GREEN BAY, Wis. — There’s a good chance Ben Jacobi will be wearing the same green and gold striped overalls in January.
He was getting a start to the 2024 season with a group of adults and kids in high 80-degree weather at the Green Bay Packers Family Night at Lambeau Field Saturday.
“It’s not football weather. Football weather is zero and snow. But we do it every year,” the Pewaukee resident said. “We’ve been doing it probably eight, 10 years. It’s just something we do every year, whether it’s hot, raining, whatever.”
The scrimmage in front of a sold-out Lambeau Field offered fans an experience similar to game day with giveaways, music and post-practice fireworks.
“There are a lot of kids in the group and it’s a cheap way to get them here, inside Lambeau, for the history and all that stuff,” Jacobi said.
While this is a years-long tradition for some fans, for others, such as Kayla Terriquez and her family, Saturday night was something new.
“This is our first time coming out to family night. We’ve been meaning to come for several years,” said Terriquez who lives in Germantown. “The kids are finally old enough where I think they will enjoy it and be able to stay up late enough to enjoy all the festivities.”
The night offered a mix of football and entertainment for $10 a ticket. Saturday night was a sellout.
Anthony Robertson of Daggett, Michigan, has been coming for years.
“They do so much here at Family Night and it’s affordable. We were able to get five tickets for Lambeau for a reasonable price,” he said. “They be having some outdoor events to keep the kids enticed and everything. I just assume a full day of fun.”
Unlike the rest of the season, Jacobi said he wasn’t too sure just how much football he was going to be able to watch Saturday night.
“I’ll be watching kids,” he said with a laugh.
Lucky for him, there’s a long season that follows Family Night.