GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC26) -- For the first time in nearly 13 years, a title game is coming back to Titletown.
"[For the NFC title] to be here is just kind of like 'wow,'" Ohio-based Packers fan Ben Molaski said. "Of all places... just to be here."
For members of the Packers fan base, the team’s trip to the NFC Championship game next weekend is like a gift. They say it’s the first time in nearly a year there’s a sense of normalcy in the community.
"It’s probably the best thing that’s happened so far this season, the way the Packers have played," Green Bay-based fan Michael Bova said. "And it’s good for the community and it’s good for the overall health of the city and the area. So I think it does a lot to kind of take away some of the things the pandemic has taken away."
Amid the pandemic, Wisconsinites say they didn’t have a lot to celebrate, even with the Packers winning.
"It was quiet," Bova said. "There was nobody around, which is kind of a shame."
But some lifelong fans say hosting the NFC title game brings Green Bay back to life.
"The memories that I experienced this weekend were some of the same ones I remember growing up as a kid," Milwaukee native Amanda Riek said.
Some expected the team to brighten spirits.
"It’s kind of the expectation, but not to be here [Green Bay], just kind of to make it this far," Molaski said. "That’s pretty much the goal every year for them... just to go further than any other team."
And with the NFC Championship set at Lambeau, some fans say it’s the only right way to cap off a Covid-impacted season.
"It should always just be here," Riek said. "It’s natural, right? It’s a title game and it should be at Lambeau Field where the Packers are meant to be. It’s like the greatest homecoming ever."
