GREEN BAY, Wis. - Lerentee McCray played in the Super Bowl last season, so nothing about an NFL training camp should faze the former Denver Broncos outside linebacker.
Then he walked onto Lambeau Field for Sunday's Family Night and was greeted by 66,397 fans -- for a practice.
"When I came here on my visit, I saw Green Bay was a little different," said McCray, who signed with the Packers this offseason. "But to walk out there and see all those fans, it was definitely like a wow factor to be here."
This is what a practice looks like with 66,397 at Lambeau Field. https://t.co/AvW9taNypR pic.twitter.com/7ZHL8xtwhl
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) August 1, 2016
The same goes for another first-timer, rookie linebacker Blake Martinez, a fourth-round pick. Martinez has been working with the starters throughout training camp, but his NFL experience went to another level Sunday.
"Oh, it was unbelievable," he said. "I remember going back to my Stanford practices. We'd probably have, our open practices, maybe 10 to 30 people out there. And to come out and walk out and have [66,000], it was unbelievable. I don't think I've ever had that many at an actual game. So it was a great feeling, and it was fun to get out there and get that atmosphere under my belt."
Fans began tailgating outside Lambeau Field early in the afternoon, making it feel like a game-day atmosphere all around.
It's only a practice, but they're tailgating like it's a real game at Lambeau Field.... https://t.co/7XpSOGe7Sp pic.twitter.com/qYSHQ9m8sG
— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) July 31, 2016
Tickets, priced at $10, sold out in less than a month. The highlight of the night -- other than the fireworks show over Lambeau that followed -- was a two-minute touchdown drive that Aaron Rodgers capped with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Randall Cobb with three seconds left on the clock.
After the play, Rodgers and the entire offensive line did the Lambeau Leap into the stands.
"What an incredible practice environment, if you even want to dare to call it that," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "So a great night of work. Gives us a chance to get into a game-like atmosphere, introduce all of our pre-game warm-ups and drills and so forth through our rookie, first-year players. So excellent work tonight."
