Jamie and I arrived in Green Bay yesterday excited about cheering on our Cowboys Sunday. We had heard so much abut what a great game experience Lambeau Field is that we couldn't wait to see what the real thing was like.
Weather was 1 degree Fahrenheit
when we got here and didn't vary more than a couple of degrees either way all day (or night), but it was clear and for the short periods we were out it really wasn't as cold as we thought. Plus game time it should be about 15 degrees warmer, so dramatic rhetoric aside, we will be over 30 degrees warmer than the Ice Bowl by Sunday.
We went straight to the stadium, which is gorgeous on the outside, with the original 1957 bowl wrapped (for the second time) with a new shell of brick and green steel, and a connected multistory building that is combination atrium
for game day, shopping, restaurant, convention center (seriously) and Packers offices. It also has the team's Hall of Fame museum, but that was closed for renovations as they are juggling the pro shop, restaurant and exhibits. But the entire visible part of the building is circa 2003 brand new and looks a lot like the Ballpark in Arlington with windows.
Well, there is a 30 foot tall replica Lombardi Trophy in the foyer, which is pretty awesome.
After lunch at Curley's, which involved a lot of cheese, brat and kraut, we took an hour-long tour of the stadium. Most of the time was spent in the biggest of the luxury suites, which overlooks the
stadium bowl.
The bowl itself, only about half of which was there originally - the end zones were only about fifteen rows tall - is jaw-droppingly small and intimate. This picture shows what it looked like when built - the first fifteen rows are below ground level, and the rest is all that was above grade.
The model shows that they had filled in one end zone by 1967.
I can see now why they say there are no bad seats because the seating is so, so close to the field. Literally the worst seats in the house are the suites because they are farther than any of the bleachers. Which brings me to another thing - the seating in the original bowl (the top few rows were added in 2003 and I think replaced the original suites which were built new further back) is all aluminum bleachers, which is unique in the NFL and means they have around 70,000 seats crammed into what would be maybe 40,000 in a normal stadium with individual seats. But the bowl itself is just hypnotizing it is so small and I can't wait to see what watching a game there is like.
After the suite view we went down into the tunnel
and they bring you out onto the field the same way the Packers come in - complete with recorded team introduction. You then get to go out and walk the actual frozen tundra
(which isn't frozen, and when we were there was covered). We took a picture there by the south end zone, which the guide was quick to tell us was the site of the Bart Starr sneak which won the Ice Bowl. Compare the photo above to the one taken during the game and you can see how much has been added.
It is also next to the visitors tunnel, which is
one-player narrow.
Oddly the Green Bay guides were in a big hurry to get out of the cold, so we accommodated them and headed back the atrium, which is now the main entrance to the stadium on game days. Jamie actually was interviewed by a local TV station, which was looking for Dallas fans to talk to - and saw her nails(shown here at last week's win).
We toured the pro shop, which was pretty comparable to the Cowboys one - actually bigger and a significantly broader selection in some ways, and then headed out for dinner - at Brett Favre's steakhouse, which is a couple of blocks from the stadium. But really enjoyed getting to see this piece of NFL - and Cowboys - history.
Today we're sleeping late and then up to greet the Cowboys when they get to the hotel tonight, then a good night's sleep before a long (and cold) day cheering tomorrow!
Yes, we are dressing warm after reading every piece of advice on attending games at Lambeau, but we are far more worried about our defense than we are the cold!
