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Weekend at Aaron's: Hanging Out in Green Bay

Posted Aug 26, 2008 10:10PM By Bruce Ciskie (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Packers, NFC North, NFL Fans

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Not many husbands/fathers can claim to be as lucky as the one whose wife suggests a trip to Lambeau Field for a summer getaway. Not only can I claim it, but I have the photographic evidence to prove it.

We spent this past weekend in Green Bay, purposely timing our trip to coincide with a Packers preseason game on the road. It was surmised that we could have an easier time navigating around Lambeau Field and the Packers Hall of Fame if there weren't 70,000 people around at the same time. There was also the chance to check out a Packers training camp practice on Sunday afternoon.

Since I'm pretty much a complete dork at this point in my life, I figured I'd bring the camera with. I come now bearing photos from our trip to Green Bay to hang out with the Packers (sort of). I'll share a few of them after the jump.

We started things out Saturday with the popular Lambeau Field Stadium Tour. It is what it sounds like. Someone who works for Lambeau Field hooks a microphone up into a fanny pack, and you walk around the stadium and learn about the history of the Packers. It's actually quite an interesting way to spend an hour. You start the tour with a greeting from two Packer legends. Statues of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi (pictured) stand in the Bob Harlan Plaza outside the main entrance to the Lambeau Field Atrium. The Atrium was the centerpiece of a recent $300 million renovation project that Harlan was a key mastermind of. It is a 365-day attraction that helps keep the Packers viable in pro sports' smallest market.

The tour takes you inside the Atrium, where you learn more about the project and the features of the facility. The Packers Pro Shop (you can see one of the entrances behind the Lombardi statue) is the largest store of its kind in the NFL. While I didn't take any pictures, take my word for it. It's huge. If you're not careful, you could get lost inside the thing. There's also a popular restaurant (Curly's Pub) that has some of the best food you could ask for, and there is also the Hall of Fame (more on that later).

The tour then takes you to one of the many luxury suites at Lambeau. You learn about the waiting list to get a suite or even get into the outdoor club seating. Oh, and there's that season-ticket waiting list of 79,000. But you already knew about that.

Once we finished there, we made our way downstairs. Since the locker room is in use, we weren't allowed inside, but we did get to walk by it. Looked nice from the outside.



The most impressive part of the tour is the walk down the tunnel. You get to walk towards the playing field as crowd noise and the PA announcer are piped in. It was enough to give my wife - admittedly not a huge football fan - the chills.

You hear the noise, the door at the end opens, and the next thing you know, you've walked out and are inside the stadium bowl.



Even empty, it's quite a sight.

After lunch at Curly's, we made our way downstairs for the Hall of Fame tour. I'd been to the old Hall of Fame, when it was in a separate building near Lambeau Field. I had not been inside the new facility since the renovation was complete.

Needless to say, I was pretty pleased.



There are tributes like what you see here all over the place. This one honors all 12 of the Packers' championship teams. There are also pieces about some of the Packers' individual greats, many of the team accomplishments (things like NFL championships, monumental moments, memorable playoff wins, etc.).



The highlight of the Hall of Fame tour is the final room you visit. On the walls are plaques honoring all the members of the Packers Hall of Fame. High above the plaques is a screen that plays great moments from Packers history. While we were in the room, I saw Super Bowl plays, heard Ray Scott calling Bart Starr's quarterback sneak in the Ice Bowl, and saw some of the great players in Packers history.

In the middle of the darkened room sits the three Lombardi Trophies the Packers have won. Each trophy is accompanied in its case by the rings the players received. As you would expect, there is quite the contrast between the rings from the first two Super Bowls and the ring from Super Bowl XXXI.

On Sunday, we attended practice across the street at Clarke Hinkle Field. It was a bit warm, but there was a nice breeze and it was dry outside.



I went to the north end of the field, where fans gather to wait for the players to arrive. Not many players sign autographs before practice, but it's worth making the effort if you're a die-hard autograph seeker.



The long-standing tradition of players riding kids' bikes from the stadium to the practice field is alive and well, as demonstrated by rookie long snapper J.J. Jensen.

At least 40 players rode bikes to the field, with many others stopping to sign for at least a few of the kids who waited so patiently for a chance to greet their heroes.



Once practice started, not much happened that was worth noting. The only potentially big story was the return of running back Ryan Grant, who practiced for the first time in over two weeks Sunday. He's expected to play in Sunday's preseason finale against Tennessee.

Oh, and special teams coach Mike Stock got a bit heated during the punting session. At one point, you could pretty clearly hear him tell his guys to stop "(bleep)ing around". Fill in that (bleep) with a word that starts with the letter "F". It drew some laughter, a few groans, and a generally noticeable stir from the crowd that gathered along Oneida Street.

Having seen Mike Stock coaching during games before, I can't say I was terribly surprised that the only audible f-bomb of the session came from him.

All in all, it was a good time. My son enjoyed himself, and he got a new Aaron Rodgers jersey and Packers hat out of the deal. Even my wife, a former Vikings fan, had a pretty good time.

I can see now why so many Packer fans make an annual tradition out of training camp. It's a great chance to be a part of the Packers tradition. Or to just go snap some pictures and be a dork.

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