GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Far beyond the gates of Lambeau Field, Packers pride runs strong.
For 10-year-old Jack Delancey, whose family travels full time across the country, the birthday surprise of a lifetime was tickets to the November 10 home game against reigning Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I thought we were in Iowa,” Delancey remembered ahead of the surprise. When his parents informed him of their plans to attend the game, “I immediately started crying,” Delancey said.
The Delancey family traveled 2,200 miles over 10 days to attend their first Packers game together.
"We've been to stadiums all over the country,” said Jack’s father Danny, “But this just feels like a family.”
Their Packers pride extends far beyond football – it's about the culture built by fans. Those fans are everywhere.
Matthew MacLaurin traveled to Lambeau from Scotland for the Philadelphia Eagles game. He became a Packers fan a decade ago, when the team won the Super Bowl.
"[I] fell in love with the fans, the team, the story of the team, and I've been following them ever since," MacLaurin explained.
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MacLaurin has built his own following, too. He runs a Facebook page called "Packers of Scotland" for fans in his home country.
The group has more than 900 members, many of whom regularly gather to cheer on their favorite team from overseas.
"Spreading the Packers love: that's what it's all about, at the end of the day," MacLaurin said. "The Packers are a special team with a special fanbase. So, it's easily the best supported team in the world."
MacLaurin also admires that the team is owned by its fans. The Delancey family owns a share.
Though they live far away, Green Bay’s Packers community feels like home to the traveling fans.
"When you come here you feel so loved," MacLaurin stated. "You're made to feel so welcome, especially being a Packers fan."
