In sports, there are big games, and then there are BIG games. Mythical games. Games which are revered by their conditions and circumstance, as much if not more than, the actual play on the field.
Tomorrow, a pigskin battle in Green Bay, WI has the makings of being one of those games.
Brett Farrrvra and the famed Green Bay Packers are in the midst of a magical, who'd-have-thunk-it season. They won thirteen games in the regular season before dismantling the Seahawks, and the Packers' former head coach Mike Holmgren, a week ago to earn their place in tomorrow’s NFC championship game.
On the other side of the ball, the often maligned former #1 draft pick of the Giants, Eli Manning, has come into his own. In back-to-back weeks Eli has lead the Giants to road playoff wins -- including a come from behind victory last week over the Cowboys. Meanwhile his elder brother’s shadow is sitting at home, already done for the season.
As if the those storylines weren't enough, there’s the weather.
Game time temperatures are expected to be Hoth-like, with wind chills around -20. I’m tempted to dub tomorrow’s game Ice Bowl II from the onset, but in actuality tomorrow will feel like a sauna in comparison to the NFL Championship game of 1967.
The original Ice Bowl pitted Lombardi’s Packers against Tom Landry's Cowboys. The game-time temperature at Lambeau Field that day: -13° F, with the wind chill hovering around -48°F. Dallas defensive tackle Jethro Pugh and Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr still claim to suffer occasional mild effects of the frostbite from the Ice Bowl.
Regardless of the actual temp tomorrow, the bottom line is this: it’s gonna be naRsty out there. A reality which the sadistic Packer fans are guaranteed to love.
Lambeau Field. The Frozen Tundra. Winner goes to the Super Bowl. What more could any football fan ask for?
Meanwhile the execs at Fox have to be on the verge of creaming their pants. If the undefeated Patriots face Farve and the Packers in Super Bowl XLII, the byproduct will be the largest television audience in the history of American sports. And FOX’s ratings will bypass light speed and go straight to ludicrous speed.
Somebody call Cindy Crawford: America is gonna need a Pepsi.
But first things first: let’s enjoy the enchantment -- the history, the lore, the mystique of a marquee playoff game at Lambeau. Stock the fridge with Bud Heavies and settle in for a magical day.
Personally, I can’t fathom a reason to leave the house.
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So I must admit that the game was just as bad as predicted. In the pre-game show Jimmy Johnson pour a glass of water and when the 30 minutes was up, the water was ice. So that begs the question, how did these make it through the game in Bikinis.
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