Meet the day one Houston Texans fans from Wisconsin
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (KTRK) -- The Houston Texans are set to kick off their 18th season on Thursday in one of the most storied stadiums in the NFL.
Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers await head coach Bill O'Brien, J.J. Watt and company.
In a community of just 95,000 residents, the entire town of Green Bay will likely fit in the 70,000-seat venue. But among those fans will be those rooting on the Texans. In fact, the Packers are expecting between 2,000 and 3,000 fans sporting the deep steel blue and battle red.
In a surprising twist, some of those Texans fans aren't going too far from home to get to Thursday's preseason game.
ABC13 anchor Tom Koch, who grew up 35 miles away from Green Bay as a life-long Packers fan, spoke to Milwaukee resident Bryton Heringer, who claims to be a day-one Texans fan.
"I've always been a fan of the Texans," Heringer explained. "And since we were originally from Wisconsin, I'm not a Packer fan but will cheer them."
It's a little different for another Texans fan, Austin Clark, who has to defend his fandom in his current town full of cheeseheads, Green Bay.
"I've been a fan since the beginning," Clark said about wearing a Texans jersey around town.
Elsewhere in the mighty small city, Green Bay residents are not lost on the fact that the green and yellow are an internationally renowned brand.
"Across the world, people recognize Lambeau Field for what it is," said Paul Belschner, a literal next-door neighbor of Vince Lombardi's palace. "We are privileged that such a small city has a globally-recognized facility in our backyard, literally."
"For people to come here, it's a bucket list for them. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some people," added Paul's wife, Zoe Belschner.
The Texans have also enjoyed the little differences between them and the Packers. The Texans are owned by one family, the McNairs. The Packers boast 112,000 shareholders all over the world.
The Texans began play in 2002. The Packers are the third oldest NFL team, founded in 1919.
You can watch the special "Countdown to Kickoff" breaking down what we expect to see on the field starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by the preseason game at 7 p.m. on ABC13.
