Okay, so it is that time of the year again. Time for the AFC and NFC Championship games, to see who gets to play in this year's Super Bowl.
I remember years ago, watching a video of Washington's 1991 Championship game highlights over Detroit, and one player saying that this was bigger than the Super Bowl, because if you don't win, you don't get in.
Indeed, that's true. People say that no one ever remembers who lost the Super Bowl, although that is untrue. It might not be as memorable as who won, but sometimes, indeed, people do remember who lost. Everyone knows that the 1968 Baltimore Colts looked like a historically dominant team, yet they lost to the Jets in Super Bowl III. Everyone knows that the 2007 New England Patriots looked historically dominant in going undefeated to reach Super Bowl XLII, yet they lost that Super Bowl to the Giants. I think the Broncos looked historically dominant last season, with a record-shattering offense that became the first team to score 600 points in a season. But the Seahawks made them look absurdly ineffective and completely overmatched, and that is something people will remember for a long time, too.
There are Super Bowl losers that earn a lot of respect for losing, as well. The 1979 Los Angeles Rams. The 1988 Cincinnati Bengals. The 1999 Tennessee Titans. The 2008 Arizona Cardinals. Teams that were big underdogs, but fought long and hard and came heartbreakingly close to winning, but didn't.
Some teams both won and lost Super Bowls, and are remembered for losing intense rivalries. The one that stands out the most would be the Dallas Cowboys of the seventies, who lost both Super Bowl meetings to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New England Patriots more recently are remembered in a similar way in their two Super Bowl losses to the New York Giants.
Then, there are the teams that went to the Super Bowl numerous times, but could not win. The Minnesota Vikings of the 70's. The Denver Broncos of the 80's. The Buffalo Bills of the 90's.
When you look at it that way, then there are a lot of memorable Super Bowl losers, although that is obviously not how you want to be remembered during a Super Bowl season.
Still, you would rather be remembered for having gotten to the Super Bowl, than not remembered at all because you failed. Again, everyone remembers Super Bowl winners, and some Super Bowl losers. But who remembers the losers of the championship games? Remember the Browns of the 80's, who failed to get to a single Super Bowl, despite being a good team? Quick - do you remember who lost the AFC or NFC Championship games two years ago? (Just to prove my point, it was the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots).
Point is, reaching that far into the playoffs, only to lose, really stinks.
So, you want to win that one. That is when you see players and management happy. Whoever wins the Super Bowl will be ecstatic, of course.
But to have a chance to win it, you've got to be in it.
Half the teams that will play this weekend will not get the chance to do so. They will watch the Super Bowl at home, or possibly, not at all. Tom Brady, after losing the AFC Championship last year with the Pats, said that he was not going to watch the Super Bowl (which was frankly petty and unnecessary of him to say in the first place). But he is the perfect example. Having both won and lost Super Bowls, he said that he would rather get there and lose, then not get there at all.
His Patriots have yet another chance to make it there again, as they will host the AFC Championship Game for the third time in four seasons, and will play there for the fourth straight season. That is a rare achievement, and I can remember only two teams before them in my lifetime that managed such a feat: the Buffalo Bills of the early 90's, and the Eagles from 2001-2004. Neither of them won the Super Bowl and, so far, neither have the Patriots during this particular run. But you certainly cannot count them out.
So, how will this shake out?
No one knows for sure, but let me make predictions for both games now:
Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks - The Packers barely escaped the Dallas Cowboys at Lambeau Field, undeniably assisted by a controversial call. They have looked good for most of the season, but have some inexplicably poor performances. One of them was in week one at Seattle, where they looked scared, intimidated.
The Seahawks have only gotten better since. They have home field advantage, and tons of momentum coming in. With a tough and clearly motivated defense going up against a hobbling quarterback in Rodgers, and a limited offense otherwise without their star quarterback, I do not see the Packers fairing any better this Sunday then they did in week one.
Seattle has one of the best defenses of all time, and given how good they are now, in an era that clearly favors offenses, I think that this is their time. They won it all last year, and I think come Super Bowl Sunday, they will have a chance to become the first team in a decade to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
My pick: Seattle Seahawks as NFC Champs
Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots - I remember reading an article somewhere before the season started that suggested that the Broncos and Patriots were the two dominant teams in the AFC, and there was no way to avoid another AFC Championship meeting between those two teams. Indeed, those two teams were the top two seeds in the AFC, but only one of them made it this far. The Patriots are in the AFC Championship Game for the fourth season in a row, and are hoping to make it back to the Super Bowl, where they have not been in three years. Worse, they have not won in ten years! But they have a chance this season, and they are obviously going for it.
As for the Colts? Well, they looked great in these playoffs so far. Convincing wins against both the Bengals and the Broncos have them feeling Mile High (sorry, couldn't resist). But they historically have had very bad luck in Foxboro. New England dismantled the Colts in last year's playoff meeting, 43-22. But both teams are different now. The Colts look better, but are they ready to take that next step?
My gut feeling is that the Patriots find a way to escape with a victory, and that Belichick and Brady get another crack at the Super Bowl.
My pick: New England Patriots as AFC Champs
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