Two Items for Today

1. Somehow or another,

I don't believe this is part of

the War on Christmas. [sic]

2. Today is 12 - 4 - 15.

So, after last night's Hail Mary Miracle in Motown,

it wasn't a surprise to see this on Facebook

Go Pack, Go!

Introverted Packer Fans- Be Warned

It happens every time.

Whenever I wear my Packer hat anywhere outside of the Upper Midwest, someone will come up to me and start talking. Usually starting with

"Go Pack! Go!"

So- as a warning to any introverts- don't expect to be unnoticed when wearing any Packer gear away from home territory. (It's actually fun!)

What I do when I am away is wear my Twins hat when I want to be introverted! Nobody but other Twins fans comment. Even then, it's kind of an introverted little nod.

Ready for Tomorrow

I expect it to be a very tough game. The Seahawks are a strong team and heavy favorites in tomorrows NFC Championship game. But even playing hurt, there's no one like Aaron Rodgers.

Needless to say:

For the Record This Weekend:

 

Go Lehigh   

On Wisconsin

Go, Pack, Go

 

Before This Day Ends....

...It might not be snowing in Green Bay and the tundra has not yet frozen...

...But football season will have begun in the Pacific Northwest as the Packers play the Seahawks.

Frozen Tundra from Oliver Würffell on Vimeo.

Yep! Go, Pack. Go!

Smart Aleck Co-Workers :)

Thursday was game day for both the Packers and the Vikings. As a true green and gold Packer fan I was wearing my Packer tie to work. Well, when I came back to my desk two of my co-workers had put this new desktop background on my computer.

Hrrumph!

A Tale of Two Hats

I have two baseball-type hats that I like to wear. In recent weeks I have discovered that which one I wear can have a significant impact on those around me.

I have been in "neutral" territory- i.e. neither Minnesota nor Wisconsin. Alabama has no professional baseball team of their own and I don't think their football teams (Alabama and Auburn) play in the NFL. So the team logo should make very little difference.  What I have discovered is that people respond differently, in general, depending on which one I wear.



Actually, it is probably more correct to say they respond when I wear one and only a select few respond when I wear the other.

Therefore I have started calling them my extrovert or introvert hats.

If I am willing to talk to people I wear the Packer hat. There is a mystique about the Packers that I truly believe has made them the real America's team. People start talking about the days of Starr or Hornung. They wonder if the Pack will be back this year, etc.

If I want to remain quiet and introverted all I need is the Twins hat. Only other Minnesotans will say anything then, and usually some snide remarks about our favorite Twinkies. (Sometimes even a dig at the Vikings is added.) In general, though, Minnesota Nice prevails and we end up talking about other things- usually the weather in Minnesota- if we talk about anything.

I know this won't work at home. Either hat will bring a possible discussion, but in Sweet Home Alabama, it's a different ballgame.

And I am not buying an Alabama or Auburn hat. Way too dangerous.

Not From The Onion?

You can imagine why I would think this was from The Onion and not the news:

Rams called Brett Favre

Was it for real? Who knows. But if they did, THAT is desperation. Actually the Rams say:

“It was just a joke,” a team source told NFL.com. “It was just a throwaway line. Doesn’t anyone have a sense of humor? (Link)

Sadly, this is also NOT from The Onion.

Brett Favre admits some memory loss since retirement

He said that he couldn't remember his daughter playing soccer. Then the real quote that names the danger:

"I think after 20 years, God only knows the toll that will be taken as time goes by," Favre told Andy Pollin and Jonny Saraceno on SportsTalk 570 in Washington D.C. on Thursday morning. (Link)

Yes, one can say he was partly to blame. He played through the injuries, perhaps not admitting to the signs of concussion. He had one goal- to be the best and keep at it even when he shouldn't have. No, the NFL is not a parent protecting children.

But it has become more and more clear over the past few years that the NFL as well as our overall sports culture plays into the picture as well. They (and we) have often minimized and even downright denied the real dangers. Now it's coming into the open. 

I'm as guilty as any sports fan, of course. Favre gave me many a wonderful Sunday afternoon and a Super Bowl win for the Packers. No one of us made him do it, but there are enough fans like me whose very presence and response encourages the behavior and attitude.

I am glad the NFL and many others are now doing something about it. I am just sorry it wasn't sooner. 

(Sidenote to Greg: Brett? Brett who?)

Yep! It's Packer Time.

Go Pack! Go!

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League. (In case you didn't know.)

Now Back to Life... Already in Progress

An interesting, and perhaps notable game last evening.

Green Bay 31
San Francisco 45

Packers end another winning season, Northern Division Champs.

But last night, watching Colin Kaepernick rewrite football history was something else. You don't expect quarterbacks to do that kind of rushing. He was unstoppable because defense wasn't designed to stop a running QB. As they said on the post-game show, we may look back in ten years at this season as the one that changed pro football again. A new "West Coast Offense."

The other irony:
SF's quarterback grew up a Packer fan in Milwaukee.
Green Bay's quarterback grew up in California as a SF fan.

Just thought I would add that.

In any case, for us Packer fans, the season is over. Thanks guys for a good season. And a probable farewell to Greg Jennings (who scored the last TD of the season) and Donald Driver. Thanks to you two as well!

Time now to count the days until Opening Day.

And that magic number is only

78!

Can't Resist

Packer fans are nothing, if not loyal.

Therefore, with a game tonight, how can I not post this again:

Get Some Flowers for Your Hair

Go Pack! Go!

Minnesota Vikings 10
Green Bay Packers 24

Next up: San Francisco 49ers.
Next Saturday.

The Last for a Long While

12*12*12

A day when

Day*Month*Year or
Month*Day*Year or
Year*Month*Day

are all the same happens 12 times a century. 12 out of 36,500(+) days in 100 years. It won't happen again until 01/01/2101.

So, for all us Packer fans, this IS a day to celebrate.

It is Aaron Rodgers Day.

Time for Football

A Shortened Season

And so it goes.

The inverse of last year's surprising run to the Super Bowl. This year we were the favorites but couldn't hold it together in the end. What's a 15-1 season if you can't win in the post-season?

Just a shortened season.

Thanks Aaron and all for a great year.

And while it is three weeks earlier than I wanted to think about it....

Go Twins!

A Packer Bye Week

So I thought I would post some of the pics from last week's game at the Metrodome. Yes, I was there! And it was a fun game. It was good to see the Vikings playing good football. I want the Pack to win, of course, whenever we play the Vikes, but it is always better to have a well-played game. As long as it doesn't get too close.

The Vikings, for the first time in, well, quite a while, had a young quarterback instead of The Old Man or Donovan McNabb. With a lousy start they have done two things- put in Rookie Christian Ponder and let Adrian Peterson carry the ball more.

But what was fun for me was to see some truly great ballplayers in the same game. I have pulled some of their pictures out of the many I took and cropped it down since we were in the end zone.

QB Christian Ponder being chased by LB Clay Matthews

RB James Starks getting the handoff from QB Aaron Rodgers

Adrian Peterson taking off after getting the ball from Ponder

Ryan Longwell doing what he does better than just about anyone else

CB Charles Woodson attempting a pick-off. Didn't get this one.

It Doesn't Seem Like Much of a Choice

On the one hand: The Republican Debate
On the other hand: NFL Opening Game - The Packers

I guess the President would rather have the State of Wisconsin mad at him than the Republicans.

I wasn't going to watch any of it anyway.

Go Pack.

Even in Alabama

Yes, I know. It's from Super Bowl XXI, not XLV. But the number of Packer fans in Alabama this past month knew what it was all about. The days I wore my Packer T-shirt, I got lots of great comments and conversation. Again, I assert, THIS is America's Team!

(Actually, since the month started with Packers, I figured it might as well end that way, too.)

The Season Is Done

Oh- and what a season it was. Sure I'm a biased Packer Cheesehead. And darn proud of it. Sure, it turned out the way I wanted. That's WHY it was such a great season. But others think so, too. Or at least the ending of it was-

The largest TV audience in history watched the game on Sunday. Quite an accomplishment, actually. It sure gives the lie to the old Cowboys idea that they were America's team. I think the Packers and the Steelers can lay claim to that today.

But it was the Pack who showed the class and heart from day one. I know, they were the odds-on favorites at the start of the season. Everyone expected them in the Super Bowl- until the season started. Then things went downhill really fast. Some close losses which seemed to say they didn't the the stick-to-it heart. Then came injuries, and more injuries, then a lot more injuries. 14 or more (I lost count) on the injured reserve.

Then Super QB Rodgers gets a concussion- and then another concussion. They had to fight it out to the last day of the season- with reserves and no-names- to get a bottom (6th seed.) Only one team had ever gone from 6th to champion- the Steelers back in 2005. The odds were long.

Yet they kept playing and the odds kept getting shorter and shorter. Until the Big Game when - yep, more injuries in the game. But they kept playing. Rodgers kept calm and cool even as his receiver dropped easy passes. He stayed on game as a leader should.

And they took it all. Titletown- the smallest city in the NFL- kept its title.

What more can we ask for?

It's been 14 years since the last Super Bowl for the Pack. It feels good. Very good.

Thanks, guys, for a never-give-up season. See you in September.

It is Now History

Final Score:
Pittsburgh Steelers 25
Green Bay Packers 31