Packer Playoffs and the return of Lost Hope.

Coffee (check), Packers socks on (check), plopped down on my couch (check), attempt to figure out how to Live Blog on wordpress but couldn’t successfully do it (check), lucky Twitter picture ready to be reposted if need be (check), nervous (sort of check), anxious (check check check). 

Packers game starts in about 30 minutes and I couldn’t be more excited. All of my irrational thoughts throughout the season lead to this game, I love it. That’s the beauty of sports. The fact that we can get a “winner” and “loser” is always the best kind of conclusion. There is definitely a finality to the world of sports, and I’m okay with that. 

I’m not totally sure if it’s the coffee or my nerves but I’m having trouble focusing on this post. Maybe a combination of both. However, I’d like to just express and come clean that there was one point in the season where I lost hope. It happened right after the Lions blew out the Pack on Thanksgiving. I specifically remember telling my friend they should rest Aaron Rodgers and call it a day, there is no way they’re making it to the playoffs. Well, shit. Here we are. I feel like a loser, a man that for a moment became the emotional sports fan that I am. 

I wanted to admit that. Clear my soul of all impurities pre game. I wanted to acknowledge that the hope I once lost has returned and I can't be a stupid fickle loser fan who leaves his team when they're down. I should have never doubted life. 

I feel good about this game. Oddly. Whatever the outcome of this game… I really hope Colin Kapernick doesn’t go berserk on the Packers. I don’t know if I can live through that again. 

Go Packers.

Good Bye Packers Season... And Probably The NFL.

Well. Shit.

Lets rewind for a second and return to Saturday…

It all started when I was walking with my friend to a terrible Hollywood bar called “The Tavern.” Terrible for the service, not really anything else. As we were walking my friend said, “Hey do you know whose winning the Broncos game?” I said, “no.” It was at that moment I realized, I don’t really care about other games, and I’m probably not going to care about football if the Packers lose.

This thought scared because this is what I call… The 2007 zone.

The 2007 Zone:

In 2007 Brett Favre was in his final year and the Packers were doing work on the Giants in the NFC Championship game. In what can only be described as overtime madness the Giants proceeded to beat the Packers 23-20, which sent me in to a tailspin of hell. That night I proceeded to drink more than Charlie Sheen and argued with anybody. I was irrational. I was angry. But most importantly, I was embarrassed the next morning.

I called my friend and I told him I couldn’t get like that again, ever! He agreed. And I didn’t. It was my unofficial Frank The Tank moment.

I digress…

When we arrived to the Tavern the Broncos game was coming to its unbelievable conclusion. The Broncos were about to lose on an improbable bomb from Matt “Jack” Ryan. Two guys, who were Broncos fans, and their girlfriends, who probably don’t care about sports, were sitting across from us. Watching them watch the game was basically foreseeing a domestic violence incident. These guys were pissed. At one point one of the guy’s girlfriends tried to kiss him and he batted her hand away. It was one of those moments where you could have swooped in on the girl and stole her from her boyfriend simply because the guy looked so fucking stupid.

I leaned over to my buddy and said “Dude, I really hope I don’t feel like these guys when our game is over.” He agreed and we had a nice laugh. But then it hit me - Watching these guys depressed in all their glory reminded me… The 2007 Zone. I mentally prepped for the worst-case scenario. I should have seen it coming. These guys were an omen.

And then it happened…

Colin Kaepernick decided to go Bo Jackson Techmo Super Bowl on everyone and he ran the Packers in circles. It was a difficult thing to watch. The last time I watched a Packers playoff game and felt so helpless was when Mike Vick crushed them in 2003 at home. I knew Kaepernick was going to be a problem, I felt it, I just didn’t realize how big of a problem and I still felt good about the game.

900 rushing yards later the game was over. At the start of the 4th quarter I asked my stupid waitress to close out. I wanted to bail and not deal with what was happening but apparently someone misplaced my credit card. Watching them try to find this thing was excruciating. It took about 20 minutes to track down and in that time I was surrounded by TVs and 49ers fans, all I wanted to do was run. It felt like one cruel joke. The Packer Gods wanted me to absorb what was happening.

The absorption and my stupid waitress may have been the best thing that happened to me. I realized that as much as I hated the game I’m fortunate it didn’t end like the Broncos game. I’m not sure I could’ve handled that. But I could handle this. I made peace knowing that the Packers got it handed to them. It was another game in a seemingly never-ending cycle of emotional ups and downs. I realized that I pretty much have moved on from the 2007 zone, I’ve grown. Fucking time does crazy things to a person.

The Packers season ended and so did my football-watching season. Every year I go through this push and pull. I wonder why I like sports and why I waste my time. I don’t know if I can go through another season of this. I wonder how long my push and pull love hate with sports will last. Hopefully I’ll come to terms sooner or later.

Damn you, sports.

Full Discretion: I'm Slightly Worried About The Packers

I’m worried that the Packers had a bye week.

I’m worried that Aaron Rodgers was so good he sat out the final week of the season and may be rusty.

I’m worried that the Giants still have players on it that won the improbable Super Bowl in 2008.

I’m worried that if the Packers beat the Giants they face a team that I actually really like (get that out of your head). They face a team that is very good (get that out of your head). And lets be honest, the 49ers are in an odd way a Cinderella team even though they had a first round bye.

I’m worried that tomorrow FOX is going to broadcast some ridiculous stat saying the Packers are 76-1 in temperatures 34 degrees and under. What they aren’t saying is that they’re a lot worse when it’s 35 degrees.

I worried that even if the Packers make it to the Super Bowl they’ll probably have to face the Patriots (jumping ahead!) And the Patriots have a potent offense that I feel is changing the game; their tight ends are amazing.

I’m worried. Okay!

I’m worried that I’m worried.

Wasn’t I confident 2 weeks ago? Yes. But now the bad teams are weeded out and watching the good teams reminds me that the Packers actually have company. The odd part about my feelings are that I still have some lingering issues with Brett Favre, for some reason he has put a stamp of doubt in my head about the Packers, much like he did every time they played a game against anyone. I have to remind myself that Aaron Rodgers doesn’t make the same mistakes.

Reminder, Reminder, Reminder.

I’m not going to finish this off and say that win or lose they had a good season, the sports fan truth is that I want them to never lose again, but we know that can’t happen. I’m realizing I’m a tad bit invested, there was something great about last season and the miracle wild card run to the Super Bowl,  and now watching a team that has a bull’s-eye on their back is nerve-wracking, but at the same time it’s also a major compliment to have the bulls-eye.

I must forget about my worries and push forward… Tomorrow will be a major measuring stick for the Green Bay Packers. I’m excited, I can’t be worried. I must remind myself I have no control over the situation… Or do I? No, No, I can’t worry about control over a game that I’ll be watching on TV.

No matter what Sunday’s outcome is I will have to remind myself this is a great season - if they lose I’ll force that fact in my head. If they win… Well, I’ll worry about that later.

Time To Get Ahead Of Myself.

Jerry Rice fumbled! I had to get that out before I mention it 8 more times before this post is over.

Last night I had coffee with someone who’s from the Bay area and a huge 49ers fan. Within 5 minutes of conversation we were unintentionally talking about football and discussing the turn around that the 49ers had this year. Then I laid out a fact that opened up conversation for about 10 more minutes:

“I’m from Wisconsin”

In the world of two football fans who are relatively the same age our minds went to the same area, the area of late 90’s NFL when Brett Favre was smoking the 49ers almost every season (At least that’s where mine went).

For me that time period was somewhat a changing of the guards (briefly) as the NFL saw the dominate 49ers take a back seat to the up and coming Green Bay Packers.

In 1994 – 49ers won the Super Bowl.

In 1995 – Packers beat the 49ers in the first round of the playoffs then lost to Dallas.

In 1996 – Packers beat the 49ers in the playoffs (Again) and went on to win the Super Bowl.

In 1997 – Packers beat the 49ers in the playoffs (Again!) and went on to lose to John Elway (who did his best Tim Tebow impression) in the Super Bowl.

Enter 1998 -

The 49ers beat the Packers in the playoffs on a fluke drive that ended up with Terrell Owens (who dropped 47 passes this game) catching the game-winning pass with no time remaining. In TO’s defense it was a great game winning catch.

The asterisk on this game was the fumble Jerry Rice had but it was not called a fumble. As a matter of fact this play was a huge part in why we have Instant Replay today. Anyway…

My San Francisco friend and I went on to talk about the possibilities of the 49ers and Packers meeting again this year in the Playoffs… and I really want this to happen. It just so happens the 49ers pulled a 180 this year and are relevant again. The only chance they have to meet is the Championship game which determines who is going to the Super Bowl – which makes it that much better.

Can you imagine the nostalgic conversations that every analyst will have if these two teams meet? I can already imagine FOX calling Brett Favre and asking him to comment on the game, to which Favre writes “NO” on his middle finger, snaps a picture of it, and sends it by snail mail to the FOX producers.

Not to get ahead of myself because both 49ers and Packers have tough roads ahead… But I want this! I want to see Aaron Rodgers get his over due personal 49ers revenge for not picking him in the NFL draft… And I want the game to end with Donald Driver catching a game-winning touchdown a la TO style… Only Driver won’t start crying to anyone who’s willing to look at him.

Please football Gods – make this happen.

Sports Thought: Adam Morrison

I was watching the Laker game yesterday night and one questioned popped in my head - “What the Hell happened to Adam Morrison?” If you don’t know, Morrison was the 3rd overall pick in the draft a few years ago. Everyone thought he was the second coming of Larry Bird when he was playing at Gonzaga, not only because he sported shaggy hair and a mustache, but because he was A) White and B) Really good.

 Well, now he plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. I can’t imagine he plays more than 20 minutes in a entire season, he’s always on the bench. But here’s the thing, and this is the conclusion I came to yesterday night - he’s not your typical bench guy, he’s the Lakers Hype man. 

 If you don’t know what a Hype Man is, it’s the person getting the crowd going. Remember Joe C with Kid Rock?  That’s him, just when times are getting down the hype man picks you back up. This ties in  with Morrison, he plays the best role possible for the Lakers, he’s the DJ who hypes up the crowd and fills in the words when you forget them. He’s the first off the bench and he’s always running up to someone to give them a high-5! 

 He’s Adam Morrison the 2010 hypeman of the year.

I’m not sure how this happened to this guy because I think he’s much better than this, but every team needs this. Every time he checks in the game I expect him to drop 20 points and not miss a shot… maybe one day, but until then…. Adam “Hypeman” Morrison.