Attending my first NFL playoff game...

So, I got the opportunity to obtain playoff tickets this past week, and jumped on the opportunity! It pitted the Atlanta Falcons at the New York Giants, who have always been my favorite American football team, as most people who know me know well already. I always wanted to make it to at least one playoff game, and eventually "someday" promised myself that I would get to see a Giants playoff game.

Well, "someday" was yesterday, as it turned out. I did not know it until mere days before the game itself. Indeed, the Giants were in what was in effect a division title game the Sunday before, and it certainly was anything but clear that the Giants were going to win until perhaps they finally managed to pull away from the Cowboys in the fourth quarter. I was happy, but did not think much of it.

Until I heard that a friend of a friend was essentially selling tickets for not all that much more than face value. I jumped on the chance, and when it all worked itself out, had managed to get my hands on the tickets. They were not close to the field or anything, being in the 300's. But just being there was an absolute thrill! It felt so weird to actually be at a playoff game, especially since, in the latter stages, I was technically supposed to be at work. But work can wait when rare opportunities present themselves, right? Besides, I had worked it out with some of the guys - had scheduled some "car problems", if you will (knock on wood that I did not just jinx myself for the future with real car problems).

Parking was a major worry, but it might as well not have been, as it turned out. Usually, they have the parking permits, and these were selling upwards of $60 and over, which I still personally think is outrageous for the three or four hours that you are parking there. It's just too expensive, and I was worried, because these tickets did not come with a parking permit. But driving to the game, I saw some parking available by some of the nearby hotels, and for $30, so I went for it, feeling blessed for the cheaper parking. A short bus ride of maybe about a mile, and we were at the stadium.

After getting past security, we were, unfortunately, witnesses to some sad behavior. As some promotional offer, special playoff towels were being given away, but nobody was attending to the boxes, and people were ripping them apart and taking what seemed like dozens at a time, and acting like absolute savages. I had wanted a towel, for my son and I, but once I realized that these people were tearing the boxes apart and going nuts, quite literally, I instinctively backed away, recognizing this was not a good setting to have a six year old child in. Heading up to out seats, I saw one guy with maybe five or six towels, and played dumb.

"Hey, where did you get those towels from."

"Oh, they were giving them out at the entrance. You didn't see them?" He looked down, saw Sebastien, and peeled one of the towels free, handing it to me. "Here."

"Cool! Thanks!"

So, my son had a towel, at least. Now, it was time for the game.

We were on the opposite end of the stadium, so I was rushing, but we got there on time. And what a game!

Maybe the Giants were out of sync early on because of nervousness. I do not know why, but it seemed like a very slow start. The Falcons started off slowly as well, but there were some scary moments when their offense seemed very much in sync. Their defense seemed quite effective as well, too. The Giants looked flustered and frustrated, and just not able to get anything going. When the Falcons managed to sack Eli Manning in the end zone for a safety and the first points of the game to take a lead, however unconventionally, I was beginning to get nervous. It was all too easy to picture a letdown, like the Giants had against the Washington Redskins about a month ago, when it seemed it was a "must win" situation. Suddenly, the stadium grew quiet.

But the Giants did get it going, eventually, managing a touchdown drive before halftime, to assume the lead, at 7-2 (rather an odd score). From that point onwards, the Giants seemed to take over the game. They began to find themselves offensively, and had a beautiful mixture of pass and rush offense that kept the Falcons on their toes, trying to keep up. A strong drive ended with a field goal and a 10-2 lead that provided some margin of comfort in the 3rd quarter. Then a beautiful pass play of 72 yards from Manning to Nicks, who was able to dodge through some thick traffic to break free for a wonderful, highlight reel touchdown, broke the game open. From there, the Giants effective rushing attack loosened the Falcons up even further, while killing the time on the clock, coming closer to icing the game. When Manning found Manningham in the end zone in the 4th quarter, the Falcons could hardly entertain any further ambitions of pulling off a huge comeback, especially the way the Giants defense played. The Big Blue D looked more solid than they had all season long, in effect shutting out the potent Falcons offense.

I predicted a Giants victory, although I thought it was going to be a close game. That the Giants blew the game open and pretty much dominated was a surprise. A pleasant one, no doubt! But a surprise nonetheless.

Next up for them, the 15-1 Green Bay Packers, who own the league's best record, and seem like the most dangerous offense in the league. Playing in Lambeau is never inviting (at least, not for the opposition), but the Giants have some things going for them. They are a cold weather team, so the weather should not be a factor.  They won their recently, and in the playoffs, en route to their recent Super Bowl championship in the 2007-2008 season! They also played the Packers very evenly, just a few weeks ago, and seemed on the verge of handing the Packers their first defeat of the season at the time. So, the G-Men should not be lacking in confidence going into this game, especially since they seem to be surging at precisely the right time to make some noise in the playoffs. It would be crazy to predict a victory in Lambeau just yet, for anybody (not just the Giants). But a New York victory there is not such a laughable notion as it would have been earlier in the season, and they definitely have a chance.

I do not know if the Giants are going to be able to win. But it is enough (for now) that they secured their first home playoff win in over a decade (the last one being the NFC Championship Game thrashing of the Vikings, 41-0, back in the 2000-2001 season, before receiving a similar thrashing by the Ravens)! I will hope for a victory next week, but am glad that they, nonetheless, overcame some of the disappointments and even failures earlier in the season, to end up being among the true elites in the NFC, and to make a good, strong run, reaching their potential. We shall see just how much they improved in Green Bay! Go G-Men!

NFL Playoffs: Wildcard Weekend

Okay, so it's that time again! I was trying to hold off on writing about sports, perhaps in particular about football, but today is special, and I will write more specifically about that a little later, maybe tonight or tomorrow, if it can be managed. But today, the Giants are playing at home, part of the prize of having won the NFC East Division title. They will be taking on the Atlanta Falcons, who have a dangerous offense, and who have been playing very sharp of late. In fact, both teams ended the season kind of catching fire a bit, which makes for an intriguing game today!

Truth be told, it would not seem shocking to see either scenario, either a Giants win, or a Falcons win. Obviously, I am a Giants fan, so want my team to win! They are fairly evenly matched, but I think the Giants have some advantages, not least of all playing at home. The defense had some holes this year, but have been stepping it up in recent weeks, which should bode well. They will need to play well if they hope to stave off elimination by Atlanta. That Falcons offense can be very dangerous. That said, the Falcons are a different team on the road than they are at home. The Falcons are awesome in Atlanta, but have been more vulnerable and humble on the road. That, more than anything, is why I will go ahead and predict a victory by the G-Men!  It will be close, and I predict it will be the Giants defense holding at the end of the game to preserve the win, which, if it happens, would be the first home playoff win for the Giants since all the way back in 2000, a Super Bowl season (although they got trounced there by the Ravens)!

In the other game, I can only hope that the Broncos can beat the Steelers. I am not a big fan of Tebow, and do not think he's as great a quarterback as everyone is claiming. But there has been a certain something, and it is undeniably impressive to see what the Broncos did this season in winning a surprise division title. That said, the Steelers are strong, with three Super Bowl appearances in the preceding six seasons. That is why, although my heart wants Denver, my head tells me it will be the Steel Curtain who comes out on top. Hope I am wrong because more than anything else, I just don't think Roethlisberger deserves any more success to fill his already apparently swollen head. He has gotten more second opportunities than anyone, and his behavior off the field has been atrocious, regularly bad enough to make as many, if not more, headlines for his bad conduct off the field, as for his solid play on it.

Be that as it may, the Steelers are the better team. If the Broncos have one advantage, it is playing at home. Not sure if that will prove the difference, but it could prove valuable. Still, Pittsburgh is likely the more solid team, and I still see them winning this one, at least.

The games yesterday were not that surprising. I had been hoping for a better performance from the Cincinnati Bengals, and was hoping that they might get their first playoff game since 1990, back when they still had a quarterback named Boomer, and a running back named Icky. Unfortunately, the Bengals could not pull it off, and the Texans, once they got them on the ropes, did not let them escape, and showed a good killing instinct for an unproven, inexperienced newcomer to the playoffs. Kudos to them!

The Saints blowing out the Lions was not really a surprise to anyone, I think. As impressive and successful as the Lions season was, it always seemed like they were building towards a brighter future, but not yet ready for a glorious present. Hardly anyone thought that they could go into New Orleans and win, and indeed, they did not. The Saints are just too good, and may have a real chance at not only beating San Fransisco on the road, but Green Bay, to boot (assuming that those two teams may meet again at Lambeau Field in the Championship Game, as they did in this season's opener). Remember, the Saints won the Super Bowl just a couple of years back, and have a real shot of doing it again. But let me not get too far ahead of myself, here!  They have had a great season, and it continues.

For the Lions, despite the disappointment of the loss yesterday, they are a team building towards a very promising future, and this season should prove valuable towards cementing that brighter future.

In the meantime, let's go Giants!

AFC Championship Game Prediction

Okay, so the Steelers and the Jets. Now, I am a Giants fan, first and foremost, but have never seen much sense in hating the other New York area football team. In fact, the Jets have always been my second favorite team, and I root for them when the Giants have been eliminated from playoff contention (which is starting to be an uncomfortable pattern these last few years, but that another topic entirely). So, let me just say that I hope the Jets do it, and beat the Steelers, as they did last month in Pittsburgh. It would be nice, for once, not to have to see the Colts, the Patriots, or the Steelers representing the AFC in February’s big game.

That said, it does not go by what I want, now, does it? After all, the Giants are not in it, and have not really seriously been in the thing ever since they relinquished a 21-point lead with a bit more than seven minutes to go against Michael Vick’s Eagles, which has already been dubbed the “Second Miracle in the Meadowlands”. So I will put my personal wants aside, and try to see how these teams match up against one another, head to head.

I think that it’s fair to say that the Jets are the hotter team. With all of the brash trash talking, which they actually backed up on the field against Belichick, Brady, and the rest of the Patriots, they seem capable of playing the mind game effectively, before the kickoff, even. It clearly either fired the team up, psyched their opponents out, or both. Plus, it is a fine New York tradition in sports, predicting victory and then delivering. From Namath’s guarantee of victory over the powerful and heavily favored Colts for those same Jets in 1969, to Mark Messier’s predicting a Game 6 victory over the Devils in 1994, which propelled the Rangers to enjoy the run that earned them the Stanley Cup after 54 years without, to the more recent Giants Super Bowl victory over those same Patriots, who were of course vying to be only the second team to complete a perfect season, and to be then classified as the greatest team ever, New York has more such magical moments in it’s history than any other city in sports in North America. Remember that Plaxico Burress even predicted the score to be 23-17, and he was not that far off the mark. Perhaps only Chicago can even remotely compete, with the “Super Bowl Shuffle” in 1985, and with Michael Jordan’s predictions (which proved remarkably accurate, actually) that the Bulls would win yet another championship, which he did in both 1997 and 1998. But these famous episodes in New York sports live on because of the brashness that it took to make these predictions under the circumstances, not to mention the delivery, and thus tended to be more powerful and mythical, especially in the case of Namath’s Jets.

That said, I would be remiss not to mention that such guarantees have not always been successful either. Remember Patrick Ewing’s annual tradition of predicting an NBA Championship for the Knicks? Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, he is not alone. Guarantees and predictions have kind of lost their novelty, since everyone started doing it. And all too often, whoever makes the most noise winds up being a non-factor, and often even ends up on the losing side. So, yeah, that kind of grew old in a hurry. Still, would it really be surprising if this week was filled with as much trash talking as last week? Not really.

When the defense is on for the Jets, it plays very intense, and can keep the Kets in any game. There have been lapses, like in the earlier meeting at Foxboro, or with the Chicago game. But that is not likely to happen this Sunday. The Steelers are good, but the motivated Jets should rise up to the challenge.

Still, the Steelers are no slouches themselves. You don’t win two Super Bowls in four years by being purely lucky, and that is why they are trying for a third in six years, which would make them a bona fide dynasty, really. They are fighting for no less than that, and if they beat the Jets, they will most likely be favored to win the whole thing. After all, they have more experience on this level than any other team still alive, and have a very productive and dangerous offense that knows what it takes to win, to go along with their trademark, hard-nosed defense, which will surely give Mark Sanchez and the Jets more difficulties than the Patriots were able to.

But the Jets defense will probably be very stingy, and I see this being a low scoring affair. After having beaten Peyton Manning’s Colts and Tom Brady’s Patriots in consecutive weeks (the first team to ever do that), the Jets really are flying high. So Pittsburgh will have their work cut out for them, trying to put points on the board.

The outcome of this game will most likely be greatly determined by turnovers, and it would not be surprising to points scored by one (or both) of the defensive units. Any mistake by either team could conceivably be the game.

That said, I’m going to go with my heart on this one, and say the Jets will win. Trying to look at it objectively, the Jets are the hotter team. The Steelers are not the most explosive unit, and New York should be able to contain Roethlisberger, although that passing game cannot be completely shut down. Look for the Jets to bend but not break, and for the offense to do just enough to hang around, with the Jets taking this game in the final minutes, 20-16.

J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!

NFC Championship Game Preview

Well, the NFC Championship match is set up, and it will be the Chicago Bears hosting the Green bay Packers. Cutler versus Rodgers. The two top teams of the NFC North end up being, apparently, the two top teams in the NFC, period. It is a storied rivalry, the oldest and most intense one in the NFL, and one of the most intense in North American sports. Yet, it is only the second time that these two clubs are meeting in a playoff meeting. But this one will be to see who moves on to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

            The Bears really had their way today against Seattle, much like the Pack did yesterday against the Falcons. And now, a seemingly unlikely scenario, as these two storied franchises from the NFC North will face one another, seemingly against all odds. There were points where it seemed both teams were struggling and on the brink of disaster earlier this season. When the Bears started off red hot with a 3-0 record, and then got absolutely dismantled by the Giants, it seemed that New York had exposed some severe weaknesses that other opponents could expose against Chicago, and that the Bears would struggle the rest of the way. And it began to look that way, too, until the Bears finished the season off strong.

            Green Bay, for that matter, was one of the favorites in the preseason, but a season riddled with injuries and some inconsistent play that largely came as a result of their depleted lineup seemed to threaten to obscure the brilliant possibilities of the Packers season, as well. But the Packers hung in there, winning some tough games at key points, including a shut out on the road over the tough New York Jets, and showing some toughness and character in losses on the road against the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots. But the Packers stood at 8-6, and hosted the New York Giants, a game that was, for them, essentially a playoff game. It was win or be done, and the packers won, big time. They then took care of business against the Bears, to boot, in the regular season finale, and finally qualified for the postseason.

            They proved to be sharp, as well, taking it to the always dangerous Philadelphia Eagles on the road in the Wild Card round, and then utterly dismantling the Falcons in Atlanta, despite their supposed dominance in their home stadium, and their earlier victory over the Packers in that same stadium earlier in the year.

            So now, two of the most storied teams in sports meet in one of the oldest and bitterest of rivalries in sports, for all of the marbles in the NFC.

            It should be a really good one.

            For my part, let me just say that I believe that Green Bay, at their best, should prove to be the better team. They are playing on such a level, that it would be hard to go against them right now. They are beginning to seem like the team with the caliber that many people predicted they would play at going into the season. The Bears have had a fantastic season, a division title under their belts, and their first playoff victory since the 2006 season, the last time that they were in the playoffs, when they went all the way to the Super Bowl, before losing to Peyton Manning’s Colts.

            The Bears have their trademark tough defense, yet the Packers defense has been very tough all season. Really, Green Bay has one of the league’s best defenses, and it has more or less risen to the occasion when it needed to this season. They should continue that trend next week, as well, and frustrate Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense in a way that the Seahawks were never able to do (and yes, I’m still wondering how Seattle actually got into the playoffs, let alone hosted a playoff game, with a 7-9 record, when not one, but two teams in the NFC missed it with a 10-6 record).

            Yes, the Bears indeed enjoyed a great season, and this should cap it off well, a playoff victory that gave them home field advantage for the Championship Game, for the second time in five season.

            But I think the Packers are the ones that are having that very memorable, almost seemingly miraculous season, and they should take this one. Packers 21- Bears 17.