Packers surprise travelers at Mitchell International Airport



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Travelers at Mitchell International Airport were given a special treat Tuesday -- some Green Bay Packers were walking around! But the athletes weren't there to catch a flight. They were stepping into the employees' shoes.

Packers’ linebacker Brad Jones and cornerback Micah Hyde were surprising travelers left and right.

“I see the Green Bay Packers and I think well how can this be?” said Charlie Brah.

“As we’re approaching my husband says oh, the Packers are there and I said I wonder if they are going to flying out or flying in,” said Ana Gonzalez “and then the lady at the front just told me go and check in with a Packer player!”

The athletes were behind the ticket counters, at the gates and even out on the tarmac ushering planes and passengers into and out of Milwaukee. It was all part of a Southwest Airlines event called “Trading Places.” It gave the athletes the chance to try something a little out of the ordinary, but more than that, it gave them the chance to interact with their fans.

“When you get to see fans up close, even on a Tuesday, I mean the energy and excitement just happens. It's second to none,” said Jones, “You see fans at game day but you never get to see them in the stuff they're doing every day. It gives them a surprise and they get excited. It's really cool. I like people's reactions.”

“You get to see them, and maybe the fans don't know we're here. You get to interact with them maybe they're surprised,” said Hyde.

Many of the fans they ran into definitely were surprised: “This one guy over there thought it was a joke. I was like no, no. Really, it`s me,” laughed Jones.

And for some fans, like Gonzalez, it was much-needed surprise. “I don't like flying,” she said, “I get very nervous. But this made my day.”

Hyde and Jones were at the airport from 10:00 until 12:00 on Tuesday. It was Jones’ second time doing this event and Hyde’s first.