GREEN BAY - During her first ever Packers training camp visit, 3-year-old Harper Koeberl held up her homemade sign Monday, hoping to have a player ride to practice on her Barbie bicycle.
Dressed in her favorite colors, yellow and green, she stood with her parents Ryan and Taylor Koeberl of Green Bay, waiting for players to walk by.
The 66-year-old tradition of Packers players riding kids bikes to training camp continued Monday on the first day of the 2024 training camp, drawing in crowds of hundreds of fans from across the country. Young fans and their parents arrived outside the Lambeau Field locker room entrance, some before 8 a.m., to set up with their bikes. Players started leaving Lambeau around 10 a.m. for the 10:30 a.m. practice at Ray Nitschke Field.
The tradition began in 1958 as an informal way to celebrate the start of training camp, but has now evolved into a huge celebration, officially called the American Family Insurance DreamDrive. Some Packers bike kids form relationships with players that last for years.
"DreamDrive helps kids who play a big role in transporting the players to practice and gives them an opportunity to share their support and cheer them on," said Mark Murphy, the Packers president. "What's been really gratifying over the years is the relationships that have formed between players and their bike kids that continue on for years."
Bikes decorated with green and gold, handmade signs with catchy phrases and hopeful kids lined the path from the east side of Lambeau Field to the Nitschke Field. The young fans chanted "go pack go," hoping to catch the attention of their favorite players.
Donovan Schilling, a Packers fan who's originally from Green Bay but now lives in Georgia, traveled to training camp with his son D.J. Schilling, who was chosen to ride alongside Packers receiver Dimitri Stanley.
"My family have been Packers' fans since its inception," said Donovan Schilling, who decorated a sign with his son, hoping he'd get picked.
Sawyer Jackson, one of the lucky Packers bike kids, traveled around 394 miles from Macomb, Illinois, to Green Bay, in hopes that a player would ride his bike to practice. His mother, Jill, helped him to decorate a sign showing how far they've traveled, along with a chant they wrote themselves for the day.
Packers long snapper Peter Bowden chose Sawyer's bike to ride to practice. Smiling ear-to-ear, Sawyer said "it felt cool" to be chosen for the DreamDrive during his first visit to training camp and he hopes the team will win the Super Bowl.
Hundreds of other fans and their children also participated in the bike tradition, even if they weren't chosen by a player. They have the opportunity to try and get chosen at a different training camp day.
Will Packers fans be back for the draft?
Schilling and his son, among other fans, hope to return to Green Bay for the NFL draft. However, Schilling said it might be difficult to rent an Airbnb as many have already been rented during the draft dates.
Tim and Sheryl Bohne, Packers fans from Milwaukee, have been attending training camp for 50 years and used to bring their son, who's now 28 years old. They said they will also be returning for the draft and are hopeful that the team will do well this season.
What is the schedule for the preseason?
Training camp and related events schedule is:
- July 23-24: Open practices, 10:30 a.m.
- July 26-28: Open practices, 10:30 a.m.
- July 30-31: Open practices, 10:30 a.m.
- Aug. 1: Open practices, 10:30 a.m.
- Aug. 3: Family Night, 7:30 p.m. Lambeau Field
- Aug. 6-7: Open practices, 10:30 a.m.
- Aug. 10: Preseason game, 3:25 p.m. at Cleveland
- Aug. 13-14: Open practices, 10:30 a.m.
- Aug. 18: Preseason game, 7 p.m., at Denver
- Aug. 20: Open practice, times to be announced
- Aug. 22: Joint practice with Baltimore Ravens, 10:30 a.m.
- Aug. 24: Preseason game vs. Ravens, noon at Lambeau Field
When does the regular season begin?
The Packers first game is against the Philadelphia Eagles at 7:15 p.m. Sept. 6 in Sau Paulo, Brazil.
When is the Packers' first home game?
The first game at Lambeau Field is at noon Sept. 15 against the Indianapolis Colts.
Alyssa N. Salcedo is a reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. She can be reached at asalcedo@gannett.com.
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