And if you happened to be at any of those guys, it was even better (if your team won, that is). If anyone was at any of the games, feel free to post here and let us know what it was like. Those games were so intense that I'd love to hear stories from other cities.
As most of you know, I was at the Packers' game on Saturday night and I must admit that it was the most unique sporting event I've ever been at. It also was the most fun I've ever had at Lambeau Field and that's saying something when you were there for the 1996 NFC Championship Game. It was so unique that even though the Packers set many team playoff records, here's one you didn't read about on Sunday morning:
THE PACKERS RAN OUT OF BEER AT HALFTIME!!! For the first time in Lambeau Field history, THEY RAN OUT OF BEER!!!
Fans were in the parking lots earlier than I can ever remember and they were inside the stadium an hour before kickoff. Then that first quarter took an hour and I suppose beer sales were through the roof at that point. Well, just after halftime the stadium was SOLD OUT!!! Nobody could believe it. Sheesh.
But outside of that and two early turnovers, the game was the most unbelievable one I've seen at Lambeau. The crowd was so into it that nobody ever sat down. We stood almost the entire game (definitely the entire second half). It was ELECTRIC in that stadium and the falling snow made it even better. It was like we were all living inside a snow globe and someone shook us from time to time!!
I've also never seen bigger snowflakes in my life. They were like silver dollars in the third quarter. I sit in the south end zone and you could barely see the north end zone at that point. I have no idea how Grant ran so well or how Favre was so efficient. They were extremely sound offensively after those first two miscues.
The fumbles took the life out of 72,000+ fans in a heartbeat. It looked like the Atlanta 2002 playoff loss all over again. But the fans never gave up -- heck, there were still 56 minutes left in the game -- and that next drive was so good it was back to a 7 point game. Then to get the replay respot to keep the second drive going was even more perfect because it made Holmgren so mad he couldn't let go of that play. To think it was 14-14 before the end of the fourth quarter was unreal. I told my brother, we got our $108 worth already!!
The Packers have surprised me all year long as I NEVER saw this coming. But they are a good team right now. McCarthy has them playing smart football, efficient football, and his play calling has been brilliant. He had so many different sets that before halftime you had no idea what he was going to do next. He went with four wideouts, two fullbacks, two tight ends, no tight ends. Seriously, he outcoached Holmgren big time.
And while I loved Holmgren when he was here, the way he left Green Bay by taking all of his assistants, scouts, even his secretary (she finally turned him down) has left a bitter taste up here towards him. And he QUIT in the fourth quarter. I wouldn't doubt if he retires after this one. He punted on fourth-and-one down three scores and he never used any of his timeouts at the end. At least play until the bitter end, Mikey!!
I hate to say that I partied from noon to midnight around Lambeau, but at least I stayed in Green Bay and avoided the accidents. There were 17 cars in the ditch in a 15-mile stretch that I took and that was enough to scare anyone silly.
And now I love the Giants almost as much as the Packers. Thanks G-Men for allowing us to do this all over again!!
It's supposed to be a high of 6 on Sunday and it won't be that warm at 5:30 at night!!! I seriously think my arse will freeze to my aluminum bleacher this time!! But that's fine as I'll just sit there until I thaw out!! I couldn't be happier than being at Lambeau.It's a very, very, very special place to watch football. I've been fortunate to see a lot of great games there as my parents have had our tickets since 1960. We get extra ones for each game so that as many family members can go as possible. On Saturday, we had eight family members in the game. To sit there with your brother, sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, cousins, etc., is one I'll NEVER forget. As my 58 year-old sister said, she's never had a more fun day in her life. I would agree.
GO PACK!!! And thanks for the thrills so far.
