GREEN BAY, Wis. — Daniel Mullern has looked forward to coming to Wisconsin for a long time.
But his first game at Lambeau Field got off to an uncertain start.
“It was a like a dream that came true for me,” he said. “I was a little bit angry during the first three quarters because this was my first Packers game at Lambeau. I visited the one in London last year and they lost, so I was thinking I was bringing the Packers bad luck.”
But things changed.
“Then the fourth quarter came, and the rest is history,” Mullern said.
Sunday’s one-point victory over the New Orleans Saints is the first of two Green Bay Packers home games in less than a week.
Mullern — a Prague resident — is in Green Bay with a group of fans from Czechia and Slovakia.
“I’m from Europe, so it’s difficult to get to Green Bay just for one game,” he said. “It’s a possibility to see two games in one week, so it’s also easier to get here from a financial point of view.”
Most fans have a shorter trip to see the team play at home.
Utah resident Shaun Pickett waited 15 years to see a game at Lambeau.
“I’ve been a Packers fan for a very long time, since I was 8 or 9,” Pickett said. “My parents always promised me I’d get to go to a game one day and finally, for my birthday this year, I got tickets to the game.”
The Packers have a quick turnaround this week with another home game against the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. They won’t play at home again until Oct. 29.
Ashwaubenon resident Julie Niedermeyer said the back-to-back dates put a premium on these mild weather games.
“We roll with it because we’re Packers fans,” Niedermeyer said. “We like our games closer and, especially when it’s little nicer weather, to have them home, but that’s just the nature of the schedule in the NFL.”
Mullern and the group he’s with are taking in the community and the Packers’ history while they’re here.
He sounded like any other Packers fan when talking about his expectations for Thursday night’s game.
“I hope that they will destroy the Lions, and they’ll catch some interceptions from their bad QB,” Mullern said with a laugh.