NFC Championship Game

What can you say about a day like today? Seriously. I’ve been trying to put it into words all night long. It was an abrupt finish to a season that most hoped would never end. It was a sad night as we watched the opportunities slip through our fingers. It was alot of things to alot of people.

My good friend Don, when talking to Giants fans at Curly’s after the game, put it very nicely I thought. When they commented on how well he was taking the loss he replied “You need to accept the losses for what they are and move on. Without the taste of defeat, the taste of winning wouldn’t be so sweet”. I know, I know, we still want to win every single game we play but deep down we know it’s true. Won’t we remember this game more than ever if we do go all the way next year? I think so.

For us, it was the culmination of our entire 5 month journey. As I watched Plaxico Burress burn our secondary, Brandon Jacobs bulldoze through our D-Line and the Giants drive the way they did in the 3rd quarter, I still hoped that something special was going to happen. I thought of the friends we had made, the good times I had had and the desires of everybody in this town that had been fulfilled through such an unexpected season. All signs pointed to a fairytale finish.

Something special did happen, just not for us.

I heard alot of people sounding off at the team after the game. The fact that the run wasn’t working, that Brett threw that last interception, that Coach McCarthy didn’t ice their kicker. I was most upset with the non fumble recovery with 2 minutes to go on the 50 yard line.

Personally, whilst disappointed with the loss, I couldn’t be happier with the season that we’ve (all of us) had this year.

If it weren’t for all of the great things that Brett did this year, one of the best in his illustrious career, we may not have even been here in the first place. The same goes for Ryan and the 1000 yards he gained in just 10 games. Without his massive addition to the offence we would have continued on our pass happy ways. Who knows what the predictability of that would have meant in the second half of the season? And it’s the same for Coach McCarthy. A second year coach that has a win loss record of 22 and 12, or, 18 and 4 in the last 22 weeks.

Can you believe that with the way things were just two years ago, including the start to last year as sour as it was, that we would win 18 of our next 22 meetings?

I look at things like that before I get too upset about games finishing the way tonight’s did. Isn’t it ironic that most of us came into the season hoping to win more than we lost, but, thanks to the way things panned out, we came into tonight’s game 100 percent convinced that we were on our way to Arizona?

I used my few hours before the game, with Kelly, to live the tailgate experience as best I could one last time. I had people I wanted to say goodbye to. Things I wanted to see again before I left. Photos I wanted to take. We were invited to hang out with the Oshkosh Packer Backers club and that was one of the most lavish tailgate parties I had been to all year. It’s too bad we only met them for the first time today.

As for the weather, I don’t need to tell anybody we were freezing. The fog on the camera and the impression it leaves on the photos like this one tells that story all too well. It was unfortunate that it was so cold ‘cause it seemed to keep the excitement out of the air. I was surprised as we first walked into the car park to see that it was only half full for the biggest game of the year.

Talking to people that were trying to tailgate though, it was pretty clear that despite their best efforts, it certainly didn’t seem worth the hassle. Hot food was cold, liquids were frozen and everything was twice as hard to do with two pairs of gloves and 6 different layers on. Darth Packer seemed to be doing OK though.

I was quite reflective this morning, well before the game was all said and done.

Now that the result is final, I find I’m reflective even more so.

I got to live the experience of being at Lambeau Field for not just 1 game but 10. 2 more than I could ever have imagined. I saw Brett break every major passing record that he could’ve in what was an incredible season. Even tonight, inclusive of the loss, had its milestones. It was the third coldest game in the history of the NFL and Brett’s touchdown pass to DD of 90 yards was the single longest postseason play from scrimmage in the history of the Packers organisation. How cool to witness both in one night?

We, as a family, despite the hardships we faced in the first 6 weeks or so, got to live a different life, on the other side of the world with no indication that it would be as wonderful as it turned out to be. We laughed, cried, made friends and learned to deal with the obstacles that were placed in front of us from the moment we stepped off the plane.

Tonight’s loss was unfortunate. Our 5 months here in Green Bay though was magical in all aspects of the word. Thanks to the kind heartedness of everybody in this town, the reception we were given and the experiences we have had, Kelly, Benjamin, Lucas and I will have memories that will last us forever and a day.

It might not take the sting away, but we should be grateful that we had what we had at a time when none of us, not you or I, expected it to happen.

Win lose or draw, can you ask for any more than that? I know I can’t.