambeau Field Trip Report

[PUSH]

I took a trip up north yesterday to visit Lambeau Field for Packers training camp, and I thought I'd share some pictures and info from my trip. I was just going to post some pictures in the NFL thread, but I decided against it.

To kick off the day, I woke up at 3:30am to make the 3.5-4 hour drive to the legendary Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers.

We arrived a couple minutes after 8am. This is a picture taken from the parking lot, and this part of the building would include executive offices, coaches' offices, the Pro Shop, Curley's Pub, and other various things.


We planned on purchasing tickets for an 8:30 Lengendary Lambeau Tour, but when we got inside the line was already pretty long. We ended up having to settle for the second tour of the day at 2:00pm.

Oh, I forgot to mention what the Legendary Lambeau Tour is. It's a tour through various parts of the stadium, including the new expansion of the stadium, the visiting locker room, the media box, the Packers tunnel, the executive suite, the field, and some other places. This is a two-hour walking tour that's only offered during training camp. Okay, moving on...

Inside the atrium, there was a model of Lambeau Field made out of 70,000+ Legos. I found it pretty neat. Keep in mind, this model does not include the 7,000+ new seats or the new HD screens that were finished a couple weeks ago.


I then visited the Packers Hall of Fame.

This is a "tribute" to the bike riding that takes place everyday at training camp. It's unique to the Packers, that some players ride kids' bikes to and from practice. Most of the big name players like Aaron Rodgers don't ride bikes, but there are a few that do!


This is still in the bike riding section of the Hall of Fame. If you don't know who this is, it's Donald Driver.


A little bit later there was an area dedicated to the legendary head coach, Vince Lombardi. This is a replica of his office. Sorry for the poor image quality, the lighting was pretty weird, and I'm not a great photographer as is.


I'm assuming this Coach of the Year trophy is a replica, since it wasn't encased in glass or anything.


This amused me. It's a board game called "Vince Lombardi's Game." If you can make out the words on the bottom left of the lid, it reads, "The most realistic Pro Football Game ever developed!" I got a good laugh out of that since the game involves dice. And now we have games like Madden, which makes this seem ancient!


Then there was an area with a tribute to the Lambeau Leap. If you don't know what a Lambeau Leap is, it's where a Packers player jumps into the stands after scoring a touchdown, as seen below. There's a spot where you can actually try doing the leap, but I didn't this time. Although I did three(ish) years ago with a friend, and it's a lot higher up than it looks.


The final stop in the Hall of Fame was the actual Packers Hall of Fame. In this room there are plaques with the faces and names of all the players who have been inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame. You can kind of see them on the right side of the picture below. Also in this room are the four Lombardi trophies that the Packers have won from Super Bowls. The newest one (2010) is on the left, and the oldest is on the right.


UP NEXT- Bike riding and player greeting!

 

[dave&di]

Enjoying your TR Push, it's interesting seeing peoples non WDW trips, looking forward to the rest!

 

[Nemo14]

Cool!!

 

[PUSH]

Enjoying your TR Push, it's interesting seeing peoples non WDW trips, looking forward to the rest!

Thanks! I enjoy reading non-WDW TRs, too. Interesting to see new places.

Cool!!

I am pretty cool, aren't I?

 

[PUSH]

So after we got done with the Hall of Fame, we walked over to Ray Nitschke Field where the players practice. It was still over an hour away from practice, but people were already lined up waiting for players to ride bikes in. We had never actually stood right by the gate where players enter the practice field, so we did it this year. Practice started at 11:15am, and at around 10:30am some of the players started to roll in... literally!

The first player to come by was a rookie offensive lineman named Lane Taylor. Not a very famous player, but still neat!


I also didn't realize that players signed things before practice; I had always thought they usually waited until afterwards, so I felt kind of stupid standing there without anything to sign, but it was still cool to be this close to them!

A couple of little known players rolled in, most of them probably won't make the team to be honest.

Then our starting center, Evan Dietrich-Smith came in on a bike, but he didn't sign autographs.


After a couple more players came by, our presumed starting left tackle, David Bahktiari, came in. He is a rookie who was drafted in the fourth round... not someone you think would be a starter! But with a season ending injury to our left tackle, he's the guy as of now! He's the player on the left, I don't know who number 48 is.


And then I saw a red jersey. That can only mean one thing... it's a quarterback! Unfortunately it was not Aaron Rodgers (who normally doesn't ride a bike anyway), but instead it was BJ Coleman. He signed quite a few things, and made his way to practice.




Other players such as Marshall Newhouse (OT), Graham Harrell (QB), and Tyronne Walker (WR) went onto the field, but none of them stopped for autographs. And then the crowd got louder. I knew that a higher-profile player was coming. It was not a starter, but still a pretty famous player... it was quarterback Vince Young!


He signed things for a lot of people, so it would be a while until he got towards where I was standing. But there were more players to be seen! Such as second round rookie, Eddie Lacy! I'm very excited for Lacy this season, as are many Packers fans!


Lacy is on the right, and fellow running back Angelo Pease is on the left!

Then arguably the biggest name yet came to practice, tight end Jermichael Finley. Now I knew he was a tall guy, but he is a lot bigger than he looks on TV. Finley is the guy with the baseball cap. I can't tell who the other two players are.


Finley spent time signing autographs on the other side, so I didn't get to see him up close.

Our punter, Tim Masthay, came in now, and again spent quite a bit of time on the other side.


And as you can see on the left side of the picture, Vince Young was getting very close!

This is the closest he came, and it was pretty neat.


A lot of people were saying things to him like "Go win that backup job!" or "Good luck out there today, Vince!" but he really didn't acknowledge them. However, whenever someone said "thanks" he would say "You're welcome." So that's a plus, I guess!

 

[PUSH]

More players came in like James Starks and DJ Williams, but the crowd got very loud. I looked to my left, and it was Clay Matthews! By far the best and most famous player who rode a bike that day. There were so many voices from young boys shouting "Mr. Matthews, Mr. Matthews!" in hope for an autograph. He didn't sign any, though. Instead he actually rode the bike into the practice field, which I can understand. He is a very popular player, and once he signs one autograph, it looks bad if he doesn't sign something for everyone.


Matthews is on the bike, and rookie lineback Nate Palmer is on the right.

Through all the commotion, I missed Randall Cobb (WR) walk right by me. He didn't stop for autographs, either.


More players came, signed autographs, and entered the field. Our outside linebacker, Nick Perry, was going to walk right on by, but then the people next to me shouted "Nick, this is for Casey Johnson!" At least that's the name I think they shouted. I didn't know who that was, but it got Perry's attention. He stopped, turned around, hesitated, then smiled and came back to sign a football.


He's wearing a cast because he broke his hand last season, and it ended his rookie year. I guess it's still not fully healed, but at least he's playing! He was a first round draft pick, by the way.

A few players later, BJ Raji came by. He's a defensive lineman, and he's most famous for intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown against the Bears in the NFC Championship game a couple years back. It ultimately sent us to the Super Bowl!


This year's first round pick, Datone Jones, came by. He has a sprained ankle, so he didn't practice, which explains the lack of pads.


A bunch of players from the secondary (Sam Shields, Morgan Burnett, Jerron McMillian, MD Jennings, etc) came by, but practice was about to start, so they had to quickly hop off the bikes and run in. In fact, Datone Jones was a tad late for practice due to signing things.

We then walked to the stands to watch practice. The only thing is, the stands were full! We decided to walk back to the atrium to have lunch at Curley's Pub, and then come back.

Just some background on the restaurant... Curley's Pub is named after the founder of the Green Bay Packers. He was given $500 by the Indian Meat Packing Company (later renamed to the Acme Packing Company) to start a football team. And that's how we got the name "Packers." Anyway, Curley Lambeau was also a player and coach for the Packers. Without Curley, there would be no Packers! So that's how the restaurant got its name. As for food, it's stereotypical Wisconsin. Lot's of beer products (they actually list what beers go best with what foods on their menus), lots of meat, and lots of cheese. In fact, there was one "hot dog" where the description said "A foot long hot dog stuffed inside a foot long bratwurst, wrapped in bacon." Talk about heart attack on a bun! I ended up going with a simple burger, which was served with curly fries. Get it?

Up next- Practice!

 

[Nemo14]

PUSH - I love your enthusiasm for the Packers!

 

[PUSH]

PUSH - I love your enthusiasm for the Packers!

Surprisingly, I'm very quiet and calm on gameday. Only on very few occasions do I overreact.

 

[acishere]

I'm not even a Packers fan and I'm totally jealous of your trip.

 

[NYwdwfan]

I think this is fantastic. The history that the Packers have, coupled with the class that eminates from the players and the organization as a whole - this is a really special trip. I've always respected the Packers.
Me - I'm a Jets fan. I bleed Jet green. The phrase "the circus is coming to town" doesn't even tell the half of it. I often wish my team had a tenth of the class of the Packers.

 

[PUSH]

I think this is fantastic. The history that the Packers have, coupled with the class that eminates from the players and the organization as a whole - this is a really special trip. I've always respected the Packers.
Me - I'm a Jets fan. I bleed Jet green. The phrase "the circus is coming to town" doesn't even tell the half of it. I often wish my team had a tenth of the class of the Packers.

And a tenth of the talent!

But I am so glad my team doesn't have the drama that some teams have. I think the small town atmosphere brings that. Green Bay is the smallest town of any NFL team, then there's New York.

 

[NYwdwfan]

And a tenth of the talent!

But I am so glad my team doesn't have the drama that some teams have. I think the small town atmosphere brings that. Green Bay is the smallest town of any NFL team, then there's New York.

I would take 1/100th of the talent and it would still be an improvement. At least when we had Revis we had the best "something". We have nothing. It's going to be a LOOOOOONG season.

 

[ChevisMickey]

Push, I'm sorry to hear about your loss! A whole day wasted in Cheeseland. Then again, there isn't much to do up there in Wisconsin.

 

[PUSH]

Push, I'm sorry to hear about your loss! A whole day wasted in Cheeseland. Then again, there isn't much to do up there in Wisconsin.

Jealous Bears fan. I get it. Only have one Super Bowl ring to live with... must be hard.

 

[PUSH]

After lunch, we hiked back over to the practice field. There are several entrances to the bleachers, and all of them had a line. Thankfully, people were getting in quickly, and we waited only a couple minutes. We were seated in the front row.

When we first sat down, there was a drill going on with the QBs and WRs. The thing is, our star quarterback was lined up as a wide receiver. He was just running routes, and not catching the ball. I assume this is because Aaron Rodgers' role in practice is limited to preserve his arm as much as possible.




Kind of cool to watch him run routes, something you don't see too often!

Then I spotted Johnny Jolly on the other side of the field. Jolly is an interesting guy. He was with the Packers 4 season ago, but was suspended from the league for various reasons. He also spent some time in prison. At 30 years old, and after three years of no football, the Packers decided to give him a second chance. He's fighting for a roster spot, but reports have been good for him. I'm happy to see him doing so well!


Then we spotted the Packers General Manager, Ted Thompson. He just kind of wandered around the entire time we were there. It looked like he was lost, actually.


A bit later, the period had ended, and they took a two minute water break.

Then all of the next period took place on the far side of the field, so I really couldn't see much. I just snapped some pictures instead.


Nelson and Cobb are both injured, so they just stood off to the side the entire time I was there.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Push, I'm sorry to hear about your loss! A whole day wasted in Cheeseland. Then again, there isn't much to do up there in Wisconsin.

GO BEARS!!!!

 

[PUSH]

After that period ended, the quarterbacks came down to our end of the field and worked on footwork and passing. Rodgers took the first snap, and threw to fellow QB, Graham Harrell. I got an interesting picture of Harrell... look closely at his face.


Rodgers throwing...


After only one snap, Rodgers switched places with Harrell. Rodgers spent the rest of that period catching balls. He actually has some pretty good hands. Again, something interesting that you normally don't see!


The guy on the right was catching balls, too, but it seemed like Rodgers got more thrown his way.

After Harrell got done, Vince Young took a bunch of snaps.


Then came BJ Coleman...


After that period ended, they took another water break. Then they started more drills, one being a pass rushing/blocking drill. There was some stuff in the way, so I wasn't able to get pictures. But as I was watching the drill, a fight broke out between two players! I didn't catch who the players were, but linebackers coach, Kevin Greene, got caught right in the middle of it. I guess practicing against the same people day in and day out gets to you after a while. And it's giving the Packers a toughness that they've been criticized for not having in recent years.

We then looked at the clock and it was about 1:30. We decided to get going because we had a tour to catch at 2:00.

Up next- Legendary Lambeau Tour!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Hey @PUSH thank you for sharing your Lambeau Field Trip Report! I was born, raised and still live in Wisconsin and have been watching the Packers since I was very young! Seen them through the good, the bad and the ugly! I’ve always wanted to do the tour, but never seem to get around to it, but seeing your pictures, I just have to make time, looks like a fabulous tour.

A number of years ago, LeRoy Butler hosted a fundraiser for The LeRoy Butler Foundation here in Stevens Point. A few years prior to this event, we had lost our mom to breast cancer, so we couldn’t think of a better organization to contribute as well as attend! There were several well-known Packers that attended that we were able to get pictures and autographs with – LeRoy Butler (of course), Chris Jacke, Gilbert Brown, George Koonce, Don Beebe, Mark Chmura, Edgar Bennett, Santana Dotson and Craig Newsome. It was dinner and a presentation and the Packers all sat up on a raised table, similar to what you would see at a wedding for a head table, and all gave speeches to the attendees about the fight against breast cancer. It was so moving and unbelievable; to see these “famous” Packers attending a benefit in honor of breast cancer was incredible! After the dinner and the presentation, many of the Packers walked around and interacted with the guests and I actually had great conversations with several of the guys, including George Koonce (I actually stayed in touch with him after the event!) and Craig Newsome. To call the evening memorable, is an understatement!

One last quick story for you, prior to my mom’s passing we had a fundraiser for her to help with medical bills and my sister wrote a letter to Gilbert Brown (my mom LOVED Gilbert Brown). She told him the battle she had gone through for the past six years and how much of a Packer fan she was (she and my dad had their entire basement painted Green and Gold, had cheeseheads everywhere and their bar countertop looks like it’s a football field!). She asked him if he would be so kind as to possibly sent an autograph football that we could present to her the night of the benefit. She also included a note that we would understand if he didn’t because we knew he was so busy, but hey – it doesn’t hurt to ask. Well….two days before the benefit my sister received a phone call from Gilbert Brown himself! He asked if he could attend the benefit to meet her. He was so moved by her letter, that he just had to meet her. To make a long story short (because I could go on and on about this), he did attend and it was a complete and total surprise to my mom….the look on her face when he walked into the event was something that I will always remember. He didn’t stay long, but he did visit with her with our family in privacy (we had about 300 people at the benefit, so he wanted to speak in private with her) and then he turned around and drove right back to Green Bay!
Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to reiterate what a first class team the Packers are! Thanks again for the post – this is just making me so much more excited for the football season!! GO PACK GO!!

 

[PUSH]

Hey @PUSH thank you for sharing your Lambeau Field Trip Report! I was born, raised and still live in Wisconsin and have been watching the Packers since I was very young! Seen them through the good, the bad and the ugly! I’ve always wanted to do the tour, but never seem to get around to it, but seeing your pictures, I just have to make time, looks like a fabulous tour.

A number of years ago, LeRoy Butler hosted a fundraiser for The LeRoy Butler Foundation here in Stevens Point. A few years prior to this event, we had lost our mom to breast cancer, so we couldn’t think of a better organization to contribute as well as attend! There were several well-known Packers that attended that we were able to get pictures and autographs with – LeRoy Butler (of course), Chris Jacke, Gilbert Brown, George Koonce, Don Beebe, Mark Chmura, Edgar Bennett, Santana Dotson and Craig Newsome. It was dinner and a presentation and the Packers all sat up on a raised table, similar to what you would see at a wedding for a head table, and all gave speeches to the attendees about the fight against breast cancer. It was so moving and unbelievable; to see these “famous” Packers attending a benefit in honor of breast cancer was incredible! After the dinner and the presentation, many of the Packers walked around and interacted with the guests and I actually had great conversations with several of the guys, including George Koonce (I actually stayed in touch with him after the event!) and Craig Newsome. To call the evening memorable, is an understatement!

One last quick story for you, prior to my mom’s passing we had a fundraiser for her to help with medical bills and my sister wrote a letter to Gilbert Brown (my mom LOVED Gilbert Brown). She told him the battle she had gone through for the past six years and how much of a Packer fan she was (she and my dad had their entire basement painted Green and Gold, had cheeseheads everywhere and their bar countertop looks like it’s a football field!). She asked him if he would be so kind as to possibly sent an autograph football that we could present to her the night of the benefit. She also included a note that we would understand if he didn’t because we knew he was so busy, but hey – it doesn’t hurt to ask. Well….two days before the benefit my sister received a phone call from Gilbert Brown himself! He asked if he could attend the benefit to meet her. He was so moved by her letter, that he just had to meet her. To make a long story short (because I could go on and on about this), he did attend and it was a complete and total surprise to my mom….the look on her face when he walked into the event was something that I will always remember. He didn’t stay long, but he did visit with her with our family in privacy (we had about 300 people at the benefit, so he wanted to speak in private with her) and then he turned around and drove right back to Green Bay!
Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to reiterate what a first class team the Packers are! Thanks again for the post – this is just making me so much more excited for the football season!! GO PACK GO!!

The Legendary Lambeau Tour is only available during training camp, and the tickets include access to the Packers Hall of Fame. They have regular Stadium Tours daily (I believe), but it's only an hour long, and you don't get access to the visiting locker room, media booth, executive suite, etc. It's still nice, but I prefer the Legendary Lambeau Tour. It's well worth the $38, IMO!

As for the Gilbert Brown thing, that is amazing! I can't believe he actually took time out of his busy life just to visit the benefit. The Packers are one of the classiest organizations in pro sports, and they're just so different from any other team out there. Part of the reason I love them!

 

[gdisneyfans]

That's the reason we love them too! Thanks for the info on the tour - we'll definitely have to plan a visit there next summer for training camp. Have a great weekend.