Traveling Abroad

London had finally called for the Green Bay Packers. The Packers played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Oct. 9, 2022, against the New York Giants. Green Bay previously had been the only team not to have played a regular-season game in the NFL International Series, which began in 2007.

However, the 2022 game was not the first time the Green Bay Packers had traveled out of the country to play football.

"It was almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That's the way we viewed it and I think a lot of our fans did, too." - Mark Murphy, Packers President CEO

Aloha

This is the most thrilling experience I ever had. All the boys are having the time of their lives. - Curly Lambeau

On Dec. 13, 1932, Earl "Curly" Lambeau and 17 of his players left on a postseason barnstorming tour. With the temperature hovering around 4 degrees in Green Bay, they caught a Milwaukee Road train to Chicago, where they transferred to another train and headed for Los Angeles.

Once in L.A. the Packers boarded the new SS Mariposa luxury ocean liner and set sail for Hawaii, where they had two games scheduled against local all-star teams. Upon their arrival in Honolulu on Dec. 21, they were warmly greeted by a large crowd of curious fans, and "to the tune of strumming ukuleles," according to Johnny Blood, who organized the trip and then wrote stories about it for the Green Bay Press-Gazette.

In the first game, played on Dec. 26, the Packers edged the Kamehameha Alumni, 19-13, before 13,262 fans. In the second game, played on Jan. 2, 1933, the Packers beat the McKinley High School Alumni, 32-0, before an overflow crowd of 17,764, at the time the largest ever to witness a football game in what was then the Territory of Hawaii.

Ticket prices ranged from 25 cents to $1.65. Packers fans back home could listen to the games on the radio and read Blood's accounts in the daily paper. Walker's Cleaners & Tailors arranged for the play-by-plays to be relayed back to Green Bay and broadcast over St. Norbert College radio station WHBY.

At noon on Jan. 11, 1933, the Packers left Hawaii on the SS Maui. Upon returning to the mainland, the team wasn't finished traveling or playing football. On Jan. 22, in the second annual Knights of Columbus charity game, they fell to Ernie Nevers' Pacific Coast All-Stars, 13-6, before an estimated 35,000 fans at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium. On Feb. 4, the Packers beat Ernie Pinckert's Southern California All-Stars, 19-6, before roughly 8,000 fans at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. On the Packers' roster for both games was the "Galloping Ghost," legendary Red Grange of the Chicago Bears. However, he played sparingly. 

In all, the Packers covered roughly 15,000 miles over the course of the two trips and most of the players were gone for over 90 days except for a brief return to Green Bay between the two excursions.

International Debut

The New York Giants spoiled the Green Bay Packers' regular season international debut with at 27-22 comeback victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. Aaron Rodgers threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns but couldn't get any points on the board in the second half. Rodgers connected with Allan Lazard and Marcedes Lewis for the first-half scoring strikes. Lazard caught a 4-yard touchdown reception and Lewis was wide open on a 2-yard catch. The Packers jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the second quarter. 

The Giants closed the gap to 17-10 with a touchdown right before the half. But 1:15 on the clock was enough for Rodgers to lead the Packers into field-goal range. Mason Crosby connected from 48 yards as time expired in the first half to give Green Bay a 20-10 lead.

New York scored 17 unanswered points in the second half as quarterback Daniel Jones, playing on a sprained ankle, led three straight scoring drives to erase a 20-10 deficit. Running back Saquon Barkley took a direct snap and ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap New York's comeback. Rodgers then drove the Packers to the 6-yard line, but his pass on fourth-and-one was swatted down at the line of scrimmage with just over a minute left.

Travel Pack

Unlike most London games, for this one the crowd was distinctively green. Typically, fans come dressed in whatever team jersey they have, regardless of who is playing. Not this time. Midwest accents were apparent on public transportation to the stadium, although British fans still comprised a majority of the crowd. The reliability to traveling Packers fans is the main reason why Green Bay was the last NFL team to play an international game - other teams never wanted to give up a home game against the Packers.

American Bowls 

The American Bowl was an annual National Football League preseason exhibition game that was held at sites outside of the United States between 1986 and 2005.

1997 American Bowl

On Aug. 16, 1997, the Green Bay Packers traveled to Toronto, Canada, to play in the American Bowl at the SkyDome in front of 53,896 fans. This was the first time the Packers had ever played a game outside of the United States. Green Bay easily beat the Buffalo Bills, 35-3.

1998 American Bowl

On Aug. 2, 1998, the Green Bay Packers opened the preseason with a 27-24 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Tokyo Dome in the American Bowl. The Packers rallied from an early 14-9 deficit, then completed the comeback win on Ryan Longwell's 27-yard field goal in overtime.

Four Japanese players also became the first from their country to take part in the NFL training camp after playing in NFL Europe. Linebacker Masafumi Kawaguchi of the Amsterdam Admirals and fullback Tamon Nakamura of the Rhein Fire played for the Packers in the Tokyo game.

British Invasion: Packers Fans in London

Before the game, Packers fans were everywhere. It was almost as easy finding fans to talk to in London as it would be at Lambeau Field. On the Friday before the game, Packers fans seemingly couldn't turn around without meeting other Packers fans, mostly from Wisconsin. On Saturday, the European contingent began to arrive. Packers fans from all over the continent made their way to London for the game.

Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy believes fans were eager to take advantage of the first real opportunity to travel since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020. "The atmosphere in the stadium was tremendous. It really gave us a sense of the kind of support the Packers have in the U.K."

Packers fans were invited to bring the spirit of Green Bay to London ahead of the team's first-ever regular-season international matchup, with several "Packers Everywhere" pep rallies on Oct. 6, 7 and 8, 2022. Packers Everywhere hosted the final pep rally on Oct. 8 at Belushi's Sports Bar in London, which served as the official Packers Everywhere headquarters during the trip.

The team took a 7-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean. After landing, the Packers immediately started to get acclimated to their new surroundings in London. The coaches kept the players busy in both the meeting room and on a practice field adjacent to the team hotel. The team had installed the game plan before leaving for London. The Packers used a Friday practice as more of a walk-through. The Packers' goal was to keep players up as long as possible to reset their body clocks. 

Bizarre Preseason Game in Winnipeg

Before warmups, game officials and staff from both the Green Bay Packers and the Oakland Raiders examined the turf that covered the goal-post spots for 110-yard CFL games. The goal posts would have been inside the NFL end zones. It was decided that the Aug. 22, 2019, preseason game would be played on a field shortened to 80 yards for player safety. End zones were marked by bright orange pylons at the 10-yard lines and there were no kickoffs. The field was reconfigured because of concerns about the areas where the goal posts for the CFL's Winnipeg franchise were removed and covered with turf.

"We were going to have all our starters play, and it was just one of those deals. We certainly have all played on much worse surfaces in our life. But it was just one of those deals where they weren't playing their starters and so we just decided to sit them." - Matt LaFleur

Tim Boyle threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Davis and a 26-yarder to Jake Kumerow. Tra Carson ran for a touchdown for the Packers and Green Bay led, 21-10, at halftime. But the raiders scored 12 unanswered points, culminating in a 33-yard Daniel Carlson field goal with 8 seconds remaining, to earn a bizarre, 22-21 preseason victory over the Packers.

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