The Aftermath: Local Edition

I want to start off by saying that it is Tuesday evening and I haven't stopped smiling yet. I think if someone told me that they would give me 100,000:1 odds on the Packers making the Super Bowl if I gave them $100, knowing before I bet that the following was going to happen: early season-ending injuries by Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley and Nick Barnett, season enders by 13 others, back-to back losses to the Redskins and Dolphins, a loss to Detroit, an injury to Aaron Rodgers and three straight road playoff games; I would have told that person to keep their money. Yet here we are. At some point after Ray Rhodes and Mike Sherman nearly drove a championship team into the ground, I doubted if the Pack would ever get back. But we are headed to Dallas.

Here are the top five things that stood out to me about Sunday, in chronological order:

1) Watching the game in the comfort controlled climate of my house. Good every time.

2) Cutler's fake injury

3) Raji's pick-six and subsequent dance.

4) Woodson's postgame speech. "One. Two. Three. WHITE HOUSE!". Gives me goosebumps.


5) The bonfire in the middle of the street next to my house. Yup, that happened. People in Wisconsin were standing outside in sub-zero temperatures around a bonfire set in the middle of a public street in a residential neighborhood. And there was DJ equipment set up, and a Packer music playlist going at relatively high volumes, including all of your favorites: "Go You Packers, Go, Go", "The Bears Still Suck", "I'm a Cheesehead Baby", "We Go Green Bay", "Where the Hell is Neenah", "G-Force", "I Love My Green Bay Packers" and newbies: "CM3" and "Fly Like A Cheesehead". Finally, one neighbor is a Steeler fan, so a large corn stalk apparently left over from Halloween decorations was burned in effigy in his front yard. No arrests, injuries or burned down houses were reported.

Aside from game analysis, which, like the last game will make me want to kill myself by the time the game actually rolls around, there are a few key questions to answer:

1) What will be the random, token trinket that takes off and makes someone a millionaire in Wisconsin? In '97 and '98 it was whoever invented the "Packer flag". I've heard they have similar things that are popular in L.A. for the Lakers. These things were ridiculous and obnoxious, and people flew those things for YEARS afterwards. And somewhere in the neighborhood of 98% of cars had them during the last two year Super Bowl run.


2) What am I doing for the game? Do I fly solo (other than my wife) for the game? Do I attempt to put together a select group of individuals that I can stand to watch the game with? Do I do a standard "Super Bowl Party" that I'm guessing I will get invited to? Do I do the unthinkable and go down to a bar in Green Bay and pour out into the streets with the locals after a win? Do I suck 12 dicks at once to raise enough cash to go to Dallas? Time will tell.