GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Lambeau Field is trading green and gold for cardinal and white Sunday as the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Green Bay stadium to open their season.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in 2020. Green Bay has several connections to Notre Dame, including Curly Lambeau, Paul Hornung and Mike McCoy.
Local players featured in matchup
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Nine Wisconsin players in the game are from northeast Wisconsin. They include Bay Port alum Landon Gauthier, Kaukauna’s Carson Van Dinter and fellow kicker Gavin Lahm.
Neenah graduate Matt Jung, a Wisconsin safety, took an unconventional route to Madison, first playing at Minnesota State, then Division III Bethel, before joining the Badgers last season. This is his second season with the team, and it starts close to home at Lambeau Field.
“Oh, when I committed to Wisconsin, I think a few of my buddies all texted me like, yo, you get to play Notre Dame in Lambeau Field next year,” Jung said. “So, yeah, it was definitely something that popped up early. Growing up in Wisconsin, I’m sure all the Wisconsin guys can attest to this. You dream of playing in Camp Randall in Lambeau Field. So, being able to play in Lambeau in a Wisconsin uniform wearing the Motion W, it’s special to a lot of guys on the team. And all of our teammates know the Wisconsin guys and how much it means to us. So, it really just means so much to us as a whole.”
Neenah head coach Steve Jung, Matt’s father, has traveled to Madison to watch his son play. Sunday’s game is being played at Lambeau Field.
Notre Dame has local ties too
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Notre Dame is favored by 21 points. The Fighting Irish also have a player with local ties: James Flanigan, a tight end who graduated from Notre Dame Academy before playing for the University of Notre Dame.
Flanigan is playing in South Bend like his father before him, and now is playing at Lambeau Field like his father and grandfather before him. Both enjoyed NFL careers that included stints with the Green Bay Packers.
“Running out of the tunnel and being around the crowd, you know, I think I’ll take a moment to take that in, but then after that, you know, everybody just kind of focus on, you know, the next play,” Flanigan said. “And not only my dad coming here, but just like kind of the ties between Notre Dame and the Packers are really special. I saw my high school was like pretty much right down the street and I just have how it feels a lot like Notre Dame also, right? Like you have the, I feel like they’re similar stadium styles and all the history and everything is very similar.”
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