Did Donald Driver Deserve Better?
Photo by Mike Morbeck under a Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 license
CD Angeli, writing at CheeseheadTV, says yes, Donald Driver deserved better Saturday night, and the Packers missed an opportunity.
Packers
It’s Gameday!
As a huge (American) football fan, it amuses me to no end how my children get into the excitement of game day. They know how much I love my football teams and want to know who the Packers (or Badgers) are playing each week, which other teams I want to win in the other games, and share my enthusiasm for the game. Jack’s knowledge of the players and the opposing teams is almost scary considering he is only 4 years old.
As a Wisconsin native living in Minnesota, they really get excited when the Green Bay Packers take on the Minnesota Vikings. (Though all real Packer fans know the real rivalry is with the Bears – a fact that Minnesotans just don’t understand. The Packer / Viking rivalry is nothing compared to that one – ask me about the time I went to a Packer / Bears game at Lambeau sometime).
So I was happy to see, that without any prompting from me, my two youngest pick out their own clothes this morning:
Now that brings a smile to my face. We’re just minutes from game time – go Pack go!
Emotions
“The difference between winning and losing in the NFL is so small, but the emotions you feel afterward, winning as opposed to losing, is so great that it’s really not fair. When you lose, it’s almost like a part of you died. When you win, you’ve never felt more alive.”
Packers General Manager Ted Thompson
What a weekend of football
What a weekend! First, the Packers take apart the Seahawks after a costly start, with a game to remember on the Frozen Tundra with the snow blowing. And then the Cowboys, the #1 seed, lose to the Giants at Texas stadium.
It’s somehow fitting that 10 years after the Packers won the Super Bowl after hosting the NFC Championship game, that they host another one.
Cross your fingers my playoff tickets come through!
Go Pack!
Super Tecmo Brett
For those of us who grew up in the 80s, Super Tecmo Bowl was the best football game ever made. There was nothing like taking Herschel Walker 90 yards, turn around, run back to your own end zone, turn around again and run 100 yards for the score. All without being tackled.
Someone took the electrifying Packer win from last Monday night against Denver, and did a mashup with Super Tecmo Bowl.
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Via Deadspin]1
Packers vs. Bears (10/7/07)
I was at Lambeau Field this past Sunday to watch the Packers eventually beat themselves and lose to the Bears on national TV.
Having grown up in Wisconsin, and now living in Minnesota, the residents of Minnesota think they have a rivalry with the Bears, but any true Packer fan will tell you the only rivalry we have is with the Bears. It was my first Bears game, and the normally nice crowd was just mean when it came to the Bears.
It didn’t help that the Packers had almost 100 yards of penalties, 6 turnovers, and didn’t rush the ball in the second half to eventually let a 10 point lead slip through their fingers.
I’ve added two sets of pictures from the game to my Flickr pages. I’m still having issues with focus on my DSLR when using my zoom lens in sports mode, I apologize if any are still blurry.
If you’re a Packer fan, join the Packer group on Flickr.
We were graced with the University of Wisconsin Marching Band before the game, during halftime, and during the second half doing their routine they also do at Camp Randall.
Here’s my favorite picture from the evening:
Go Pack Go!
My father and I were able to purchase season tickets again this year from a family member.
I spent this past Sunday driving to and from Lambeau Field (about 4.5 – 5 hours each way) and it was definitely worth it.
Prior to the game, there was a convention in Green Bay this past week hosting most living Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Before the game, Brian Williams of NBC introduced, by war, those living Medal of Honor recipients who were able to attend the convention and game. The four living Wisconsin recipients were also honorary captains for the day. Prior to kickoff, four F-16s did a flyby.
Most of the drive to Green Bay once I hit Wisconsin was cloudy and rainy. Sure enough, the drizzle started at kickoff for 30 minutes, but by halftime the clouds parted and the sun was shining brightly.
The game was a nailbiter – after a 10-0 Packer start in the first quarter, I had visions of the Saints game from last year which I was at, where the Packers jumped to a large lead only to give it away. The defense was phenomenal, as was the special teams play. The offense, well, let’s just say they have their work cut out from them.
I brought my new Digital SLR (Canon Rebel XTi) to the game, but I ran out of battery by kick off as I was practicing taking photos with it during pre-game. It was the first time I’ve used the telescopic lens, which I was very impressed with when in Sports mode on the camera firing off 3 shots / second. I still have some learning to do on proper focusing when using that lens though. You can view the set on Flickr here, and here is one of my favorite pictures I took watching Favre warm up:
Next game: Sunday, October 9th against the Chicago Bears. This will be the first time I’ve seen the Bears at Lambeau, and is the only real rivalry the Packers have.
Football!
I love this time of the year – I think I’ve watched a football game every day for the last 10 days. Even the first few bowl games with teams you’ve rarely heard of we’re quite good (and I’m still laughing at George O’Leary).
I was ecstatic to see the Badgers win decisively in Coach Alvarez’s last game. I had been walking around the last few days convinced that what the analysts said was true – Auburn’s defense was going to rip in to Wisconsin, and the Badgers had little chance to win. Was I wrong – the Badgers won, and won big. Forget about the 10.5 point underdog status – Auburn couldn’t get it together all day and the Badgers offense was hot in the first half, and the defense played a heck of a game.
I was shocked to see the Packers fire Mike Sherman today – it wasn’t the $6 million they owe him for the last two years of his contract, it’s the question of who will replace him. In a year where there will be more head coaching vacancies than normal, will there be enough talent to go around? I also question if Ted Thompson is doing it for the right reasons – is Sherman definitely the wrong guy, or is Thompson trying to put his stamp on the team.
Time will tell. This leads me to believe Favre will retire, and is will be interesting to watch the Packers enter the next generation.
Pack Wins!
Driving in a car for just over 10 hours over a 24 hour period, to watch a 3.5 hour game was worth it – the Packers actually won a game this season.
While cold, it wasn’t nearly as bad as the game 3 years ago, and I only bought one hot chocolate this time.
Definitely worth it.
Off to Lambeau
I am off for a 5-6 hour drive to Green Bay to see the Packers take on the Lions. This is the latest in the season the NFL has scheduled a night game in Green Bay, the previous being Dec. 8th 2002 against the Vikings, which I was also at, and was extremely cold (I was complaining by the end of the first quarter, some Cheesehead I am).