BY RICH PALZEWIC
EDITOR

Sue Peters of Suamico, Wisconsin, has been a season-ticket holder since 2000, but the tickets have been in her family since the mid-1960s.

Her grandparents first had two seats in section 33 (now 133), row 22 before they were passed down to her parents shortly thereafter.

When the seat tax was assessed in 2000, Peters’ mom decided it was time to let go of the tickets, so she put them in her daughter’s name.

“My mom put them in my name simply because I have kids to pass them down to,” said Peters, who was going to games long before she even became a season-ticket holder. “I was pretty lucky to get them. They are great seats – right on an end, right by an entrance and right by the players’ tunnel in the south end zone.”

Her sister lives in the U.P. of Michigan and has come down for a lot of games over the years, but that isn’t happening as much anymore.

“It was a three-day ordeal for her … come down a day early, go to the game and then stay over again Sunday night,” Peters said. “She lives three-and-one-half hours from here, so now my husband will go with me when it’s warmer or I’ll ask others. I have no plans to pass them down anytime soon. I still enjoy going and the game-day experience.”

She doesn’t recall much of what her grandparents or parents have told her about previous games or seasons, but she recalls how people years ago would dress … much different than today!

“I remember how the ladies would dress up back then for the games,” said Peters. “They’d wear their fur coats, nylons and high heels. It was more of a fashion show back then for the ladies – they froze, but they looked nice! It makes me mad that I didn’t ask them more about their experiences.”

She has only missed a handful of games, but they are all memorable for different reasons.

“Three games come to mind that I’ve missed over the years,” said Peters. “I missed a Monday-night game because one of my friend’s sons got married out in California. His wedding was on the ‘RMS Queen Mary’ ship. We went out there early and actually got to see the Packers play a game in San Diego. On the flight back to Green Bay – it was the same Monday night as the Packers were playing – we flew right over the stadium. We could see it from that angle, but we missed the game.”

Peters missed a playoff game a different year when she had a choice to make – go to her husband’s work Christmas party or the game. She picked the party but was sad she had to miss a game.

The most memorable game she missed was because it’s in correlation with a tragic event dealing with her dad that occurred while she was already at the game.

“Two of my sisters and I went to the game against the 49ers Dec. 5, 1987,” Peters said. “I was so excited to see Joe Montana play. Before the game even started, we were sitting in our seats and the public address announcer said over the loudspeaker, ‘Would the family of Ambrose Reinhard please return home.’ I found a pay phone – we didn’t have cell phones back then – and called home, and talked to my brother … my dad had passed away. We missed that game of course. He hadn’t been feeling well, so he went to lie down. My mom was going to wake him up to watch the game and he had passed away from a heart attack. Sitting in the stadium and hearing the announcement it was surreal, like ‘did we just hear that right?’”

Peters also had shoulder surgery one year but scheduled it between games so she wouldn’t miss a home game.

Even before she graduated from Bay Port High School in 1975, she has fond memories of her youth as a Packers fan.

“I got to march at halftime of two Packer games with the band,” Peters said. “One was down in Milwaukee in 1972 and the other was in Green Bay in 1974. I was a good girl, but the motel we stayed in during the trip to Milwaukee had an outside and an inside walkway – our band director didn’t know about that one! He would look out once in a while at night and never see anyone out. We were up most of the night and had to march the next day … that was a long day.”

Unlike a lot of other fans, Peters doesn’t recall many individual games that come to mind because “they all blur together,” but she does remember the first Monday-night game she attended.

“We had gone to the stadium without tickets with a sign on a paper plate that said ‘we need tickets,’ said Peters. “A lady from Bailey’s Harbor, Wisconsin, had four tickets, so she sold us two and kept two. We also made a sign that said ‘Our husbands think we’re at a Tupperware party’ and held them up during the game. We actually went to several games over the next few years on those same tickets from those people.”

Peters tailgates before every game now with friends, starting that in the late 90s. They used to do that in the parking lot with an RV until those were no longer allowed. They moved to a lot near Kroll’s after, but are currently stationed on Valley View Road.

Peters said the tradition of going to the games and tailgating never gets old and she still looks forward to every home game.

One of her best memories didn’t even happen in Green Bay, but in New Orleans, Louisiana, for a game.

“My friend and I walked over to the hotel that the team was staying at,” Peters said. “(Former player) Larry McCarren was standing outside and we asked him where his show was going to be filmed. He told us, so we showed up to Pat Obrien’s Bar. Larry picked me to come up on stage from the audience. I had to long snap the ball – (former player) Rob Davis was the guest and he taught me how to do it. You can imagine my pain … I had to bend over in front of the TV cameras … I’m lucky it was more of a side angle! After the show, I told Larry, ‘Thanks for picking me … that was really awesome!’ He said, ‘You made the effort to ask me where the show was going to be filmed, so when I saw you there, I knew I had to pick you.’ Rob signed the football for me and I still have it.”

Peters also went to a game in Carolina and attended another Larry McCarren show. Ron Wolf was the guest that day, but something happened and he was hours late.

Editor’s note: If you know of a season-ticket holder you’d like to see featured, drop me a note at [email protected].