The Ultimate for Fans

I'm 33 years old. My primary rooting interests have consistently been the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Timberwolves, Wisconsin Badgers (Division I sports outside of men's hockey), and UMD.

In my lifetime on Earth the planet, only the Packers have managed to win a pro or Division I championship. They've now done it twice.

Watching UMD win two Division II titles has been a total thrill. This past year was -- for this UMD supporter -- especially gratifying, because of everything the Bulldogs overcame. Injuries, suspensions, horrid officiating, weather, etc.

It was special to see.

However, nothing beats seeing a team climb the biggest mountains that exist.

Especially when they overcome what the Packers did.

I've talked before about how there is a certain amount of luck that has to go your way to win a major championship. Even in UMD's case, there were some bounces of oblong football that went their way to help them win, even when it didn't look like UMD could buy a break when it came to health and officiating. Guts, determination, drive, and intensity are wonderful and generally necessary qualities, but you have to get lucky at some point.

Maybe it's Michael Vick underthrowing a taller receiver in the end zone, allowing Tramon Williams to extend and make the interception. It might be a turning-point play like Williams' pick-six in the divisional round, a horrific decision made by Matt Ryan with no duress. He just lobbed the ball where he shouldn't have. Maybe it's the Bears being stupid enough to keep Todd Collins as their No. 2 quarterback, essentially delaying Caleb Hanie's entrance until it was almost the fourth quarter.

The Packers deserve this title, no question. But that's not to say that luck didn't play a role. Clay Matthews wasn't looking to strip the ball from Rashard Mendenhall, and even if he was, he had no way of knowing it would bounce where it did, and that Pittsburgh would have a couple players unable to recognize the situation and locate the ball before Desmond Bishop did.

They deserve it not because they got lucky, but because they were a resilient team that didn't let injuries or momentum swings keep them down. They won three straight road games to get to the Super Bowl, then beat a Pittsburgh team that -- while you could argue they beat themselves -- so rarely does such a thing that you have to think the Packers had something to do with it.

It's the best for a fan. It's bragging rights for a year. It's getting to hear your team called "World Champions" over and over again.

Wondrous.

Now, wouldn't it be nice if the Brewers followed suit? And UMD hockey?

Man, this could be quite the sports year.

Super Bowl XLV Prediction

I promised myself I wouldn't spend endless hours anticipating this game Sunday, and I have not done that. Instead, I've been trying to avoid the hype, avoid all the lame reporting about the classless Packers team photo or the drunken Steelers quarterback.

The Super Bowl is upon us, and once we get through this weekend series against the Gophers, nothing will be standing in the way.

Sunday's game pits two teams that are similar in many ways. Both have dynamic young quarterbacks. Both have explosive 3-4 defenses with elite defensive backs.

For what it's worth, even the freaking fans are similar. There probably isn't a fanbase in the NFL with a better reputation for loyalty and energy than the Steelers and Packers. This isn't like the Steelers playing the Cowboys, or the Packers taking on a team like the Patriots, where the fans have some reason to dislike the opponent.

To be perfectly frank, Packer fans and Steeler fans should generally get along better than any fans in the NFL. They've got a lot in common, and no serious reason to dislike one another.

On the field, the similarity in defensive schemes makes it very interesting. Will Dick LeBeau and Dom Capers find a way to slow down the offenses? Or will the offenses be able to adjust and move the ball because they're so familiar with what they're seeing?

Typically, when these defenses are successful in big games, it's because the coordinators have come up with something the opponent hasn't seen. A personnel package, blitz, coverage, or look of some sort that's out of the blue. B.J. Raji's game-winning touchdown in the NFC Championship came on a play the Packers rarely run. If the offense doesn't know it's coming, the defense has a huge advantage ... especially if the offense thinks it's going to be something completely different.

Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers each have plenty of weapons at their disposal.

As I mentioned earlier this week, it makes me think this game will be decided by something or someone we haven't discussed as much.

It's not a hard rule, but it seems to happen every now and then.

Add in that these teams are closely-matched, and it becomes even easier to envision the game coming down to something like special teams or a defensive lineman making a play when we're talking all this time about linebackers, Charles Woodson, and Troy Polamalu.

I don't even know why I'm making a prediction. After all, I'm relatively certain that it's against the law to pick against your favorite team in a championship game. You follow them all year to this point, hanging on virtually every play, and you pick against them in the biggest game you'll play?

Stupid.

But it also makes this prediction pointless. You know what's coming.

As a fan, nothing beats having your team on the big stage playing for all the marbles. It can lead to a bit of sensory overload when you watch three hours of coverage over a plane safely landing somewhere, but it's worth it in the end.

The Green Bay Packers are in the Super Bowl, dadgummit.

And this time, they're going to win it.

Packers 23, Steelers 17

Yes, I'm taking the under. I just don't see LeBeau and Capers being outsmarted all night. I think they'll get the better of the play for most of the game. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if this game makes the over, it'll be at least in large part because of turnovers and possibly defensive points.

Catch me on the Steelers Lounge podcast here.

Super Bowl XLV Can't Come Soon Enough

It's been 13 years since my favorite football team played in a Super Bowl. In those years, this event has apparently become an insufferable, never-ending hype fest.

For Packers and Steelers fans, Sunday can't get here fast enough to satisfy.

Both teams are practicing indoors in preparation for Sunday's game. This alone has become a ridiculous story, in that the freaking game is being played indoors. Why wouldn't you want to practice inside for a game that is inside? Seems so simple to me that I can't believe the media is making such a big deal out of this.

The Packers and Steelers play similar 3-4 defenses. Dom Capers used to work for the Steelers. Mike McCarthy is from Pittsburgh.

Did you know Brett Favre used to play for the Packers?

Planes landed Monday with the teams on board. Players got off the plane in cowboy hats with jeans on and occasional belt buckles. NFL Network on-air people seemed surprised to see Charles Woodson get out of the Packers plane.

"Oh, there's Charles Woodson!"

Of course, it would have been news if Woodson hadn't been in the plane.

The point of this rant?

Nothing, really. Just pointing out that the media -- largely ESPN and NFL Network -- will make you loathe the biggest event in sports if you allow them to.

I haven't said much about this game for a couple reasons. For starters, I didn't think the Minnesotans who read this blog needed two weeks of reminders about how the Packers are going to take a shot at their 13th world championship. Secondly, I've been trying my damndest to avoid getting too excited about this game before it was actually close.

Now it's close, and I can't stand the hype!

On the bright side, it's close.

That means the hype will end, and the game will be played. Consider yourself guaranteed of one thing: One of the biggest factors in this game will be something no one has given nearly enough publicity to in the run-up. We're all talking about the quarterbacks and the defenses, and while they're important, it virtually assures that someone like James Starks, Rashard Mendenhall, Tim Masthay, Jeremy Kapinos, or Mason Crosby will play a huge role in determining the outcome.

Look at last year. Everyone worried about the Saints slowing Peyton Manning down, and the biggest moment in the game was determined by the size of Sean Payton's stones.

Ted Thompson May Not Want Spotlight, But He's Earned It Anyway

Ted Thompson has made one thing abundantly clear as general manager of the Green Bay Packers.

He wants nothing to do with the spotlight.

Some GMs don't mind the face time. They built the team, after all, and they like the idea of other people giving them credit for that.

Thompson isn't like that. Instead of inviting the spotlight, he does everything he can to avoid it. He doesn't give a lot of press conferences. He isn't running up and down the sideline like a crazy person at the end of games.

When the George Halas Trophy -- which was much nicer-looking before the NFL "modernized" the thing -- was handed out in the Packers' locker room Sunday, Thompson wasn't there to grab it, do an interview, or take the attention away from the people who earned it.

He might be largely responsible for many of the players who were in front of the camera Sunday, but he's still content to let them get the credit for what has happened in Green Bay.

Even if much of it should go to him.

"He's the leader of our football operations," head coach Mike McCarthy said Monday. "He's why this team is in the shape that it's in and why the future looks so bright."

Look at this list:

Nick Barnett
Morgan Burnett
Brandon Chillar
Jermichael Finley
Ryan Grant
Brad JonesDerrick Martin
Mike Neal
Brady Poppinga
Anthony Smith
Mark Tauscher

Those are all players who either could have or actually did start games for the Packers in 2010 before going on injured reserve. In the case of Martin and Smith, they were expected to be contributors more on special teams, but they were still contributors, and with how the injury bug hit this team, they were both on track to get significant time at safety.

This team was ravaged by injuries, and they lost key players.

So what did Thompson do?

Instead of panicking and making a big-splash trade -- which would have been completely contradictory to his personality and management style -- Thompson stuck to his guns. He tried to fill from within, and when he rant out of bodies, he started looking toward undrafted players.

Unwanted players.

He found guys like Frank Zombo, Sam Shields, James Starks, Howard Green, Erik Walden, Tim Masthay, and Robert Francois, either late in the 2010 draft, after the 2010 draft (in free agency), off the street during the 2010 season, or off waivers.

They've all become big parts of this team, with Shields becoming the nickel back the team was searching for when they realized Al Harris wouldn't be ready right away. Zombo might not be much of a run-stopper at linebacker, but he can rush the passer. Walden had two sacks during the Week 17 win over the Bears.

Green is a huge cog in the defensive line rotation.

I'm not sure there are the proper superlatives for what Masthay has done. Outside of honking that punt right to DeSean Jackson in the Wild Card Game, I'm not sure he's done anything remotely close to "bad" since about the first week of October. He's been outstanding, including with how his alternating pooch punts and freaking bombs were able to keep the Bears behind the eight-ball in terms of field position.

The mantra going into the week was "Don't kick to Devin Hester."

The Packers kicked to Devin Hester, and they covered the hell out of those kicks. Hester didn't come close to making a big play.

The job Thompson has done here is nothing short of remarkable. From a standpoint of fan perception -- admittedly not a big subject for Thompson -- he's probably earned a few accolades.

Hopefully, given the things many were saying about him after Favreapalooza 2008, he's earned a few apologies, too.

When asked about that decision Monday, McCarthy was as open as you could expect him to be.

"Well, I think that's the big part of our business," he said. "We have a plan. Unfortunately, for the media, we don't have … it’s probably not in the best interest for us to put every decision, every conversation out there in the public, and I understand how passionate our fan base is.

"So at that particular situation, there was a lot that was out in the public. But I think it truly shows the strength of Ted to stick to his guns, stay the course. We stayed with the plan. We made the decision based on what we felt was the best interests of the Green Bay Packers, and we never budged off of it. It wasn't popular, and it wasn't fun at times, but we felt it was the right decision. And I think why we're standing here today talking about it proves it was the right decision."

Like I said on Twitter Sunday, now that the Packers have gotten back to the Super Bowl, and Favre missed out after coming so close twice in three years, does that mean Thompson can finally be considered the winner of that trade?

After all, he was able to show who runs the Green Bay Packers, and he then spent the rest of his time quietly proving why he was the chosen one.

As Super Bowl XLV approaches, hopefully Packer fans don't forget how they got there. It wasn't easy, but Thompson devised his plan, stuck to it, and now the fans are going to reap the benefits.

Do the Dance, B.J.

Life is good, Packer fans.

Enjoy.