A quick stop for lunch at Cousin’s Subs refueled the group before they boarded the bus to make their way to the final stop of the Tour. After running into Ann from Friday night’s fundraiser for Sunshine Place, in the parking lot, the group was also greeted by a Packers Season Ticket Holder who was picking up his lunch. He expressed to the guys how excited he was for the coming season, saying he had goosebumps upon meeting them.
As the bus made its way north, the group commented on how it felt bittersweet to be nearing the end. But the Tour had one more extra special stop to make in Oshkosh at the Special Olympics Wisconsin State Spring Games.
The players and Murphy received perhaps the warmest welcome of the entire trip, with Special Olympics athletes of all ages greeting them when they entered the Kolf Center on the UW-Oshkosh campus. Several basketball games and swimming competitions were underway, with 850 athletes competing over the course of the entire weekend.
The Tour crew started by cheering on the athletes on the court and passing out Packers items to the spectators. When there was a break in the action, Walker and Elgton Jenkins enjoyed the opportunity to shoot hoops with the Barron County Special Olympics team, while Alex Green and Kenny Clark shook hands and took pictures with nearly everyone in attendance.
Eventually, the players made their way across a portion of the UW-Oshkosh campus to Albee Pool to take in the individual medley competition, high-fiving the crowd and hyping up the supporters.
Chad Herschner, the President and CEO of Special Olympics Wisconsin, was proud to share the well-attended event with the Packers.
“We have athletes from Barron to Milwaukee to Door County, from all over the state. We do more than 220 sporting events a year and we do fall, winter, spring and summer games,” said Herschner. “You could just feel the energy in the room go through the roof (when the Packers arrived). Our athletes are so proud of our team partnership we have with the Packers, the Bucks, the Brewers and the Admirals, so they are all in.”
To put one final flourish on the Tailgate Tour, the visit to Special Olympics ended with a surprise check presentation — a $250,000 impact grant awarded to Herschner and his staff on behalf of Special Olympics Wisconsin. Though they had applied for the grant, they weren’t expecting to hear back from the team for another month, so upon receiving the check, the group was moved to tears. It was the perfect way to wrap up an incredible trip, full of giving back and connecting with countless fans.
On the drive back to Green Bay, Murphy and the players shared final reflections on the unforgettable experience of the 18th Packers Tailgate Tour:
Mark Murphy (on what was unique about this year’s Tour): “They’re all special in their own way. I think for this one, the alumni were young enough where there were natural connections between the current and former players. It’s fun to see them interact. A lot have played together. That’s always the most fun for me, to be able to spend time with both the alumni and the current players. And the high school stops are always fun. Usually it’s a surprise so when you run into the schools it’s a lot of fun.
“I think I’ll always remember when we gave the impact grant to Special Olympics. Seeing the tears in the eyes of Chad and everybody from the Special Olympics office there was really touching…I think it highlights the uniqueness of the Packers organization, as a community owned team.”
Elgton Jenkins: (on what will stick with him the most from the Tour): “The smiles on the kids’ faces. Going into OTAs right now, going to have hard times, going to have good times, but remembering that we put the smiles on the kids’ faces is going to give me a boost to keep going.
“Seeing the older guys, some of the former Packers and being with the current Packers has been great to build camaraderie, just talking and playing on the bus was cool.”
Rasheed Walker: “My favorite stop on the Tailgate Tour was pickleball, maybe. I’ve always heard of pickleball but I’ve never seen it or played it. I just heard it was kind of getting popular. But that was fun, we got to commentate and interact with the fans at that event. The whole trip, we’ve been helping raise a bunch of money for a bunch of great causes. We met with special forces, we met with special Olympics, there weren’t any dull moments on the whole trip…(I enjoyed) just interacting with the kids and speaking at the assemblies. It was just kind of crazy to me because I remember when I was in high school, I remember sitting in the bleachers, so being the one speaking to the kids and trying to make an impact means a lot to me.”
Bryan Bulaga (on his favorite parts of the Tour): “The last stop in Oshkosh at the Special Olympics, I think. Being able to see them compete and perform in their element and us just being able to be there and support them, speak and sign photos and just embrace them in their environment — competing in sports — was awesome. And I’d never been to a Special Olympics event, so it was my first time going and being able to see all the athletes compete and have fun and enjoy themselves was awesome.
“This is a younger group of guys that are on the Tailgate Tour and obviously I’ve had the pleasure of playing with all of them and I think just catching up with everybody and seeing what guys are up to lately and seeing how everyone’s doing. Obviously all the guys that are still playing are getting ready for a new season and seeing the excitement they have going into a fresh start. I think that’s been most enjoyable.”
Kenny Clark (on if he’s going to bring the experience from the Tour with him into preparing for next season): “Yeah, especially because you just feel the energy all around Wisconsin. Just driving around the whole state, you can tell just the whole fan base is so excited about what’s going to happen. We love to feel that as players because we’re excited about the season, but to see the fans are just as excited is cool to see and hear.”
Alex Green (on the best parts of the Tour): “The best part for me was going to Kwik Trip and giving out $25 gift cards. A lady’s car broke down and she was experiencing a rough time at that very moment we were trying to give her a gift and so to make her day in real time was pretty dope.
(on how the Packers fans make the Tour possible): For me, it’s the one on one conversations we have afterwards or on the side, when the fans let us know how much we impact them, how much they care, how much they support us, how much it means to them that we show up, that we come to their space. For me, not being out here at all during my years and having a shorter career with Green Bay, to have the fans come out and they still show support and love and we share deep conversations and they open up, it’s super impactful for me and them.”
Mike Daniels (on what will stick with him the most): “Going to the high schools, speaking to the kids because you have such an impact on them because they’re so young. They really look up to and admire you. I had a really good time speaking to them and sharing my knowledge and wisdom in the areas of life they wanted us to speak on.
“I’ve been blessed to have experienced a lot of awesome things, learned a lot of awesome things and grow a lot as a man. I just want to share that with the next generation because it’s all about helping uplift the communities, and ultimately this entire country and eventually the world.”
(on what he enjoyed from spending time with everyone on the bus): “Sitting back and talking, catching up…it speaks to the ability of the Packers organization to bring the right type of guys in. Although I didn’t play with all these guys, they’re still great guys and it’s like we’re all like teammates on the bus. They wanted to know about some of the history, like some of the things that were going on before they got here and I’m definitely intrigued about what’s happening now, so we’re part of that brotherhood and we’re enjoying it.”
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