GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – How far would you travel to watch the green and gold play at Lambeau Field?
For some fans, the answer is thousands of miles across an ocean from a different continent.
“It was breathtaking, the history just hit me in a few seconds and I could say that I’m finally here,” said Petr Čech who is part of a group of Packer fans from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Two Packer home games in less than a week means that fans like Čech can plan their vacations around coming to Packer games. After the rush of the Packers’ improbable comeback against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the Czech Republic/Slovakia group is staying around for the Thursday night showdown against the Detroit Lions. They will be here for 10 days in total.
On Sunday, they got the full Packers game day experience, spending time before kickoff tailgating in Lot 1 outside the Oneida Gate.
“Just be nervous for the first five minutes, but then everybody was smiling at me and I realized it was just perfect,” said Čech about his tailgating experience.
Čech said he’s still thinking about that game on Sunday against the Saints.
“It was hard to get some sleep after the game, because of the adrenaline going through our bodies,” said Čech. “After he (the Saints kicker at the end of the game) missed the field goal, the stadium exploded, it was so perfect for us.”
He said he became a Packers fan when he was 16 after a friend returned from the army wearing a Green Bay sweatshirt. He said he did some research into what it was and fell in love with the team’s history.
Matthias Kraus also traveled a long way to be at Lambeau this week. He’s from Germany and said he’s been coming to several Packer games every season for the past eight years.
“A lot of people ask me are you really from Germany, you love the Packers and why (do you love the Packers),” said Kraus.
Kraus said he always tries to plan his visits to Green Bay on weeks when the Packers have back-to-back home games. He’s also going to the Packers game in Las Vegas against the Raiders in a few weeks.
He said no matter how many times he goes to Lambeau it’s always a special experience. A few years back, he even proposed to his while on the field.
“It’s all the emotions and all the love for the club,” said Kraus.
He said he used to watch NHL games growing up and the station that showed the hockey also showed an NFL game one week. He said he fell in love with the history of the Packers and the fact that the fans own the team.
Both Kraus and the Čech said that although they expect the game on Thursday to be an incredible experience, they don’t know if it’ll top what happened in that comeback win against the Saints.
