I was hoping that this would be a Packer comeback story, but in contrast, the Green Bay Packers are actually recovering from a loss against the Bills which secured the teams’ four-game losing streak.

On Saturday, Oct. 30 the Packers fell to the Buffalo Bills 17-27.

While this may seem like a hard-to-swallow loss, the Packers have actually never won against the Bills while playing in Buffalo. 

Nonetheless, I would prefer not to jump into the true season of fall, the week of Halloween, discussing a Packer loss. 

Yesterday, I was scrolling through a typical Apple-generated camera roll highlight video when I came across a picture of my younger self decked out in Packer gear. 

I was immediately reminded of a longstanding family tradition of mine, Packer Family Night.

For a bit of context, Packer Family Night is an annual ‘Packer Practice,’ hosted at Lambeau Field each August. 

The team usually scrimmages for the enjoyment of audience members, preparing for the upcoming season and warming up to the crowd. 

The event consists of a plethora of family-oriented activities, including jersey giveaways, games, music and fireworks. 

According to my mom, the tradition started when my older brother was a mere one-year-old. He’s 22, and Aug. 5, 2022 marked the 21st annual Packer Family Night. 

Up until this summer, I hadn’t missed a Packer Family Night in my 19 years on this Earth. In fact, I am such an avid supporter of the event that I attended the summer I got my wisdom teeth out. 

Just two days after having all four of my wisdom teeth removed, I was eating soup and ice cream in the Lambeau Field tailgate lot, preparing for a night of festivities to kick off the Packer season. 

My memories of attending Packer Family Night are quite a bunch of stories. 

When I was seven, the event had a rain delay that forced crowds to wait out a storm inside Lambeau Field. 

At the time, I didn’t have a younger sister yet. My older brother, who was 10 at the time, made friends with two other kids and their parents who were waiting out the storm. 

We were immediately tied at the hip for the night. 

For a few Packer seasons to come, we mailed these kids letters and football cards. We were bonded through our Green Bay pride, Packer penpals, if you will.

As you can imagine, this family tradition is a large part of the fuel that keeps the Schoenemann family such avid Packer fans. 

It is precisely this Packer pride that is keeping me hopeful and optimistic for the upcoming game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Nov. 6. The Lions are coming off of a five-game losing streak. 

In order to achieve this win, the Packers are going to have to pick up their defense throughout the entirety of the game. 

Despite the fact that the Bills are a strong team, the Packers defense was a letdown in the first half of the game, and this will need to change against the Lions. 

For the first five-straight possessions, the Packer defense allowed the Bills to score. Three of the scoring possessions were touchdowns. 

Green Bay’s defense performed in the second half, holding the Bills to a mere three points. 

On the positive end of things, our Packer offense ran a total of 208 rushing yards. 

Hopefully, with this performance and a bit of Packer pride, Wisconsinites can breathe easy again with a Green Bay win this coming weekend. 

The Packers will face the Lions in Detroit this weekend with a 12 p.m. kickoff. You can tune into the game on FOX or the NFL network. 

Schoenemann can be reached at [email protected].