A college roommate of mine, still full of schadenfreude after seeing the Packers lose that exhausting 51-45 game on Sunday, told me about a poll a Madison radio station was running today. They listed three infamous Packers playoff losses- Sunday’s, the 2007 NFC Championship and the 2003 NFC Divisional game vs. the Eagles (the “4th and 26) game- and asked listeners which one was the most painful.
Well, I can’t let something like that go lightly…and it got me to thinking, “were those three really the worst three?” Here’s the reply I came up with:
Remember in Rounders when Mike McD says something like this- "Amazing as this sounds, poker players have a tough time remembering big hands they’ve won. But they can remember with incredible accuracy the outstanding tough beats of their career." It’s appropriate here because it’s so much easier to think of the tough losses the Packers have taken in the playoffs since they emerged from mediocrity back in the early 90s. While it’s better to have been in the playoffs and lost than to never have made it at all, it still sucks when your squad gets bounced. So, without any further adieu, here’s the top 5 crushing playoff defeats of my Packer fan career:
Honorable mention- 2004 Wild Card round, Vikings d. Packers @ Lambeau in the Moon Game. Yes, it sucks that the arch-rivals waltzed into Lambeau and knocked out the Pack and that Moss had to do his despicable, deplorable touchdown celebration (sorry, Joe Buck took control of my keyboard for a minute there). However, when I think of the 2004 season, I think of the Christmas Eve game two weeks prior where the Pack clinched the division by beating the Vikes. It’s memorable for me because I had to go to Christmas Eve Mass at 5pm that night (which doubled as the dedication of our remodeled church), which was right around when the game was getting over. Thankfully, I had Internet on my phone, and just as I was processing into the building, the last refresh showed that Ryan Longwell nailed the game-winning kick. Sing it with me…"Joy to the world, the kick was good." So when I think 2004, I think of that game, the game my dad minted “The Year B**tt F**re saved Christmas”. (Funny to think that F**re and Longwell were instrumental in that win…)
5th (tie)- 2009 loss to Cards, 1998 loss to 49ers. Both games ended on ridiculous last plays- the kick in the air pick this year, the TO catch in quadruple coverage in ’98. Deep down, though, the losses weren’t as horrible because in both years, there were buzzsaws waiting for them in Round 2. If you have to lose, better to lose a game like that rather than suffer a humiliating, demoralizing loss the next week (and yes, I think the Saints win big this weekend).
4th- 1997 Super Bowl loss to Broncos. Tough to rank this one as that painful when the Pack had won it all the year before. Still, every time NFL Films drags up that footage of Elway pinwheeling through the air for a first down ("WHAT A WARRIOR! There’s a guy who’s playing like he really wants that elusive championship!!") I want to puke. It’s like seeing those "Rebirth of a Legend" signs commemorating the remodeled Lambeau…and in that Rebirth of a Legend game, the Vikings hammered the Pack. Not a good association with those signs, nor that Elway video clip.
3rd- 2007 NFC Championship loss to the Giants. It was close between this one and the Super Bowl loss. It seemed like everything was breaking the Pack’s way…they get home field for the championship game, they had just annihilated the Seahawks in the Snow Bowl…and then cold-weather F**re napalms the season. No need to go into any more detail.
2nd- 2003 NFC Divisional Game vs. Eagles (the "4th and 26" game). The gap between 2nd and 3rd on this list is as big as the gap between Michael Strahan’s teeth. If things were going the Packers’ way in 2007, they were really going their way in 2003. Let’s not forget how they got into the playoffs that year (McCown…rolling out…fires it into the end zone…CAUGHT!!! TOUCHDOWN!!! NO!!!!!! THE CARDINALS HAVE KNOCKED THE VIKINGS OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS!!!), nor forget their wild-card game (Matt Hasselbeck’s infamous "we want the ball and we’re gonna score" call). I was convinced the Pack was going to the Super Bowl that year, and up until that freaking 4th and 26 play, they had been working over the Eagles all game. Then, if that wasn’t enough, F**re has to go and throw one of the most idiotic passes in playoff history to stick a fork in that season and a knife in my heart. Man, did that loss hurt.
Still, it doesn’t hold a candle to this one:
1st- 1995 NFC Championship Game loss to Cowboys. This was the perfect storm for a devastating loss- the Pack had never been that far in the playoffs during my life. They had just gone out to SF the week before and absolutely crushed the Niners (right up there with the Super Bowl win on my list of favorite Packers wins ever). The Cowboys had (briefly) passed the Vikings as my most despised team. Everyone in the universe was all about the Cowboys the week before the game (sound familiar?) but I was 100% convinced the Packers were winning that game. I think Erik Williams was convinced the Packers were going to win too, and since he couldn’t handle John Jurkovic on the line, he decided to destroy Jurko’s knee. After that, the game completely turned, the Pokes won 38-28 and then beat down Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. 15 years later I’m still pissed about that. After driving back to SJU that night, I fired off a Ray Barbone-like e-mail featuring 43 f-bombs to a high school friend…man, I wish he would’ve kept that one.
I don’t think that game will ever be topped as far as painful losses go, mainly because a) since that point they did win a title, crossing off “seeing the Packers win a Super Bowl” on my Sports Bucket List, and b) I don’t think I’m capable of that level of anger anymore. It’s easy to get waaaaay too fired up about a football game when you’re 19 years old; you mellow out quite a bit by the time you’re pushing your mid-30s.
So, now that I’ve gone over 7 killer playoff losses in the last 15 years (wow…never thought of it like that before), I want your thoughts. What are the most killer losses your teams have put you through? I’m pretty sure I know what the Vikings fans will say, so if there are any fans of other teams that are reading this, comment away.
1 Comment
20 February 2010 at 23:59
I don’t know if I can come up with 5 painful Bear’s losses in the playoffs in my lifetime, because they really don’t make the playoffs all that ofter. So, I will just include the top 5 losses in general.
5. 1995 Bears vs Packers. This was the last game in like 10 years where I actually thought the Bears had a chance to beat the Packers. I had the opportunity to watch this game with my High School history teacher who was a huge Packers fan. The Packers edged the Bears 27-24 with a game winning field goal that broke my heart. This game will always be remembered by me though because of the fan that jumped 25 feet out into the tunnel to catch the ball that had just been kicked through the uprights.
4. 2006 Bears vs Packers in the first-last Favre game. My wife gives me a dirty look everytime this game comes up. In our first game in attendance at Soldier Field, the Packers ran away with the game. Favre cried, because he claimed it was his last NFL game (4 years later and he is still playing, liar). Sexy Rexy Grossman had a zero passer rating and threw two pick sixes before being yanked. Packers 26-Bears 7. Oh yeah, it was like 10 degrees and sleeting, so I don’t think the wife will ever go to a football game with me again.
3. 2005 Bears vs Panthers in Divisional Round. The Bears owned the NFC North that year and finished 2nd in the NFC with a 13-3 record. Carolina came to town having been beaten up by the Bears in the regular season. The Bears defense was among the tops in the league on the season, but they gave up 400+ yards in the game and were never really in it. My roommates were afraid to approach me for a week after the loss and it took several days for my voice to come back from all of the yelling.
2. 1994 Bears vs 49ers in Divisional Round. The NFC Central put 4 teams in the playoffs with the Bears barely squeaking in to face the NFC Central Champion Vikings. The Bears rolled the Vikings with the chance to face the arch-rival Packers if both could win in the Divisional Round. The Niners destroyed the Bears 44-15 (They were actually up 44-3 at one point). In the other bracket the Packers were got their butts handed to them by the Cowboys, so the rivalry matchup never got to play out. This began many years of frustration. Its been hard to be a fan ever since.
1. The 2006 Super Bowl (duh!). Many forget that the Bears were winning at the half and actually seemed to have control of the game until a minute into the second half. As many know, a new drinking game was created in the Prust household (or Old Chicago) that day.