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No fire drill, it’s the Packers

The students at West Allis’ Nathan Hale High School thought they were executing a fire drill when they exited the building and filled the football stadium’s bleachers.

Then the Packers Tailgate Tour bus pulled up at the gate.

The crew was treated to an enthusiastic welcome from the more than 1,600 students as they moved down the track, some players running and dishing out high fives along the way.

Jordy Nelson continues to receive the loudest applause, and today he even had a request to remove his shirt. Mark Murphy declined on his behalf.

The message to the student body this afternoon was to make good decisions and Charlie Peprah shared some recollections from his youth when he was often alone in making his decisions with his mother working more than one job.

“Sometimes the right decision is not the popular one,” he said. “You need to make the right decision.”

After some questions and answers, the students challenged Nelson to a race. It was the third such challenge of the trip, but this one was actually held on a track. After a close start, Nelson pulled away and looked back at his challenger in a mock taunt.

When asked about the race, Nelson said, “Who’s next!” Then he quickly added, “Just kidding!”

And in a first for the tour, Mason Crosby was asked to kick a field goal. With the student requester as holder and Larry McCarren as the long snapper, Crosby executed a perfect kick from about 30 yards out.

“Good hold, wind was at my back, it was solid,” Crosby said.

McCarren’s famous pinkie was the subject of attention again when a student asked to see it.

“It doesn’t hurt, but it is hard to find a glove that fits,” McCarren said.

McCarren also got in on the racing aspect, too, when he took on the challenge by a high school student in a wheel chair. He lost by a close margin to the delight of the crowd.

Off to Kenosha.

Click here for photos from the visit to Nathan Hale High School.