This is going to be one very long football season for me.
First of all, I’m low on funds, so I can’t afford DirecTV and the NFL Sunday Ticket — my preferred way of watching the Green Bay Packers.
That also means I’m poor enough that I can’t afford to go to the sports bar and watch the Packers there. I don’t like bars anyway, too many drunks there.
So I sit at home and hope that my Packers will be playing on the local TV games. But alas, each week Fox and CBS trade off having the double-header game. Fox carries the NFC games and had the single game this week. That’s always bad news for me, because here in Portland, when there is only one NFC game to show, that game is going to be whomever the Seattle Seahawks play. Sure enough, my Fox affiliate went to infomercials during the morning games, waiting for the afternoon to show the Seahawks game.
I switch to CBS, which was showing the Eagles/Chargers game, which was a spot of good news, since my wife is a Chargers fan. I watch the game, eagerly watching the scores pop up for the other games in progress. These occasional flashes of statistics will be my only way to watch the Packers this day.
The Packers are playing the Vikings in the Metrodome, which is a scary proposition, because Brett Favre has a lousy record in that dome. On the other hand, with all the party-boat distractions the Vikings have been through this week, maybe we’ll catch a break. The Packers are coming off the BYE week and a 52-3 victory before that, so maybe things will work out…
Midway through the first quarter: GB 7 MIN 0. All right! We scored first! That’s a good sign; had the Vikings scored first I thought it would be a rout.
Midway through the second quarter: GB 14 MIN 0. Yee-haw! Can it be the Vikings are self-destructing at home? Following all that bad press they’ve gotten this week? It’s too good to be true!
Halftime: GB 17 MIN 0. Awesome! The Packers are well on their way to vanquishing their hated foe and returning to division relevance!
Third quarter: GB 17 MIN 3. Well, they were bound to get on the board sometime.
Third quarter: GB 17 MIN 10. Uh, c’mon Packers, let’s get some more points…
Fourth quarter: GB 17 MIN 13. Hey, what the hell’s going on out there? Geez, watching the game based on just these scoreboard flashes is really stressful. But at least my wife’s Chargers have gone ahead of the Eagles in Philly.
Fourth quarter: GB 17 MIN 20 (3:10 remaining). Are you freakin’ kiddin’ me? The Packers just gave up a seventeen-point halftime lead with three minutes to go? Twenty unanswered points? Holy hell. But, hey, Brett Favre has the ball back with three minutes and needing only a field goal for overtime.
Fourth quarter: GB 20 MIN 20 (0:24 remaining). All right! Way to go Brett! drives the team down to tie it up with 24 seconds to go. I see this score flash on the screen and look forward to the overtime. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Fox will cut into the overtime coverage at the beginning of the upcoming Seahawks game.
San Diego lines up for a field goal to go up by a touchdown against the Eagles. It’s blocked! Eagles recover and run the block back for a touchdown! This is a bad omen…
Final: GB 20 MIN 23. I literally scream “Arrggghhhh!” as this flashes on the screen. As I watch Sportscenter later that night, I learn that the Vikings kicker kicked the second-longest game-winning field goal ever (56 yards) to beat the Packers with two seconds left. We give up a seventeen point lead, a Favre comeback for overtime, and the second-longest game-winning field goal ever, in a game where Ryan Longwell missed two field goals.
*BIG HEAVY SIGH* So now we’re 1-5. With the next games coming up at the 5-2 Bengals, home against the 4-2 Steelers, at the 4-2 Falcons, home against these same Vikings, and at the 4-2 Eagles. We could very well be 2-9 and mathematically eliminated from the playoffs before December.
On the bright side (as if there is a bright side) Brett Favre moved into 4th place for Most Consecutive Games Started in the NFL (211) and should pass John Elway for Career Passing Yards and Career Passing Attempts sometime in the next two or three games.
