A note....

Okay, I received a question some time back about why I kept writing about sports, particularly football, in my earliest posts. The truth is that I wanted to add a body of work to a blog that was still in it’s infant stages, and since I was in the spirit of football, as it was that time of the year when the playoffs are under way, it seemed a natural fit. It was easy enough to write about – I have found that sports usually are. There are raw emotions, high expectations, moments of excitement, clashes in personality and style, etc. The works. Which mean, in this particular case, that I fixated on sports, probably a little too exclusively.

            These were the blog entries preserved under my first blog page ever, with the dates listed underneath. A note should be made that the dates are not necessarily the actual dates that I wrote the pieces, just the ones where I decided to finally post them. As a matter of convenience, I just put the dates down, since they were written more or less around that time period, with the notable exception of the essay, of which perhaps I am the most proud, that was my first reaction to my son’s first reaction during his first real day at school. It was also his first day away from his parents, or grandparents, or anybody that represented familiarity and routine. That particular piece evokes both strong memories and emotions within me, because that was such a big moment in his life, and I felt his confusion, his fear, his not wanting to let go.

            It is difficult to write, especially about something that other people might care about. That said, one source of pride, justified or not, was a compliment that I have received on occasion, especially regarding sports, saying that I have the ability to make my writing of a subject that some people might not usually care about interesting enough for them to keep reading.

            Still, I know that, having just looked back at those entries after an extended but unexpected long pause in activity, they were predominately fixated on sports, particularly towards the end, in February of 2011. So, I will have to add some other types of writing that could more easily be digested by a wider audience, and that most likely would mean less sports. Not that sports will be excluded – I am not against writing reviews or previews, making some predictions, etc. If that is on my mind, and it might seem to be either of interest to somebody reading, or the writing is halfway decent enough that it just might hold the interest of those who do not care about such things, then it will go in. I don’t see a problem with that, and if you’re not interested in reading it, then skip it. No big deal. Life is too short.

            That said, I think I will need to start focusing on extending these entries. As accessible and readily available a topic as sports might be, it is, usually, limited to a certain audience. Not everybody will be so thrilled as to jump on the topic, and I hardly got any responses regarding the sports entries, and certainly not in comparison to some of the other things that I have written that had nothing to do with sports – particularly those that had some personal significance and/or story attached.

            So, after a small debacle with the password, during which, for a little while, it seemed I might have lost the blog altogether, I am back, and intend to not only get active, but more active then ever before, and with a far wider range of diversity then I was showing with one article after another with NFL playoffs reviews and previews, although admittedly, I am not quite ready yet to submit any fiction pieces. Not yet.

            Of course, if I am about to embark on that journey, it would be wonderful to have people along who will actually read these entries. Since recruiting has never been a strong point (nor has organizing, for that matter), it nonetheless should be stated I will also try and make more of an effort to actually gain something of a following. These last few weeks, I have begun to organize my writings like never before, creating folders that make more sense then the random jumble in which I stored earlier writings. This has helped build my confidence towards what has traditionally been my greatest weakness, my Achilles Heel, if you will: editing. Let the journey begin, and I hope we begin it together. I would definitely appreciate your company! Come along for the ride, because I think it will be fun!

The Charm of Green Bay: Super Bowl XLV Review

Apologies, I meant to post the Super Bowl review last week, just after the Super Bowl, when it was still very fresh. But it has only been a week, so it can hardly be considered ancient history, right? In any case, I wanted to not only give a review of the impressive victory by the Green Bay Packers, but also to delve into the reason why I so strongly wanted to see the Packers win it all this year. So, here was the review that I just touched up a little bit, and wished to post a whole lot earlier:

Wow! That Packer's win was indicative of their entire season. Hot start showing tremendous potential, followed by key injuries and the Pack seemingly on the ropes, but pulling through in the end. With the secondary severely depleted, was a bit worried the Steelers would come back, and it looked like that's what they were doing. But Green Bay got it, and deserved it! So glad they won!

It was like their entire season in microcosm/miniature. All year long, they battled to maintain that delicate mix of great and lofty expectations.

It was so pleasing to see them win. Earlier this season, I had taken a trip to the Midwest, and was fortunate enough to have gotten to see them. It was my second experience at Lambeau Field, having seen a preseason game prior to this one, back in 2009, against the Cleveland Browns.

Green Bay was even smaller than I had imagined it. Really, it feels like a typical suburban town, only that it is the big “metropolis” in the region, I it can rightly be called that. The one thing that makes it stand apart would be the Green Bay Packers, and of course, they were the reason that we were here.

Everything felt different, right away. It was strange. You could feel that this team was a local commodity, if you will. For one thing, it was the most packed preseason game I had ever been to at the time, and probably still is. The opponent was not the huge draw, being the lowly Cleveland Browns. Yet, looking around, there were hardly any open seats that I could tell.

It was, and remains, the most fun preseason game that I have ever been to, bar none. There was just a different feel about it. It felt almost like a college game, and yet it felt like a big event. But a community event, local, yet welcoming. Very inviting, very friendly. The game I was at earlier this season, against the Lions in the regular season, would prove to be the same thing. If I was admiring the Packers before, I became basically a fan of theirs after this positive experience. It was sports as they should be, at their best.

There is such a pleasant ambience about the town. It feels so special, so unique. The team literally and figuratively belongs to the community, to everyone, in a way. It is, after all, the only publicly owned franchise in the league. It is also a team steeped in rich and proud tradition, and there is clearly a legacy

There was something unique and easily noticeable right away. A positive spirit about the team, about the feel for the game, of the sport, and of their team, and this team’s place in history in this big league. It is the one thing that lends this town something truly unique and distinctive, and it is everywhere seen here.

That preseason game, a 17-0 shutout victory against the hapless Cleveland Browns, was apparently sold out (as it turns out, it was not quite a sell out, but almost – and certainly had to be the most crowded preseason game I have been to). There was hardly an empty seat to be found in the entire place.

But that was not all. It stayed that way, a stadium packed for the Packers, until the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Folks, I reiterate: this was a preseason game. Yet, it was a community event, and everyone seemed happy. They all could agree on one thing, and that was their Green Bay Packers. The thing that put this relatively tiny community on the map.

The most unique home of any team in the National Football League, if not in all of North American sports, and it made the team perhaps the most unique and distinctive team in North American sports. It has what I would consider to be a college feel to it. It is an event to behold and enjoy, appreciate.

It is hard not to become a fan, and so I became one. Yes, this, despite the fact that I have been a devoted Giants fan since I first started following the sport back in 1981, and they have remained my number one ever since. Also, the New York Jets were, and remain, my number two team. Yes, I am not one of those “hater” fans that can’t stand the other local team, or the whimsical fan who only follows my team, and does not enjoy the sport.

I like football, and find it entertaining. I have been privileged enough to see the Giants go to the Super Bowl four times, and win it three of those times. That is a pretty strong mark, and I am appreciative of their success. The Jets have not made it in my lifetime, although they have come close at times, and hopefully will make it sometime in the near future. But when these two teams are both eliminated, I still follow football, and like most people, I have my favorites, and my least favorites, and the older I got and the more I understood, the more the Green Bay Packers climbed on my list.

Still, going to Lambeau Field was something else entirely. I did not expect it to be, but it was. Figuring it would be the typical drunk fest of dumb, overage jocks who’s lives centered entirely too much on football and other sports, and not enough on the vast array of other things that life offers, I was surprised when it seemed far healthier.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. The people of Green Bay love their Packers, and maybe they have an added significance in their lives, perhaps more than in other areas. I guess what was absent was the hopelessness, the nastiness. It seemed a far healthier atmosphere then I was accustomed to, being from the greater metropolitan area, living in the densely populated New Jersey, in stress-inducing suburbs of New York.

Go to a New Jersey Devils hockey game, and you will hear the fans adding their own unique, charmless lyrics after every goal the Devils score, as they all yell in unison, “Hey! You suck!”

I am not a fan of the Rangers, but the degree to which Devils fans obsess over the Rangers (Rangers Suck, and whoever the most recognizable name on whatever team New Jersey happens to be playing that day swallows) is really excessive.

Speaking of Rangers fans, admittedly, they are the reason I could never get into the Rangers, being some of the most arrogant, obnoxious, holier than thou fans I’ve ever seen. Sure, it’s the Big Apple’s team, but seeing as though they followed up on the tremendous promise of the 1940 Stanley Cup Championship team (fought before the United States entered World War II) by finally winning it again in 1994 (right around the time that OJ Simpson was making headlines for all the wrong reasons), and that they have not come close to winning it (or even going) since, you feel tempted to tell them to give it a rest.

Being a fan of hockey, I have a particular affinity for Canadian teams since hockey is, historically, a Canadian sport. But I’ve heard people shout out such lovely slogans as “Canada sucks!” and “Fuck Canada!” while attending such hockey games, both in New York and in New jersey. Was this perhaps during the height of the tensions between the two countries, during the glorious days of the Bush regime, you may wonder? Actually, a couple of such incidents happened just a few weeks ago, when I took my son to a Rangers game, to see the red hot Vancouver Canucks. Xenophobia was on display there. Speaking of those same Rangers fans, I also happened to go to another game in September, and was witness to a gay bashing incident. Lovely fans, indeed.

Some people like that. On some level, I can agree. If you have stress, then there are worse outlets for it then sports, although statistics have shown links to the rise of domestic violence following the loss of a local sports team.

Still, not everyone takes it that seriously, and this brings me back to the Pack. There might be exceptions, certainly, but in Green Bay, in Small Town America in the heart of the Midwest farming country, there seems to be a more ideal atmosphere. Kinder, more balanced. Perhaps a bit on the corny side, but even this has some considerable charm, when compared to the nasty Northeast. It’s not just the New York/New Jersey sports scene where nastiness can be easily spotted. I remember going to a Redskins game in Maryland, against the Patriots, and some drunken idiots claiming that Boston was “not even a real city”.

So the more relaxed and pleasant feel of Green Bay (aside from the weather) was indeed welcome. I have seen two Packers games at the famed Lambeau Field, which is pretty good for s Garden State guy, right? One preseason game, which felt very much like a college game, and felt as significant as a regular season game. The other was a regular season game outright, this past October, against their division rival Detroit Lions. What a game that turned out to be, much like the Super Bowl, actually. The Packers raced ahead, looking unstoppable at first, only to see their opponent grab the momentum, and get the Pack seemingly on the ropes. By all accounts, it seemed the Packers would lose, and yet they never relinquished the lead. They managed to pull it out, winning that game, 28-26. Watching the Super Bowl from work (okay, yes, I’m that rare dweeb who has to work on Super Bowl Sunday), I wore the same jersey that I wore on that day, my good luck jersey, and brought the mini helmet I got at Lambeau Field. Yes, I even got my son a cheese head. And yes, it take it away from him when he seems ready to destroy it, as if it were some valuable piece of art, instead of a glorified piece of foam in the shape and color of a slice of cheese. Shame on me.

Watching the Pack through these playoffs, and especially during this past Super Bowl, I found myself smiling at some of the memories, even the charming corniness, of the Packers faithful at Lambeau. It just happened that they were playing another poster child team for northeastern nastiness in the Pittsburgh Steelers, complete with their sinister quarterback, Big Ben Roethlisberger, he of the alleged assaults against women, with plenty of witnesses who confirm the allegations. Nor is that his only charming quality. I remember an interview (admittedly only vaguely) when he was a rookie, and he was talking about how women swooned at the sight of him (which makes me wonder why he would ever need to force himself on a woman in the first place, but that’s another story). Such a modest guy. And of course, there was that whole motorcycle accident without wearing a helmet episode, which showed very poor judgment by any standards, even though technically, you don’t have to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle in Pennsylvania. Everything about the guy seems to exude an air of perceived invincibility, doesn’t it? He seems to think, or at least seems to have thought, that he could get away with anything, literally, and it would never catch up to him.

I read that he was the least liked player in this past Super Bowl. Surprise, surprise.

So I would have been rooting for the Packers, anyway. The Steelers have won it plenty already, a record six Super Bowls overall, and this would have been a third in six years, and a seventh overall. For the packers, it would have been their first since the epic 1996 season, and only the second since the Lombardi era of the 1960’s. Now, Title Town has another title to add to their legacy, and add to the Lambeau lure.

It had long been a dream of mine to go see a game at Lambeau. All of the history, the tradition. Think of the names, Lambeau, Lombardi, Starr, Nitzke. The Frozen Tundra, host to such epic battles throughout the history there, with the championship runs of the 1960’s, most famously the so-called “Ice Bowl” which was the coldest NFL game ever. Incidentally, the third coldest game ever recorded was just a few years ago, when the Giants beat the Packers at Lambeau. Admittedly, I was happy to see them do it, but that was an exceptional circumstance, not the rule.

Finally, a note about Aaron Rodgers, who managed to keep his streak of overcoming immense pressure to exceed expectations remains unbroken Some of the experts proclaimed it the best game a quarterback ever had. Now, I would not go that far, having seen some incredible games by quarterbacks in high pressure situations, but it sure stood out. Nor was this a typical Super Bowl where the quarterback got the nod over more deserving players, which has happened with a fair degree of frequency over the years. The Packers, it is fair to say, would not have been in the big game if not for Rodgers, and they would not have won it if not for him, either. He had a mediocre third quarter, to be sure, and until the final touchdown pass, it looked like he had cooled off for good following a red hot start to the game.

Yet, with that touchdown drive, and with the drive late in the fourth to get the Pack a field goal that forced Pittsburgh to have to go for a touchdown to win it, rather than a field goal to tie it and force overtime, showed that he had reached elite status. He responded to the pressure like he always had: like a champion. He remained cool, calm, collected. Maybe it was not the best game a quarterback has ever played, but it was the game that he needed to play to lift his team to victory, and it was exactly what he delivered. In the process, he raised himself to the ranks of the great quarterbacks in the league, as well as adding another legend to the seemingly countless legends of Title Town. Let’s just hope that he knows enough to stay there, and not ever detract from his on-field performances with bad off field behavior, unlike his predecessor, or the other high profile quarterback on the field this past Super Bowl Sunday.

Monsters Hiding

When you are a child, always you are on a different wave length.

It is impossible to pass a closet with a half open door revealing a dark and mysterious, foreboding presence. Not only does the possibility of a horrifying monster inhabiting those depths seem very real to the child, but in fact the possibility that an adult’s dismissive reassurance that there is absolutely nothing in the closet

(Look, I’m opening it now. See? There’s nothing in there to be scared of! Now, come on and try and get some sleep, already. It’s late)

seems to be what lacks reality. It provides comfort only for as long as the adult is present, but then the child is left alone to those dire thoughts, fueled by the hyperactive imagination that is the domain of the child.

Maybe menace would be the best word to describe these waking nightmares that the children believe in. Every shadow made by the foliage of the trees, outlined in the moonlight, becomes monsters in the young imagination. When the wind picks up, it not only adds a soundtrack to this horror movie of the child’s mind, but it also adds motion, and breathes life to these horrible visions.

Yes, eventually these fears dissipate. Eventually, we do indeed come to kill that overactive imagination within us, and with it, those nightmares that keep us awake and horrified in the darkness of night, pulling the blanket up as far as we can in the hopes that it will provide us with the protection that we seek. But we come to kill the dream of childhood along with it. Gone forever the ghosts and demons of the monsters and ghosts that populate our childhood bedrooms when alone at night, indeed. But gone forever also is that sweet innocence and easy happiness and delight in the small things, buried by layers and layers of routine, and the endless lessons that well-meaning adults provide for us on how to function.

What are we taught? Well, supposedly responsibility. I say supposedly, because it seems to me open to debate, at best. After all, when was the last time you watched a real news broadcast and felt heartened, glad at how marvelous the world we live in is? We all know the general guidelines that religions, philosophies, and seemingly even common sense would dictate that we are supposed to behave under. Yet, so few actually do it. When you happen to try and live life in an honest manner and play by the rules, it often seems you are punished for it.

What does learning responsibility teach you? It teaches you that the rule of inevitability that we all have to live under is that life will get increasingly more difficult, increasingly more stressful as it goes on. It teaches you indeed to forget about the mysterious monsters of childhood’s imagination, and to believe in the actual monsters of adulthood’s reality. You learn to disbelieve in and forget about the monsters hiding under the bed, and to witness the monstrous acts of so many people around you that make life seem nothing short of unbearable. You learn to stay awake at nights with what we see as “real” fears. Making ends meet, trying to live a successful life by our eyes, struggling to find balance and meaning in these lives of responsibility of ours that seem to be taking such a toll on the entire world. How irresponsible of us.

I would have sworn, all those years ago when I was the one cowering underneath the blanket from those inhuman creatures that always came for a visit at night, but only when all alone, that I would never long to revisit those fears. But I have to admit that in a vastly overpopulated world where being left alone is an increasingly precious commodity, and yet loneliness within the crowd seems increasingly pervading, I sometimes pull the blankets up in the full light of morning, not wanting or wiling to face the very real demons that will chase after me with a measure of relentlessness that those imaginary creatures of the night all those years ago could have learned something from. Drowning in a sea of debt, struggling to keep my head above water and grip the shifting sands underneath my feet to fight the undertow, I sometimes wonder where the solid and stable ground I once knew went to.

The fears that seemed so real to me as a child are now replaced by the all too real fears that the grown version of me knows could threaten my child, still oblivious to the world of responsibility that I now reluctantly and regretfully entered and inhabit. Whether it is from the abuse that seems to run so rampant from irresponsible and sick adults, or whether it is from the abuse that awaits him when he comes of age, and finds that this is a world where people manipulate each other to the extent possible, and that the best any of us can apparently hope for is to find our way enough to provide a relatively comfortable living for ourselves and our loved one. Or whether, perhaps, the threat that I will either be too lax of a parent, and allow the child to grow unbalanced and lacking t values needed to make good decisions for a productive life, or the other extreme, that I might be too overbearing that my child will grow resentful of me, may come to hate me, and try to maintain as safe a distance as possible from me.

The fears and threats are real. That is what responsibility teaches us, and perhaps that makes most of us contribute more towards being part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. We become so fearful of this new reality of these, our responsible lives, that we shut it out as best we can. We close ourselves off to anything but that which provides us comfort, and never challenge ourselves with exposure to anything new. We want to know what awaits, we do not want to be surprised. We want to control our own destiny, and know exactly where we will be five, ten fifteen, thirty years from now. We want to know what our lives mean, and where our lives are taking us. We want to know, and I think that’s the problem.

I do not know what others believe, or think, or say. There are those who follow religions and philosophies and political and economic ideologies that seem to proclaim to have the answers for this life. But watch out! The greater the certainty, the less the flexibility, and therein lies the danger.

To my mind’s eye now, it seems that our need for certainty, for constant reassurance, for the true answers, may actually be the problem. And so I train myself to do what I sense is inevitable, and to allow myself to let go. Stop fighting the undertow, and let the tide carry me where it might. To accept that there are questions that are simply too big for my limited mind and imagination to understand, and to accept the not knowing, the uncertainty. Perhaps, if we can manage to become more comfortable with our not knowing, we might know something other than the constant suffering that we seem to create for ourselves and those around us.

So give me back the monsters in the closet or under the bed. Give me back the fear of the shadows of the trees so closely resembling horrible monsters, and give me back the power of that blanket to pull over my head for more protection, since I now know that there will be no one adult to come in and shed some light, and convince me that the monsters are not real, that they are all in my head. Because those monsters, the ones that did not exist, seem far better than the ones that I now know to be all too real.

Super Bowl XLV

Okay, so I was wrong about the Jets versus the Packers Super Bowl for this year. Or, perhaps another way of looking at it, was that I was half right. Green Bay did defeat Chicago to win the NFC Championship, and will thus be in Dallas in two weeks. In the meantime, the AFC title went to the Pittsburgh Steelers again, for the third time in six years (a veritable dynasty, especially if they win) and for the eighth time overall, tying them for the most Super Bowl appearances with the team that normally plays in the new stadium that will host this year’s Super Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys.

So, what can we expect on Super Bowl Sunday? The Packers have looked awesome, and Aaron Rodgers seems to be the hot quarterback of the moment. The Steelers have looked consistently good, and perhaps at times close to great, throughout the season, and find themselves yet again having somehow survived to this stage more by surviving then dominating.

There have been points this season where both teams looked absolutely on fire, but yesterday’s conference clinchers certainly would not rank among these for either team. The Packers looked sluggish and vulnerable, and Aaron Rodgers, ironically, had one of his worst days in a long, long time on what was the most important day of his career so far (but the next one will really bypass that, one way or the other). And the Steelers looked like world beaters themselves in the first half, until the Jets had that furious rally in the second half and, seemingly, completely outplayed Pittsburgh on the road, almost mounting the greatest comeback in Championship Game history. But no dice, as the Steel City’s beloved team hung on.

So both teams looked vulnerable, all too human. What can we expect?

Pittsburgh has been there and won two recent Super Bowls, and so definitely have the upper hand in terms of experience. The Steelers have that trademark, physical defense and smash mouth football style. Green Bay, on the other hand, has the more explosive offense, although their defense is underrated, and one of the league’s best in their own right. The Packers might be able to keep the Steelers offense in check, relatively, but the most talked about match-up will surely be between Rodger’s offense and the Steel Curtain defense.

Rodgers should have a better game than he did in Chicago, and the Packers will need to keep from making the critical mistakes that the Jets did. The Steelers are more than capable of winning without any help, so Green Bay will have to minimize any mistakes, and maximize Pittsburgh’s mistakes. The Steelers have the best defense against the rush, but Green Bay’s strength is in the passing game, so they will perhaps stretch the vaunted Steel Curtain to the limit. If the Packers offense gets rolling (and offenses seem to have the upper hand these days in the NFL), then watch out!

Perhaps the key match up will be from the less noisy sides of each team: The Steelers offense against the Packers defense. Pittsburgh is very dangerous, and Roethlisberger, while not the flashiest quarterback, is without doubt one of the most effective. Their overall game is solid, and while not the most explosive offensive team, the Packers defense will have to try and stop Pittsburgh from keeping the defense on the field, killing the clock, and keeping the hot and dangerous Green Bay offense off the field and cold, while the defenders grow fatigued from too much time spent on the field. This would likely be Pittsburgh’s best strategy to winning, if they can manage. The Packers will have to find the way to stop the Steelers offense, and to get a lot of three and outs. Give their offense a chance to win it for them.

Apropos of nothing, the momentum might be swinging back in favor of the NFC teams in the Super Bowl. The Giants toppled the Patriots a few years ago, and the Saints knocked off the Colts last year. What better way for the NFC to cement their newly favored status by beating that last of the AFC powerhouses that has yet to lose a Super Bowl under it’s current lineup?

Finally, as one side note that might have more significance than you might expect, I have to say that something tells me the Packers, who will technically be the home team in this Super Bowl, will follow the example of the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers themselves and choose to wear their white, away jerseys, which would quite rare. Why should this matter? Well, historically, the team wearing white jerseys in the Super Bowl have been far more successful than the teams wearing their dark jerseys, and that includes the last six straight Super Bowls, all won by the team wearing white. Not a guarantee of success, of course. But hey, why mess with what works?

I see Green Bay winning it and bringing back another trophy to Title Town, securing it with a clinching touchdown to put it out of reach late in the fourth. Packers, 28-17.

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!

The NFC North: The Best Division in Football?

The 2010 NFL season was a strange one, indeed. It was the first season in a very, very long time where no one had an even remotely exciting run with perfection. Following so many seasons where teams had some incredible starts, (five teams managed to reach at least 10-0 in the past five seasons, with all but one of them reaching at least 13-0,), only three teams (Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Kansas City) managed to reach even modest 3-0 starts, and none of these managed to go any farther than that without a loss. Also, much more obvious than in other years, there were a few divisions that seemed to lack any really standout, quality teams. That was particularly true with the NFC West, which sent the only team in NFL history to qualify for the playoffs with a losing record, but it was also true with the AFC West and the AFC South, despite the presence of traditional powers in the Colts and the Chargers in these divisions. Indy had a season that was not up to their usually high standards, and lost in the first round of the playoffs, at home. The Chargers suffered through a long, difficult, and embarrassing season, ranking near the top statistically in both offense and defense, yet never really having a record that could have allowed them to seriously contend for a playoff spot. The Chiefs, who eventually did manage to win the AFC West, did not show remarkable consistency or strength, and it would seem unlikely that they will be serious contenders in the near future. Building on their success this past season would be difficult, if the Chargers, specifically, begin to play more consistent football.

The NFC North will likely be a very tough division for a very long time. It already showed glimpses of being a bruising division this past season. The Vikings were one of the favorites in the preseason, but obviously had a tough season filled with distractions and misfortunes. What should help them out will be the lack of distraction and drama surrounding Brett Favre, and finally ending their reliance on a quarterback in his forties. But that said, they will need to adjust, and could easily find themselves struggling, with the likes of a very explosive and tough Packers franchise, along with the rejuvenated Chicago Bears, and a strongly improved Detroit Lions team. Still, we cannot forget that this Vikings team went 12-4 in 2009, advancing all the way to a Championship Game where they strongly outplayed the eventual Super Bowl champs Saints, in New Orleans, and might have won it had not Favre thrown an ill-conceived interception that likely kept them out of the Super Bowl. So the Vikings still can prove dangerous, and could still contend.

The Lions have long been the basket case in the NFL, and the cellar dwellers in their division for the vast majority of seasons over the last decade. But this Lions teams was one that showed some real signs of life for the first time since starting off 6-3 in 2007. They finally managed to win not one, but two road games, including one that, for all intents and purposes, knocked Tampa from the playoff race, en route to winning their last four games. Matthew Strafford has shown glimpses of greatness, and should he remain healthy, he could become one of the top tier quarterbacks. To say that this Lions team is a very different one from the historical 2008 Lions, who made history in all the wrong ways by becoming the first team to go 0-16 since the league extended the regular season to 16 games. They left that legacy behind them, and now look forward to a seemingly bright future. Let us also remember that they came close to beating both the Packers and the Bears on the road this season, and really deserved to win that game against Chicago, which was taken away from them because of a bad call. It seems obvious that the Lions are at least on the right track.

Chicago seems to have recovered from the three year slump that saw them fall out of playoff contention, following their Super Bowl season in 2006. They won a division that had been dominated in recent years by the Vikings and Packers, and did so convincingly. The problem with the Bears has been consistency. This is a team that has not made the playoffs in back to back years since the Mike Ditka era, instead producing these one year wonder kind of seasons. It will take a lot more consistency to come anywhere close to reproducing the kind of success they enjoyed in 2010.

Finally, the Packers, who have a star quarterback leading an explosive offense, and a defense that is underrated, but played consistently as one of the league’s best units. This is a very strong team all around, but they would need to remain healthier than they have the past two seasons, when losing starters proved to be their main Achilles Heel, at least in the regular season. The one thing that the Packers have not done under Aaron Rodgers during the regular season is win a division title, but the Pack figure to be contenders for a good long time, assuming this lineup remains intact and can stay healthy.

So following a season of some disappointing divisions as a whole, the NFL should rejoice, now, at the prospects of the NFC North, which seems poised to rank with perhaps the AFC North and the AFC East as divisions with a number of strong teams that could at least seriously contend for the playoffs, and could send elite teams with the potential to go quite far in playoff runs in the near future. I will venture to say that, of the leading candidates to potentially assume the title from the Patriots as the next “Team of the Decade” (assuming the Patriots don’t hold on and win it again, which would be quite unprecedented), the NFC North, specifically, has two teams that could be early front runners to contend for this lofty status in the Packers and the Lions, and these two teams should become a hot rivalry over the next few years, having already played two tough and close games this past season, splitting with successful home stands. Add Jay Cutler’s Bears in the mix, and things could be interesting during the fall out by the Great Lakes for some time to come.

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.