It's just a few days until the BIG GAME. The Super Bowl has evolved into such an event that if it didn't happen on a Sunday, Congress would have declared the day of the game a national holiday by now. It is usually one of the most watched telecasts of the year.
It is expected that over 100 million people will see all or part of the game. Of course, Steeler and Packer fans will be tuned in. But besides those lucky folks and many more of us who are football fans, the game will also draw some viewers who want to see the crazy commercials that debut on that day each year. Others will tune in because they are sick of watching figure skating or dog shows on the other channels.
Folks who know me have probably seen me wandering around at some point in one of my five Chicago Bear t-shirts or Bear slippers. They might guess that I would be rooting for the Steelers. But they would be wrong.
Actually, at different stages in my life, I was a Steeler or a Packer fan. I remember watching Bradshaw, Harris, Bleier & Co. back when Terry Bradshaw still had some hair on the top of his head. I was a fan of Bart Starr, Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung years ago when they starred for the Packers.
In more recent years, as I've become older and wiser, I have come to realize that the Chicago Bears best represent the history of the NFL and they have my undying loyalty. But that doesn't mean I don't admire the work it took for this week's combatants to reach the pinnacle in Dallas. Who would have thought that a team that had up to 15 players on the disabled list could battle through to the NFC title?
Just because you pull for one team, that doesn't mean you have to hate another team. If a team works hard, battles through adversity and isn't playing your team, there's no reason to hate them. If you are a real football fan, I hope you took time to admire the great career Brett Favre had. If you owned a business and a guy came to work every day, regardless of whether he was sick or hurt and was your best worker year in and year out, wouldn't you want a whole company like him? Regardless of the different stories swirling around him in his last couple of years in the league, Favre was worth every penny they paid him.
His replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers, has shown that he is a solid quarterback that gets better each time on the field. It's tough to replace a living legend, but Rodgers has finally emerged from that formidable shadow to establish himself as the leader of his team.
With all that said, I know I will probably shock a few people, including a certain Belle Plaine city councilman, a former Belle Plaine varsity football coach and a reporter friend who works at the Milwaukee newspaper. But I'm hoping the Green Bay Packers can bring the Lombardi trophy back to Wisconsin.
Green Bay 28 Pittsburgh 14
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