March 4, 2008
It’s A Sad Day, Here in Wisconsin
I knew this day would come, and I tried to be ready for it. But even after hearing the news, I can’t help but cry a little. Brett Favre announced his retirement from NFL football today.
The beloved quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, my favorite football team, has said it’s “just time” and that he’s “mentally tired”.
From ESPN:
“If I felt like coming back — and Deanna [his wife] and I talked about this — the only way for me to be successful would be to win a Super Bowl. To go to the Super Bowl and lose, would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Super Bowl win would be unsuccessful,” Favre said in the message.
“I know it shouldn’t feel unsuccessful, but the only way to come back and make that be the right decision would be to come back and win a Super Bowl. And honestly, the odds of that, they’re tough. Those are big shoes for me to fill, and I guess it was a challenge I wasn’t up for. “
From NFL on FOX:
The records Brett Favre takes with him into retirement include: touchdown passes (442), passing yards (61,655), attempts (8,758), completions (5,377) wins by a starting quarterback (160), consecutive starts by a quarterback (253, 275 if you include the playoff games) and most MVP awards (3).
Still, those numbers are woefully inadequate in measuring the man. His accomplishments as a quarterback might be quantifiable, but his virtues are not. There’s a reason Brett Favre is regarded as a kind of national treasure, that the affection directed his way violates all demographic suppositions, cutting across all the usual divides of race, class, sex and geography. The American People, a much-abused term, can agree on the subject of Favre’s overriding virtue: He defied time.
Seventeen years is a long time in football years. He’s broken several records and he will always be the greatest quarterback of all time. Farewell, Brett. We are sure as hell gonna miss you.
January 22, 2008
And Then Depression Set In
Two days after the Packers’ heartbreaking loss to the New York Giants, 23-20 in overtime of the NFC Championship game, and Green Bay’s fans and players are still not able to let go of the loss.
I’m still sad about it. My first thought after waking up this morning, “…and then depression set in.”
I know it’s only a game, but it was important an important game. It meant so much to the team, to the fans, to the coaches, to Brett Favre.
I can’t believe the season is really over. The Super Bowl seems as though it will never arrive. I keep thinking I’ll wake up from this bad dream and Brett Favre will lead the Packers to another victory over the New England Patriots.
Ah, but this is not the case. Instead, Eli Manning and his Giants have a gigantic mountain called New England to climb.
Now…all I can think about is next season and whether or not Brett Favre will return to our team this fall. My instincts tell me he will retire and my heart breaks at the thought.
This is what it means to be a true GBP fan I suppose.
Even though our team finished 13-3 overall, and the Packers have achieved so much season, it doesn’t make it any less painful to know that it’s all over this year.
Sigh. I may need a little more grieving time.
January 20, 2008
The Giants Earned It
I’m in a state of shock over the Giants winning, 23-20 over my Green Bay Packers. It’s a blow to the ego, but I have to say that NY earned the title. If only the Packers got their heads out of their asses and stopped fucking up with penalties, we may have done better.
My dear sweet bloggy pal Liz isn’t rubbing it in my face (yet?), and for this reason, I will proudly support the New York Giants over the Yucky Patriots. I don’t know what y’all see in Tom Brady. He’s not that cute, you know. Neither is Manning, but still. Tom Brady? Are you kidding me? (Okay, now I sound like that Coors commercial.)
I just have one piece of advice for Eli: When things don’t go your way in a game, please don’t yell “Fuck!” We can read lips and it just makes you look stupid.
That’s all I have to say.
I think I’m going to cry for my team.
Dearest Brett, you did all you could. We know that. But it still hurts.
Congratulations Giants and Giants fans. Good luck in Arizona.
Tundra Football, Oh How I Love Thee
As a proud Cheesehead, born and raised in Wisconsin, it’s no surprise to anyone that I am a diehard Green Bay Packers fan. It’s in my blood. You could even say it’s genetic.
At a very young age, I learned the about the legacy of Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, Forrest Gregg, Ray Nitschke, Tony Canadeo, Bart Starr, Mike Holmgren, Reggie White, and of course, Brett Favre.
From as far back as I can remember, my father took us on summer trips to the Packers’ training camp in Green Bay. We’d watch the pre-season scrimmages at Don Hutson center across from Lambeau field.
We anticipated the final whistle blow, when the players would ride their young fans’ bicycles up to the stadium locker rooms after practice.
My little brother, Nathan, and I were eager to gather as many player autographs as possible during our three day vacation. Over the years fought over who would get autographs from Desmond Howard, John Jurkovic, Don Majkowski, Robert Brooks, Travis Jervey, Craig Newsome, Edgar Bennet, LeRoy Butler, Eugene Robinson, Dorsey Levens, Chris Jacke and so many other favorite players.
I have fond memories of those times. I remember at ten years old, how my parents laughed when I proudly exclaimed, “I’m going to get Tony Manwich’s signature on my notebook!” Little did I know that Tony Mandarich would be one of the biggest football flops in NFL history.
I remember the many losing seasons the Packers suffered when I was still in elementary school, and how I was teased for wearing my favorite Green Bay t-shirt to school when we had “football day”.
One classmate mocked, “Dana still likes the Crappers. Ha ha ha ha.”
But my loyalty never wavered. My father, #1 Packers fan himself, taught me to be proud of his team, my team, our team. The legacy is the third oldest in the NFL. The team is a legend in it’s own time.
I can still taste the victory of Super Bowl XXXI, when the Packers beat the New England Patriots. I was a senior in high school, and Monday morning I waltzed into class proudly wearing my Green and Gold. If I close my eyes tight, I can remember the happy dance my father and I did in the middle of the bar that he owned. Super Bowl Sunday took on a whole new meaning that year. Two tickets to paradise…Super Bowl paradise.
I equally remember the sadness when the Packers lost to the Denver Broncos the following year in Super Bowl XXXII. But nothing could stop us from loving our Pack.
There’s a lot of talk going on about the upcoming playoff game against the New York Giants this Sunday. Mike Tanier of Fox Sports shares his brilliant take on what he thinks will happen.
I’m still celebrating the Giants’ amazing win over the Cowboys last week. It was well deserved and I’m very impressed with Eli Manning.
I can’t help but feel a wee bit sad for Tony Romo. The Cowboys’ young quarterback is dating America’s favorite blond dimwit bombshell, and Romo is taking a lot of heat for his pre-game trip to Cabo with the former Mrs. Lachey.
Because Tony hails from Wisconsin, I can’t help but get a little protective over one of our own. Or maybe it’s because I have a teensy crush on the boy.
Oh…Romo. I just can’t understand what you see in that empty-headed ditz.
I’ve shared my loathe of the Dallas Cowboys, and after they lost, I enjoyed reading the sports writers discuss all the possibilities of why Dallas lost to the Giants.
Rick Morrissey had me choking with laughter:
How was Tony Romo supposed to benefit from his off-week trip to Mexico with singer/actress/whatever-it-is-she-is Jessica Simpson? And, more important, how were the Cowboys supposed to benefit from their most important player jetting off to a resort the week before a playoff game?
Oh, I see. You’re telling me the trip allowed Romo to show up more relaxed for the Cowboys-Giants game Sunday. But couldn’t he and Simpson have shared a lazy cigarette in Dallas instead of in Los Cabos and been just as “relaxed” for the game?
Stephen Hawkins had me rolling on the floor:
Terrell Owens’ bottom lip was quivering, his voice wavering. Though his teary eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, he couldn’t hide his disappointment - or his loyalty to quarterback Tony Romo - after the Cowboys’ 21-17 playoff loss to the New York Giants on Sunday.
Yes, it was seeing the cocky, “big-rocks-in-my-ears”, T.O. cry like a baby, that really made my day. He thought he was the best wide receiver ever to play the game. I truly hope this loss humbles him a little bit, but I doubt it will have any effect on his ego.
Romo’s 4th-and-11 pass - intended for Terry Glenn, not a double-covered Owens - was intercepted by R.W. McQuarters in the end zone with nine seconds left.
“They kind of doubled T.O. on the outside and Terry had a guy running with him up the middle,” Romo said. “I tried to throw to the one guy in one-on-one and hope for something lucky.”
Owens pushed his helmet awkwardly on top of his head and walked toward the sideline after the play.
They “Cocky Cowboys” is what my father calls them. And I suppose they have a right to be proud of their winning record, but it seems as though they expect the victories to be handed to them just because they are The Cowboys.
Back in 1996, a miracle occurred: The upstart Panthers, a second-year expansion team, upset the Cowboys in the divisional round. The spirited Panthers were good enough to trip the fading, ring-gorged Cowboys, but they were no match for the Packers at Lambeau. The Packers won, 30-13, then beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Favre the callow stat-packer became Favre the Eternal Exemplar of Competitiveness and Manliness, a title he will hold until he retires. (Either Brady, Tim Duncan or Roger Federer gets it next. They’re playing keep-away from Curt Schilling).
The past is prologue. Those 1990s Cowboys were better than this year’s model (more Emmitt Smith, less Cabo and crying), but Tony Romo and company were still the Packers’ greatest pre-Super Bowl hurdle, an obstacle they weren’t likely to overcome. The Giants, like the come-from-nowhere Panthers of yesteryear, are super-spoilers with the league’s best pass rush. The Patriots loom on the horizon, just as they did in 1996. In their unlikely march to the Super Bowl, the Giants may have made straight the path for Favre and the generation 2.0 Packers.
The anticipation of the upcoming Super Bowl is killing me. And the possibility of the Packers meeting up with the Patriots once again, will be like a high school reunion for me — as well as for our beloved Brett Favre. Oh, how we love him so.
Thank God, Favre was never sent to the Jets.
As I blog this, my knees are shaky. I can’t wait for this game. I can’t wait for the legend, Brett Favre, to run onto our field and work his magic. Today, Lambeau Field. Kick-off, 5:42 p.m.
It’s just too much excitement! I can’t stand it!
Da-da Da, Da-da-da Da! Go, Pack! Go! (Packer fans might be the only ones to get that, I think.)
