CINCINNATI, Ohio (WFRV) – Welcome to the jungle Green Bay Packer fans.
Enemy territory 500 miles away from the frozen tundra where football fans say ‘Who Dey’ instead of ‘Go Pack Go.’
But ahead of and during the Green Bay Packers 36-19 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on Friday night, there were still plenty of ‘Go Pack Go’ chants.
‘Go Pack Go’ chants from people like married couple Jackson and Olivia Murphy.
“We are a franchise with a lot of history, and just to be part of this environment with people starting to get off of work and back to football is a cool feeling,” said Jackson Murphy.
Local Five News caught up with them about three hours before the game. They said they were exploring the sights and sounds of the Paycor Stadium district and were very impressed by the stadium.
The Murphy’s said they are from Columbus, Ohio. Jackson said he grew up in Wisconsin and has been a die hard Packer fan since he was little. Olivia said she grew up a New England Patriots fan, but became a Packer fan after meeting Jackson.
Between rooting for the Patriots and Packers, she’s seen some good quarterback play over the years so Local Five News asked her what she thinks about Jordan Love.
“I hope he can be the next Favre or Rodgers, that would be keeping the Green Bay tradition alive, but I guess the beginning of this season will tell the truth of what’s to come,” said Olivia Murphy.
While Local Five News was interviewing Jackson, a Bengals fan even made a good-natured comment that he kind of looks like former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and jokingly questioned why he was in Cincinnati instead of New York.
In the final minutes of the Packers win on Friday night, Paycor Stadium erupted into ‘Go Pack Go’ chants. Joe and Dianne Pfennig were some of the fans that stayed until the end.
The Pfennigs told Local Five News that they are from Indianapolis but actually root for both the Bengals and the Packers. They said they have family in Cincinnati but that one of Joe’s college friends, at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., works for the Packers so they root for the green and gold as well.
They both said they’re optimistic about the Packers future, both for this season and beyond, and were excited to be at the game even though it’s preseason.
‘You know those second and third string guys are fighting hard, for spots so you know it’s always going to be a good game,” said Joe Pfennig.
All summer Local Five News has spoken to Packer fans about their predictions for next season. Although there are exceptions, in general fans have said they are optimistic that the Packers will be better than a lot of people outside Green Bay think.
“We love the coach, so we’ll be okay,” said Diane Pfennig. “It might be a bit of a learning curve, but we will be hanging in there.”
“Playoffs would be awesome, I’m coming in with not a lot of expectations just hoping to blow everything out of the water,” said Olivia Murphy.
“I’m excited for it, I really am,” said Jackson Murphy. “The young core with Jordan Love at the helm, I’m excited to see where it goes and I think the future is bright.”
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