I love Alabama football. I love this time of year. I love the crimson uniform and seeing Nick Saban on the sidelines with those uniforms as head coach. I love going to Tuscaloosa to see a game live and in person...MOST of the time.

I went to see Alabama play Tulane Saturday night. It was the first home game and we had just knocked off a top 10 team the week before and played solid smash-mouth football EVERY down. I was so excited to go to this game and as usual, the fan's expectations were overboard, but being realistic has never been a Bama fan's strongest point. We were even compliant with the stadium announcer who asked us to treat the Tulane team with respect when they came on the field because of the hurricane that week evacuating them from their city. We cheered for them when they came on the field. I was so proud of our fans...until we started playing mediocre and the fans booed. How classless!

I'm proud of all of our national chamionships - it's something to be proud of, but excuse me if I don't think that booing the team you support is acting like a champion. I believe that if you are a fan of a team then you support them through thick and thin. You're loyal to a fault and you take the good with the bad - just like any relationship.

It certainly wasn't the prettiest win and we didn't play to the standards that we've become accustomed on every play, but these are kids out there lest we forget...someone's child. Their parents were probably sitting in the stadium somewhere - call it my mommy heart - I don't care. There should be no room to boo your own team or team's coaching staff. Form your opinion and tell your buddy...call talk radio and complain...blog on it for heaven's sake, but don't boo your team...period. Do you think you have to boo to let a veteran head coach that gets paid several million dollars a year know that his team doesn't look great? Give me a break! Act like a champion even if you're losing...which we weren't either time the fans booed. We won the game...we had some sacks...some injuries...allowed a few big plays...and missed some kicks, but we WON. Show some class, Bama fans...winning or losing...show that we're champions.

For all of you football fans out there that love the "dominant conference" debate...how about that CBS deal? Wowzers!  Apparently we have to agree on the fact that the SEC must have some smarts!  They were interested in hiring Chuck Gerber when no one else was according to Tony Barnhart.  It sounds like that was the ace in the hole.

I've seen so many blogs and comments on here from people who are guilty of nothing but being passionate about the conference in which their preferred team is a part.  I really try to not engage in such debates because I believe "the proof is in the pudding" as they say down here in the south, but truly this is quite a deal for the entire SEC and all schools represented.  Imagine basically tripling your income overnight!  Not to mention all the residual affects that the above mentioned article spells out for each of the teams.

Apparently Forbes Magazine got it wrong and Mike Slive should have been on the cover...or even Chuck Gerber instead of Coach Nick Saban.  Listen, you may not like our "podunk" schools down here in the south or the way we live college football as a religion and will go to our grave thinking we're better than you, but you have to hand us this one...your conference just got schooled!

As I turned on ESPN to watch the game last night and saw the team run out of the tunnel it just didn't feel right.  I knew it was coming, but I still wasn't prepared for how wrong it was to not see #4 running out of the tunnel with them.  Don't get me wrong - I'm glad this whole ordeal is over, but it hardly ended as most of us Packer fans desired.
 
I won't even mention how the commentators didn't even "commentate" on the game...all they did was rehash all the off-season drama between the Favre thing and Chad Johnson - you would have never even known there was a game going on in the background.  But the thing that frustrated me the most last night was how "Korn-ball" and the rest of the commentators were so "shocked" that the Packer fans supported Rodgers when he took the field.  Get it through your heads, people, I've said it before and I'll say it again - this has NEVER been about NOT liking Aaron Rodgers.  It has ONLY been about the fact that given our choice as Packer fans - we believe that Favre is the better QB right now.  I believe that Coach McCarthy felt the same way, but at the end of the day the Green Bay Packers sign his paycheck so it didn't matter because he had to do what Thompson and Murphy wanted to do when it was all said and done.  He did and I'm afraid we'll all pay for it.  Give us Packer fans some credit, people - the city owns the team and we're all insanely passionate for the Pack.  Nothing will change the way we feel about our team - not even extreme egos in upper level management in the organization and trading our starting QB that we've grown to love and accept as family.  We'll always consider him part of the Packer family, but we'll support any and all players that suit up in the beautiful green and gold.
 
Granted, Rodgers wasn't horrible last night, but I don't see how we could be better than a .500 team this season.  I hope that I'm wrong, but I don't believe that I am.  The defense looked really good, but that wasn't really a question - there are a lot of issues on offense - not the least of which is at running back with Grant injured and, of course, back up QB.
 
Furthermore, how much impact can ONE player make?  I'm referring to Favre at the Jets.  They're still basically the same three win team from last year.  I asked former QB, Jay Barker (who I have a huge amount of respect for as a brother in Christ) that very question this morning.  He brought up a great point about the fact that there is now automatically more stability with Favre in the huddle which can make a huge impact immediately.  I agree with him, but I'm still not convinced that it's enough to make them an instant success...better maybe, but if they win four games it's better.  People's expectations are way out of control.  I'm a fan, but I'm also a realist.
 
If some crazy miracle happens that some people have incorrectly predicted and the Jets meet the Packers in the SuperBowl while Favre is still starting for the Jets it will not be a conflict of interests for me.  Please quit asking me and the other Packer fans this question...it was asked of a fan last night during the game.  The answer is the same - we're Packer fans FIRST and Favre fans second.  We will ALWAYS pull for the Pack no matter who is traded or playing for the other team...even someone who ended up larger than life for us for 16 years in a Packer uniform.  Again, thanks 4 the memories, but GO PACK GO no matter what!!

Another day...another twist - I had just started last night doing research on the Tampa Bay Bucs so that I would know more about them since I'm 24/7 Packers. I wake up this morning to find the city that never sleeps was making a deal last night with small town Green Bay! Now I've got to start the research all over again.

I must tell you that my last memory of the Jets isn't very fond. It was a Sunday afternoon in December of 2006 with snow on the ground and 6 degrees at Lambeau Field. This southern girl froze her buns off watching the Jets beat the Packers by 4 touchdowns. Yes, you read that right - FOUR touchdowns. It was not my first Packers game at Lambeau, but it was my first regular season Packers game at the TRUE frozen tundra. It was memorable of course...I looked like the Michelin Man (as you can see above)! That was the last time that I got to see Brett play live at Lambeau and now I'll be watching him in green and white instead of green and gold.

I guess I better go and brush up on my Jets information and get ready to yell J-E-T-S Jets, Jets Jets!!! I'm glad I don't have to watch them play my Pack this year...Go Pack Go!!!

Wow...a lot can change in 24 hours, can't it?  I seem to remember very recently thinking all was right with the world again.  Gas prices had come down some, football was on tv when I turned it on and Brett Favre was walking around Green Bay.  Even my friend's little boy tried to console his crying and upset toddler sister by saying, "Cheer up, Brett Favre is back in Green Bay" - I just love that child for thinking that way - it cheered me up.  That abruptly came to a screeching halt yesterday as practice started and #4 was strangely still missing.  Then Coach McCarthy took the podium and stated the inevitable and the obvious...Brett wasn't going to play for Green Bay.  It almost made this Pastor's wife want to say a curse word...ALMOST!

I just can't get over the roller coaster of emotions and events that have gone on over the past few weeks and months in this situation.  I realize that a player shouldn't be bigger than the team, but he's been beloved by the fans and the city...which owns the team...and he led us back to success that we hadn't seen in years - it makes it hard to stop something like that from happening.  I believe that it took a big man to admit that he would be a disruption to come back and play for the team that he loves so much.  He's torn inside...he loves the team for which he's played 16 years and he loves the fans there and he loves playing the game, but there isn't much love lost for Ted Thompson who has obviously gotten his way.

It breaks my heart that Packers management has decided to treat their very own this way, but I will still support the team.  I was born a Packer fan and that's not something that you just throw away, but over the past 16 years I've become a Favre fan as well.  

So I guess I'm now going to have to adopt another team...a different Bay it looks like - the WRONG one, but another bay nonetheless.  I guess I'll have not-so-matching #4 jersies pretty soon because I will still support him as one of the best NFL QB's to play the game...and proud of the fact that the majority of that career and success was with my team...the Green Bay Packers.  I saw my first Packer game with him at the helm...and then my first Packer game at Lambeau with him as the starter.  Thanks 4 the memories, Brett!  I'm now prepared that it's going to be a long season for us and good ol' Ted "stubborn ego" Thomson.  I hope you have a great season and show them why you wanted to come back and how you can still play.  Think about us as we suffer through what we were used to before you came.  And we'll think about you as we watch you get used to a team that has cheerleaders on the sidelines and a big pirate ship in the end zone.  Ahoy matey!

Ok, apparently some of you have been anxiously awaiting my opinion (for some unknown reason) on the ongoing Favre saga. I've spoken to many of you about it, but haven't specifically done a blog entry on it because it's very difficult for me to have an objective opinion regarding the subject and I also keep waiting for another strand to unravel. It seems that there are new comments or developments (if you can call them that) every day...as evidenced by my plentiful Google alerts!

Before he held the press conference I was wanting him to come back one more year. I hated that he went out on an interception in OT that lost the NFC championship for them. I also felt like with his competitive spirit that he wouldn't want to go out that way either and that he had gotten so close to the SuperBowl again that he could taste it so he would make another run. After he held the press conference in March, I truly felt he would be a man of his word and stay retired. As soon as the reports started flying about him wanting to come back and play I passed it off at first and said that I felt like he was sincere when he said that he was retiring. I realize now that I'm probably the only one that actually thought that...no one else believed that he was truly hanging it up. So here it is: everyone makes mistakes and I stand corrected...no biggie...I can own up to it.

A few days and weeks after those first reports, then I started hearing that the Packers weren't welcoming him back with open arms - I realized then that there had to be some truth to all of this and was officially in a frenzy. Now Favre has broken his silence and spoke fairly candidly about the situation "on the record" the past two nights (insert chuckle here that ESPN didn't get the interview first). I have tried to be objective after seeing the interview with Greta, and I can't think of any motivation for him to lie. I totally believe him when he says that he was pressured to make a decision early and that's the way that he felt at that time...and that most veteran QB's would say the same thing in March when asked to make a choice.

I think that he should have stayed retired, personally (**shocking gasp**). I know that's hard to believe coming from me, but after the public retirement announcement then he should stick to it - that's the way my parents raised me! My opinion after the fact that he didn't stay retired though? I believe that after 16 years with an organization, 3 time MVP with that organization, leading to a SuperBowl win for that organization and all of the HUGE income just from merchandising alone for them that he has earned the right to come back. At the worst, he has earned the right to at least compete for his starting position back. Goodness, there have been a couple of times in the past that he has lowered his income on his contract just to help out with the salary cap! That doesn't sound like a diva to me!

My bottom line thoughts on the matter is that Ted Thompson (Packers GM) gets paid to put the absolute best team on the field...that team is better with Favre right now rather than Rodgers. I realize that he put them in a bad position by deciding to come back, but Ted Thompson was already walking a thin line with the Packer Nation and he certainly hasn't made that any better with how he has handled this situation. That is obvious by the rallies that are being held now outside the offices with Packer fans screaming for Favre's starting position back. Never underestimate the power of two things: the city owns the team and the majority of the owners want their beloved QB back.

Am I conflicted as a fan? It depends on which fan you're asking...I'm first a Packer fan. I was asked yesterday if Favre went to another team and came out on Lambeau Field in another jersey who I would pull for; I didn't hesitate to answer "the Packers". I was born with cheese on my head thanks to my dad being from Milwaukee...my allegiance will never change in the NFL.

Although, the Favre fan of me IS conflicted because he can't seem to make up his mind, but I love to watch him play and his style of playing. So the thought of him coming back does make a part of me ecstatic! I would hate to see him go out on a stretcher though...the thought of that is somewhat foreign because of how durable he has been, but the reality is that it can't last forever. Those are the reasons why I'm conflicted as a Favre fan.

At the end of the day, no matter what happens, I will always support my Packers. I may not agree with everything that goes on in their offices, but I have a short term memory as soon as the green and gold take the field...no matter who is in those uniforms. I would obviously feel more confident if Favre was still in #4 taking that field! Lambeau is a special place that is hard to describe in words, but it was special during the tough years in the 80's and will still be special in the 21st century when the Favre era is only a memory. Either way - Go Pack Go!

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago the day before his press conference and never posted...sorry!

It was a sad day yesterday for us cheeseheads. It was really a sad day for the entire NFL nation. Both franchises owe a lot to #4, Brett Favre, and now that he's retiring neither will be the same unfortunately.

I'm doing my best today to be positive and think about the fact that Favre gave us an incredible run. We couldn't have asked or expected more from a QB. He broke tons of records, his stats speak for themselves, but he did so much more beyond that. Football fans everywhere know #4 on the field, but true Packer fans...actual cheeseheads know the other side of Favre off the field. He doesn't like the spotlight and even though he's worth more than most people in Hattiesburg, he's probably the least pretentious guy in the state of Mississippi.

This is why I don't believe that he'll end up in a big sports broadcasting career anytime soon. He'd be great at it, and I'm sure his agent's phone has been ringing off the hook with offers since the official announcement yesterday, but I think he'd rather just ride off into the Mississippi sunset on his tractor. He's a normal everyday guy that never asked for or dreamed he'd be one of the most popular QB's in NFL history. He knew he had ability and talent; he knew he had grit and determination, but he never knew that it would turn into a larger than life soon to be Hall of Famer. Favre has a way of playing the game that can't really be coached...you're born with it. He could be coached to a certain extent, but he has an uncanny ability as he studied film and read defenses to eventually go with his gut. He came up with some of his own plays...thankfully Coach McCarthy knew him well enough to allow him to do that - it obviously paid off this past season.

Brett has never forgotten where he came from and he has tried to give back. His and Deanna's foundation has helped people less fortunate for years. He has actively been involved with Make a Wish. He and Deanna have big hearts that have overcome incredible odds. They have gone through multiple deaths of family members, car wreck that required serious intestinal surgery, addiction, cancer, a natural disaster and many naysayers early in his career...and even later in his career. They are private people, but have always handled tragedies publicly and head on. I appreciate people who shoot straight and that seems to be the way they are.

I was born a Packer fan since my dad was from Milwaukee. Over the years there have certainly been highs and lows, wins and losses, from laughing stock of the NFL to a SuperBowl win, but the love for the Pack never changes no matter what if you're truly a cheesehead - with or without #4. The Favre family earned our respect, love and support over the years. They will always be a party of the Packer family. It has been a great run and as a member of Packer Nation I wish Brett the best. I'm privileged to have been able to see him play live...both on the road and at Lambeau.

Now we look forward to the Rodgers era. That sounds strange, but I support him wholeheartedly along with anyone else who is fortunate enough to wear that Packer jersey. Who knows what could happen...nobody expected much from a southern boy from Kiln, Mississippi when he got traded to our team but he ended up with 3 MVP awards. Rodgers has sat patiently waiting in the wings and he deserves a shot...he has been there long enough to know what big shoes he has to fill. I hate that my children won't get to see Favre play except from highlights...my oldest only got to see him a short time - not long enough and he's not old enough to truly appreciate what he was seeing.

I can't wait to hear Favre's press conference tomorrow to get it straight from him in his words with his southern drawl. Here's my "passing the torch" picture that I took this past pre-season at the Tennessee game...I didn't know how prophetic it would be until now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw0uMpSf5tw

Can't get the embed code to work correctly so just click on the link above!

I can't believe it...devastation in Packer nation! We win with class so we'll lose with class. The Pack is still back. I didn't expect to do this well this season with such a young team so I'm proud of my Pack!

Seattle Post Intelligencer

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It's easy to hate the New York Yankees if you're a Boston Red Sox fan, and vice versa. The same goes for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, Michigan and Ohio State and those originators of the shotgun formation, the Hatfields and McCoys.

But who hates the Green Bay Packers?

Steeped in tradition and often viewed through a prism of sepia-tone nostalgia, the Packers have succeeded against all odds in a tiny and remote market, in a 50-year-old (albeit renovated) stadium with aluminum bench seats, in an era of unfettered free agency and corporate greed.

OK, if you're a Seahawks fan, you're not feeling all warm and fuzzy about Brett Favre and Al Harris right about now. 'We want the ball and we're going to score!' might be old news, but the sting lingers.

Really, though, do you hate the Packers?

Not if you know anything about the history of the National Football League. Not if you've seen those grainy images of the 1967 'Ice Bowl'

and Bart Starr's fateful quarterback sneak on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. Not if you admire the principles on which Vince Lombardi built a dynasty.

Not if you pull for the underdog.

In Wisconsin, there is no other option. You are born into Packerdom here. Your great-grandfather cheered for Curly Lambeau and Don Hutson, your grandpa for Paul Hornung and Willie Wood, your dad for James Lofton and Lynn Dickey. Every kid on your block owns a No. 4 jersey.

What makes the Packers special? Start with the fact that there are

112,015 owners, the vast majority of whom hold one share of stock.

Formed in the NFL's primordial mist in 1919, the Packers became a non-profit entity four years later and remain the only publicly owned team among the major professional sports.

The most recent stock sale, in 1998, netted 106,000 new 'owners' who paid $200 per share (and sent $24 million straight to the team's bottom

line) for certificates that are basically worthless. The stock never pays dividends or appreciates in value. But the emotional investment is priceless. When general manager Ted Thompson signs a free agent, the fans can thump their chests and say, 'I helped bring that guy to Green Bay.' And it's true.

Of course, Bob Harlan, who has run the Packers for 19 years, first as president and CEO and more recently as chairman of the board, has a stake in the team. He, too, owns exactly one share of stock.

'I paid $25 for my share when I became president,' said Harlan, who is retiring after the postseason. 'When fans call me, they start out by saying, 'Bob, I'm a fan and a shareholder.' They always point out that they're shareholders. I say, 'Well, I am, too, so let's talk.' '

Did we mention that Harlan answers his own telephone? There is no administrative assistant to run interference, no automated maze to negotiate. You've got a beef with the injured cornerback or the price of tickets, you go straight to the top dog.

The fact that the Packers can even exist in a city of 100,000 is a minor miracle, due in equal parts to fan loyalty throughout the state and revenue sharing in the NFL. Los Angeles can't support a team but this little frozen outpost can? It's one of the mysteries of the universe.

It helps that not much ever happens in Green Bay, other than what occurs at 1265 Lombardi Ave. Lambeau Field -- notice, no naming rights -- is the city's corporate and social epicenter, its source of civic pride, its very heart and soul.

The nearest NCAA Division I football team is 2 1/2 hours away at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Milwaukee is 115 miles to the south, so the Packers are the only game in town.

Their reach extends north into Michigan's Upper Peninsula, south into Chicago Bears turf and west clear to the Dakotas (the team had a 40-year head start on the Minnesota Vikings). And that doesn't count the fans who have relocated or the ones Harlan likens to the 'Notre Dame subway alumni.'

'People call me and say, 'I'm a lifelong Packers fan and someday I'd love to see Lambeau Field,' ' Harlan said. 'They've never even been here.'

On game days, the far-flung Cheeseheads converge on Green Bay and fill the Lambeau parking lot hours before kickoff. First-time visitors are blown away by the passion, creativity and dedication of the tailgaters.

There's nothing quite like the smell of 10,000 bratwursts sizzling on 1,000 grills and the sight of footballs spiraling through 10-degree air.

The Packers-Seahawks game will mark the 268th consecutive sellout at Lambeau, including playoffs. That's every single game since 1960. The waiting list for season tickets is at 76,800. With an average of 70 fans per year giving up their seats, the guy at the end of the list will have to wait 1,000 years, give or take a few decades, for his name to come up.

Season-ticket holders live in all 50 states and several foreign countries, including Japan. Domo arrigato.

The obsession with the team is such that the 10 p.m. TV newscasts in Milwaukee and Green Bay are dominated by Packers developments. The long snapper has an ingrown toenail? That leads the sports report. The price of beer is going up at Lambeau? That's the top story.

Brett Favre retires? We don't even want to think about that one.

The Packers have won 12 championships, more than any other NFL franchise, and three Super Bowl titles. The team has sent 21 players to the Hall of Fame. Green Bay city streets are named after former players and coaches, including Mike Holmgren.

But it's not about all that.

It's about a unique relationship between a professional sports franchise and its fans.

It's about people feeling they're a part of something special, something unique, something good.

The Packers don't need throwback jerseys to evoke their glorious past.

In all the ways that count, it's still 1965 here. And always will be.

Everyone knows by now (or can tell from reading any of my blog entries to date) that I'm a passionate Packer Backer...if you still haven't figured it out then my screen name should be a clue.  My late father was from Milwaukee originally and transplanted here in sweet home Alabama many years ago.  I was born to a cheesehead so I was born to be one, but I digress.

As a passionate fan (and red head to boot) I can sometimes be opinionated and talk some smack (insert gasp of shock and awe here).  I have to say that I have questioned many a decision made by Ted Thompson.  I have to say that I even was skeptical of the McCarthy hire somewhat.  Well, I stand corrected on all counts (or actually, sit at this time...it's more comfortable to type that way).  I don't know if I'd call ol' TT a genius yet because some of it might just be a case of things panning out better than expected, but I have to tip my hat.

The Packers started out scary yesterday to say the least.  I was questioning putting Grant back in the game after 2 fumbles that resulted in spotting Seattle 14 points, but again I tip my hat to the coaching staff and Favre also for "coaching him up" and getting him to shake it off enough to make that type of comeback.  He was like a man possessed after that...he truly came back out determined to make up for the mistakes and make up for them he did - in a monumental way!

And who else but Favre could have done what he did with that underhanded dump off pass to Donald Lee?  He did that instead of falling down and getting sacked in the snow at 38 years old and I don't think he was even looking up at the time!

The Giants are the only thing standing in the way of my Pack making it to the big one again!  I never thought at the beginning of the year that we would be sitting here at this point.  I'm amazed and excited and freaked out all at the same time!  It worries me when everyone says that we've got an automatic win because we're at home at the Frozen Tundra with Favre instead of in Dallas.  The Giants are a good team or else they wouldn't be playing for the NFC Championship!  That being said, I believe that we will win because there is a fire and look in the eyes in the Packers like I haven't seen in years, but I hardly think that it can be considered "automatic".  It will be hard fought, but I certainly don't expect to see any "gimme" sacks for Strahan.

The NFL football community is drooling over the possibility (probability according to most) of Brady vs. Favre...the future vs. the "old guy" future hall of famer.  This also gets me nervous, but I know that Favre doesn't pay attention to most of his own press to the point that it becomes a distraction.  I remember at the beginning of the season the sports media practically making fun of Favre for saying in a press conference that this is one of the most talented teams that he has played with in recent years.  I guess he's getting the last laugh.

This is a focused and tenacious Packer team.  If the expected SuperBowl matchup happens, then watch out, Patriots.  You might be unbeaten, but you are NOT unbeatable.  Most people won't predict the Pack to come out victorious, but that's just the way we like it.  My 2007-08 Packers have proven everyone wrong (including some of us fans that are realists) since the beginning of the year so in the words of Deanna Favre herself, "don't bet against me".  GO PACK GO!!!!!

Go PACK Go!!! Get another SuperBowl, Favre! We started out super scary, but ended up nothing short of fabulous!

Yes, blogger land, I'm still among the living.  I'm sorry for my hiatus, but it's the most wonderful time of the year...and the busiest when you are a full time working mother of 2 children under the age of 6!  We're back to regularly schedule programming now and I have a lot to cover since I've been busy playing Santa's little helper.

First of all, my favorite subject of my Packers.  Of course I'm disappointed with losing to the Cowboys, but I'm more disappointed in the way we lost.  We really could have and should have won that game.  (I will take this opportunity to complain about the fact that there aren't any "official Packers sports bars" in the greater Birmingham area according to www.southendzone.com so I sat for 4 1/2 hours at a local establishment in my most obnoxious green and gold attire talking my normal smack to the cowboys in the room instead of sharing it with only Packer fans.  There were other Cheeseheads there, but let's just say that they weren't as loud as the people in silver and blue...but not to disappoint you guys...I did represent trying to make up for the short fall.)  As I was saying, we had plenty of opportunities to win that game - even with Favre hurt on the sidelines and Rodgers at the helm - but we still gave it away.  That frustrates me more than anything, but it wasn't as devastating as some fans would like to make it out to be.

After the win yesterday at home against the Raiders we have clinched the North currently at 12 and 2.  We're at St. Louis and Chicago and then end at home with Detroit.  A rematch is desired and expected after that.  It's an exciting year for the Green Bay Packers and it couldn't have happened at a better time.  Favre is having a blast out there and that's when he is at his best.  I've had so much fun watching him this season and feel like a proud mama (even though he's older than me).

Speaking of Favre - it was announced last week that he is Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.  I couldn't think of a more deserving player this year.  SI did a great job honoring not only Favre on the field, but off the field as well.  I even learned some things about him that I didn't know from the article (and that's saying something there)!  He's truly a unique person and I'm proud that WHENEVER he retires that no matter what he'll go out on top as a Packer!

Now, moving to college football with respect to the BCS Bowl selections (wow, that is some fancy typing to get 'respect' and 'BCS' in the same sentence...and all without laughing out loud while doing so).  There are several things that seem crazy to me...one being that Alabama got into a bowl game (yes, I guess that I'm Alabama's only realistic fan).  Just one year ago we fired our coach after going 6 and 6...now we're paying a 6 and 6 coach $4 million.  I realize that Alabama travels well (compared to SC) and there is a really "neato" story line for the talking heads with Saban going back to Louisiana, but who is going to be excited about watching this game?  The SEC had 9 teams selected to go bowling...I repeat 9!  Is it just me?  I will "tow the company line" and will root for all the SEC schools playing in the bowls because that is the conference my team is in, but what a joke.  No one else in the country could care less about 9 SEC teams going to bowl games.  Good luck LSU in the "championship" game and for retaining your coach for another year...you'll need it!

Finally, congratulations to Tim Tebow of Florida on winning the Heisman.  We all knew that you were a great player, but now we are also impressed with how you conducted yourself this past weekend.  You added class to the crazy hype of the show and you were a fantastic representative of your school, conference and family.  I pray that my boys grow up as unashamed, outspoken and with as much integrity and class as you seem to have on and more importantly off the field.  I hope that you will excel one day soon in the NFL despite the majority of your predecessors with this trophy.  I hate that you ended up a Gator as an Alabama fan, but glad we didn't have to play you this year and don't next year either!

In closing, it's been an interesting season in both college and NFL.  We've had fruit basket turnover in the BCS and watched some very memorable games, and we've got both an undefeated and a winless team in the pros.  None was probably expected, but at the end of the day both of my teams are post-season...I just hope they don't cause me to go postal this season!!

I absolutely love this article!  It gives great analysis to some of the reasons why we love Brett Favre...he's a lot like one of us (except for the millions of dollars a year for doing what he loves...gated property...plenty more zeros in the checkbook balance...endorsement deals...book deals, etc.)!

I can't wait until tonight's game which I'm sure will live up to the hype...Go Pack Go!!!!!!!

Please work out this writer's strike thing...Jack Bauer helps me get through football's off season:

The embed code isn't working here - check my comment and you can see what I'm talking about...looks like the best season yet!