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Certain things happen when you’re a Wisconsin guy who marries a Minnesotan; namely, you get to be bombarded from all directions about your Wisconsin teams at every single family function.  While I’m used to the treatment- I did, after all, go to college in Minnesota from 1995-1999, which means I was there to get attacked by everyone during the Vikings’ 1998 season (and gloat during the Packers’ 1995-1997 seasons)- it had gone to a whole new level this year with the introduction of Voldemort himself playing quarterback for the Purple.  Everything came to a head at Thanksgiving where the Vikings were flying at their highest point of the season and where the Packers loss to Tampa was still somewhat fresh.  I was called “Bitterman” by the family since I still held total contempt for F**re…the Vikings were on TV, kicking the crap out of the Bears…every time they scored, I’d get the mocking “boy, that old guy can still throw the ball pretty well, huh?” from everyone…really, it wasn’t that much fun.  Thankfully, my wife managed to win the numbers board to take a bit of the sting out of it, but still…a Vikings team, led by a former Packers icon, looking Super?  No numbers board can soothe that pain.

Fast-forward to Christmas…with the Vikings coming off a couple horrible losses on the road, Voldemort in a power struggle with Childress (what’s the Harry Potter analogy there…Peter Pettigrew?), rumblings of “he’s had a great season, but we saw F**re break down at the end of the season last year too”…yeah, I was looking forward to seeing everyone, especially with the Packers playing pretty good football.  After fighting our way through snow and ice to make it to the party, I was greeted with a half-hearted, “oh look, Bitterman made it!”  With a grin on my face, I just said, “my, how things have changed since I saw you last.”  Everyone knew it too- there were a few half-hearted attempts to knock me down by mentioning the last-second Pittsburgh loss, but deep down, they’re realizing this season could be going the exact way Packers fans warned it would.  While the Vikings certainly are still a major threat to make it to the Super Bowl, it doesn’t seem as preordained as it was just five weeks ago.

That got me to thinking…there are a lot of things out there that are just stunningly different now than they were in the not-so-distant past.  Case in point…

• Just a few weeks ago, the Saints had gotten done annihilating the Patriots on Monday Night Football, causing most people to think Saints + home field advantage = lock for the Super Bowl.  Then they lost to the Cowboys at home, which I’d say is somewhat forgivable since a) they’d won 13 in a row, getting more than a few breaks along the way and b) they were playing a desperate Cowboys team who’d heard nothing but things like “this team is awful in December” and “they have no heart” for the last two weeks.  But the home loss to an awful Tampa team after they were up 17-0?  Unbelievable.  Who would’ve thought the Vikings could drop two out of three yet still not be eliminated from top-seed contention?  A few weeks ago, people were talking about the Saints in the Super Bowl…now, it’s how they’re fatally flawed and prime for a big-time upset.  My, how things have changed.
• On the flip side, a couple months ago Philadelphia went out to Oakland and got whipped by the Raiders, prompting me to say that any team that loses to Oakland cannot be taken seriously as a playoff contender.  And while it’s still possible they can come up with a crucial loss just as the bandwagon reaches critical mass, it’s inconceivable to think that we’re heading toward a phenomenal second-round matchup between the Eagles and the Vikings after they stunk out the joint in Oakland.  My, how things have changed.
  (Side note- are we heading for the “All-Tortured Fan Base” NFC playoffs”?  While Philly fans will claim their team’s killed them more often than any other, Vikings fans don’t take a back seat to anyone.  Remember, they were the first 15-1 team to not make the Super Bowl- kneeldown, anyone- and two years later they were pasted 41-0 in the NFC Championship by the Giants.  They’re the masters of pulling the fans in and then ripping out their hearts.  To a lesser degree, the Saints are like that…they don’t have the quantity of stomach-punch losses, but they’re on their way.  And those three teams are going to be the top three seeds?  It’s wide-open for Arizona to repeat.)
• On the other side of the NFL, a few weeks into the season everyone was writing the Chargers off as the biggest disappointment in the NFL after losing to Denver and falling three games back in the division.  I’m not 100% sure on this, but I don’t think the Bolts have lost since that game, and it seems like they’re getting better with each game.  Everyone knew the Colts would be one of the teams to beat, but to see the Chargers emerge as the other (potentially getting us to one hell of a great AFC title game)? My, how things have changed.
• Finally, back in August I spent the entire week out at Hazeltine for the PGA Championship, getting there at about 6:20am just to watch Tiger hit balls on the range.  I was in awe of the crowds for a freaking practice round just to watch him and him only.  On Sunday, I was standing by the path leading from the clubhouse to the practice green and Tiger, in his best Sunday red shirt, walked about three feet away from me with that famous laser-like focus.  A friend of mine got pulled from his work shift to get inside the ropes to take amazing pictures of him warming up.  Another friend of mine and I discussed whether he was in the top 10 for most recognizable people (not just athletes- all people) on the planet.  It was, in a word, amazing to see that guy up close.

My, how things have changed.

While last week was a tough loss for the Pack, a quick glance at the schedule showed the 0-7 Tampa Bay Bucs were going to be the perfect tonic for the ails of the Green and Gold.  A convincing win over a bad team to get things straightened out before the game vs. the Cowboys?  Looks easy enough…and with that early bomb of a touchdown pass to James Jones, it looked like this would be in the bag.  Of course, things ended up getting bad and then worse for the Pack, eventually giving the Bucs that first win of the year, 38-28.

The best thing about this game?  I didn’t see the second half of it.  Even with the Packers winning at halftime, the game itself was pretty pathetic.  It was one of those games were if the Packers win, it would be one of those unfulfilling, play-just-well-enough-to-beat-a-bad-team wins…and if they lost, well, I really wouldn’t have wanted to see it.  What’d I do?  Since it was about 55 degrees out and likely the last nice weekend day before April 2010, it was time for a nice little bike ride/geocaching mission.  To be honest…I really didn’t think the Pack would actually lose to the flippin’ Bucs.  I wasn’t even monitoring the score while out on the treasure hunt, but around 3:15 my phone started to light up like a switchboard (no hiding in a basement with spotty cell reception this week).  One friend asked if I needed to be put on suicide watch.  Yet another simply said “ouch”.  I knew this couldn’t be good…and I later confirmed it, 38-28 Bucs.

It happens to players all the time- they say all the right things during the week, but deep down they know they’re going to waltz into the crap team’s stadium and win, so they don’t really pay as much attention as they should during film and conditioning.  They might go out for a really late night on the town, where they wouldn’t if they had a “big game” that weekend.  Next thing you know, they’re giving a winless team their first W of the year.  I’ve gotta call myself guilty of the fan version of this- I didn’t properly get ready to watch the game, put on the lucky Packer socks or any of that stuff since, well, I figured I didn’t need to.  I went geocaching during the 3^rd quarter, for cryin’ out loud!  Maybe there was a bit of a letdown after that loss last week for both me and the Pack (and really, how often do you hear about a letdown after a loss??), but the facts are the Packers are now 4-4, they’re facing a hot Dallas team in a very important game next Sunday, and I only found two geocaches.  Tough day all around.

At least it was nice out.  In a few weeks, we probably won’t even have that.

Mmm, mmm, mmm…there’s nothing quite like the taste of a big, heaping helping of nothing but the finest crow on a Monday morning.  Last week I authored a post entitled “The Turning Worm?” about B**tt F**re’s performance in Pittsburgh leading directly to the first Viking loss of the season and hopefully being a harbinger of things to come in Lambeau Field.  Everyone knows by now that this was not the case- the old gunslinger went into Green Bay and authored one of his finest performances as an NFL quarterback, dismantling the Pack for the second time in five weeks and driving a stake into 16 years of fond memories Packers fans had of the guy.

Naturally, there were a few taunting messages thrown my way during and after the game, one of which said “So, does this mean the worm has turned back around or just never turned in the first place?” My initial reaction- “Sweet!  Someone’s actually reading this blog and not only that, remembered an article!”  After the giddiness of the message wore off, I quickly returned to the reality that a) the Minnesota Vikings, led by B**tt freaking F**re, are 7-1 and have established themselves as one of two legitimate championship contenders from the NFC, b) the Packers have firmly established themselves as a team with a ceiling of the divisional playoffs and no more (more on this later) and c) there are going to be a lot of people just waiting to hear what the bitter Packer fan has to say about this game.

I’ve gotta say, I tip my cap to the old man.  Yes, it’s really hard to do, but what else is there to say?  He listened to the cacophony of boos raining down on him as he emerged from the tunnel and you could just read his mind, figuring “I’m going to shut these 70,000 fans up in the best way possible- by dissecting their defense like a surgeon.”  Sure enough, Voldemort did exactly that, and those boos were shut up really, really quickly.

Obviously, the story was F**re, but I argue that Percy Harvin had just as big of an impact on that game than old #4 did.  He’s now entered that Devin Hester Zone of “under no circumstances should you ever kick to that guy.”  Case in point- the Packers score that touchdown to continue the charge in the 3^rd quarter…the Packers feel the momentum and the crowd is going bonkers…Vikes fans everywhere think their standard 4^th quarter collapse is starting early…and POW!  Harvin snaps another big return.  Short field for the Vikes and a touchdown.  It’s tough enough to stop their offense right now; give them a short field and it’s pretty much impossible.

Another great taunt sent my way- “Rodgers may have the arm of Elway and the feet of Marino, but he’s got the internal clock of T-Jack.”  Ouch.  Any comparison to T-Jack hurts, unless you’re comparing things like his skills holding a clipboard or making sure B**tt’s helmet has enough air in it.  It hurts more because it’s true- there were a few of those six sacks that were definitely on Rodgers.  Just throw the ball away, Aaron…you’ll get another snap, plus you won’t lose yardage and you won’t take an unnecessary hit.  Those hits add up…the Pack needs you around for the second half of the season.

So yeah, about the statement saying the Packers have a ceiling of the divisional playoffs and no more…after this game, I just don’t see how they could even entertain thoughts of going into the Superdome or the Metrodome and defeating a rested Saints or Vikings team.  They’ve certainly got the talent to be a playoff squad, even one that goes on the road and defeats a weak division champ if they get the right draw, but there are too many deficiencies for them to make a deep run.  Sure, their line play (both offensive and defensive) isn’t spectacular, but what’ll kill them in a big game is their propensity to take idiotic penalties.  Case in point- they stop the Vikings on third down early in the game, forcing them to attempt a field goal…except that Johnny Jolly decides that now would be a really good time to knock over Chester Taylor with a head-butt right in front of the ref.  Naturally, the personal foul leads to a Vikings touchdown and in my opinion, gives the Vikings the momentum for the entire first half.  Do the Packers win the game if that head-butt doesn’t happen?  Maybe, maybe not…but all I know is that giving up a field goal right there is a win for the defense, while allowing that second-chance touchdown is a morale killer.  Mark my words- that’ll be the way this season will end for the Pack; they’ll be in a close game, perhaps even winning late, when a stupid penalty will give a team new life and they’ll capitalize on it.  Any time you’re the most penalized team in the league, your shelf life is very, very limited.  Put that squarely on McCarthy and the rest of the coaching staff.

I knew coming in to the office today was going to be interesting.  I bring a lot of this on myself, being a Packers fan working in the heart of downtown Minneapolis (and not living too far from there myself).  Still, all morning I’ve had worse rabbit ears than a shaky high school basketball ref.  “What’s that?  Someone four rows over is talking about how great F**re is?  Someone else over the other wall is laughing about the play three Packers collided with each other?  Grrr…”  Yeah, it’s been interesting, but fun at the same time.  Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes you’ve just gotta tip your cap to a team that comes in and just gives you the business.

Finally, there was one more message that came in yesterday, one that kind of gives Packers fans hope.  I’m paraphrasing here, but the gist of the message was that Pack fans should hope for a dominant, 14-2 Vikings regular season, only to see F**re crap the bed in the playoffs and destroy the Vikings fan base, leading to hundreds of “we’re just jinxed, we can’t even win the title with B**TT F**RE!!” laments.  I agree, that would be the most demoralizing way for the Vikings’ season to end…but man, it sure would’ve been nice to see him throw at least one interception yesterday instead of throwing up one of the more legendary “F You” performances in history.  All that was missing was B**tt flipping the bird to Ted Thompson after his 4^th touchdown pass.

Too bad the Twins weren’t still playing and keeping the Vikings off the front pages, because the F**re love-fest has gone on long enough.  Thank God the Vikings have a bye this week and they won’t play another truly meaningful game until January.  The buzz for the Saints/Vikes NFC Championship is already building…I haven’t seen the Saints play a full game this year, but after watching the Vikings thrash the Packers twice and go through that Ravens-Steelers-Packers portion of their schedule 2-1, I don’t see how the Vikings don’t make that game.