GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – It isn’t your typical Lambeau Field guided tour.
That’s because the tour guide is a bit of a legend here in Titletown. LeRoy Butler has been giving guided tours at Lambeau Field for many years now and, with a smile, he told his tour group on Friday afternoon he’s the best tour guide the Packers have.
Butler played all 12 of his NFL seasons with the Packers. He was selected to four Pro Bowls, was part of the Packers Super Bowl team in 1997, and was selected to the All-Pro team four times. He earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year and his name and number are on the Lambeau Field facade with other Packer legends.
Butler told Local Five News that one of the ways he gives back to the team that has meant so much to him is by doing these stadium tours. The one that Local Five News attended on Friday afternoon began high up in Lambeau in one of the luxury suites.
Butler recounted his journey to the NFL and how he overcame poverty and physical disabilities that forced him to wear braces on both his legs when he was young. He also took questions from people in the tour group.
He told Local Five News that he wants people who do the tours with him to be able to feel like they are one of the players. When they walk through the tunnel that leads onto the field, there’s even artificial crowd noise and music to make the fans feel like it’s an actual game day.
“You get a chance to see things that other teams don’t show you,” said Butler.
Another amazing part of Butler’s tour is the stories he’s able to tell. He talked about how for some players their nerves would get the best of them and they would puke in the tunnel before games. He laughed as he recalled how fans sitting close to the field would offer players beer before and during the game.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a LeRoy Butler tour if he didn’t point out that famous spot in the stands where he did the first-ever Lambeau leap. He said it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to jump and that his teammates and the fans didn’t know how to react when he began sprinting toward the stands.
Each person who goes on the tour gets a picture with Butler on the field and an autograph. Butler makes it a point to engage every person on the tour in conversation and get to know them a little bit.
“They (Packers personnel) always told me how you engage with a fan is the impression that you want,” said Butler. “So be yourself. So I said I’d be myself, I’m a very engaging guy.”