OT: The Strange Game

Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers just barely makes a touchdown-saving tackle of Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher. Photo by Mark Hoffman/jsonline.

It was a weird one. The best play our star quarterback made was a tackle. The winning score was made by a fat lineman who styles himself "The Freezer" because he's the same size as William "The Refrigerator" Perry of the 1985 Bears. It looked as if their quarterback took himself out of the game in the second half because he was playing poorly. And while it's nice that my brother has to buy me a round of golf wearing a B. J. Raji jersey, look at it from my perspective—can you imagine how hard it would have been to live it down if the Bears had beaten us with their third string quarterback?!

The AFC game had its own weirdness: the deciding factor in a game the Steelers at one point led 24-0 was a goal line stand.

On to the battle of the Northern Towns—Pittsburgh, latitude 40°27′ N, with a team named after steel workers, against Green Bay, latitude 44°31′ N, with a team named after meat packers.

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2011 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Will: "Nice write-up Mike. Quibble: you're not 'northern' until you're above the 45th parallel. Like us Vikings. Heard a new Vikes joke on Prairie Home Companion this weekend: How are the Vikings like a 'possum? They play dead at home and get killed on the road. Hey, it's all good fun. Go Pack!"

Comments

[emptyspaces]

Mike, I'm a Patriots fan but I'll be rooting for the Packers in two weeks.

[D Carnagey]

Did I hear Rothlisberger practicing up for after the SB, quoting Ernie McCracken ""I've finally got enough money, I can buy my way out of anything. I can do anything I want, and I can get myself a lawyer, and I'll walk!
Finally, big Ben (substituted for Ern)is above the law."

[Roger Bradbury]

I've never been good at sports. Whenever there was a game of football in the playground my position was left back (on the touchline)*

*Ancient joke alert

[CK Dexter Haven]

B. J. Raji is not "fat." He's "single use."

[Tom]

Bah!

[Ken Tanaka]

Weird from your side of the field? Ha, you don't know weird until you've stood over here a while.

Word has it that Jay Cutler, the Bears "fallen" quarterback, has donated his "injured" knee to be posthumously treated and displayed ("Body Worlds" style) in Halas Hall where the 2010 Halas Trophy would have been displayed.

Good luck to the Pack in Dallas. I very much like Aaron Rogers and see him as the next Packers legend player.

[Miserere]

Battle of the Defences is what I would call the Packers vs Bears game.

It sucks to be a Bears fan today, knowing that your QB might have just given up playing, especially against the Packers, whose previous QB (Favre) would have remained in the game until his knee fell off. Furthermore, you also know that your third string QB posted better numbers than your starter despite playing less than half the time!

I'll be cheering for the Packers on Feb 6th, but they need to play better if they're going to beat the Steelers. Then again, on any given Sunday...

[paul logins]

My home team is the Detroit Lions.
What is this thing called football?
Enough said.

[Joe Kraft]

Mike
I am a transplanted Wisconsinite living in Phoenix now. The championship run of 96-97 is almost as fresh in my mind as if it were last year. This one has a whole different kind of feeling, better I think for the fact that it's been so long, relatively (since I'm in my early 40's, I wasn't really aware of the gap the first time - I didn't remember or experience the golden era myself). There is something about this team when it wins ugly that is really frustrating, because you feel like it easily could have been so much prettier. My wife couldn't understand the delayed reaction of glee once the game was finally in hand, but it was due to 2+ quarters of dread. That said, I think it will be a great Super Bowl. I told my Dad the Jets might have been the easier victory, but the Steelers would be the better game. Go Pack Go!

[Mike Johnston]

"My wife couldn't understand the delayed reaction of glee once the game was finally in hand, but it was due to 2+ quarters of dread."

Joe,
Yes, it was definitely an unenjoyable game to watch for hometown fans. Chicago's defense went from lackluster to overwhelming, and when their non-name third-string quarterback answered B.J.'s touchdown in a mere 81 seconds or whatever it was, I definitely had the foreboding of doom. I'm glad I have a strong heart. (Picture Fred Sanford clutching his heart and shouting "Elizabeth! I'm coming home, Elizabeth!")

Mike

[mwg]

I'm also a Detroit fan, which is one of the two reasons I will be rooting for the Packers in two weeks. The first is that I lived for nearly twenty years in Madison. The second is that the Lions actually beat the Packers this year.*

*After Aaron Rodgers missed most of the game with an injury.

[JasonP]

A very stressful game indeed. My wife had to tell me to stop fidgeting... they were leading ("only" by a touchdown I said... may as well be tied!)

I'm not normally the pessimist, but every time ESPN tells me the Packers are on fire, all I can think is, so is every other team that makes it to the big game since there was a big game to be in.

On a side note, did you see that it was none other than Scott Kelby that broke Rodger's TD dive? Or actually that Rodgers broke Kelby's monopod.

[WeeDram]

Correction: You're not northern until you're north of 49th. And if you live there, only North of 60 REALLY counts.

[Marc Rochkind]

B. J. Raji is not "single use." He was in on offense in the 1st quarter.

--Marc