Giants, Packers have a long, rich history

Well, my beloved Cowboys are out of it – in more ways then one. They really choked last weekend against the New York Giants, and I got pretty choked up in the process. I really thought they’d be going to Arizona on Feb. 3, but they just didn’t have it.

The only consolation is that the victorious Giants travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in what should be great battle. These teams have a long, rich history. They’ve both played starring roles in NFL history, the franchises dating back to the earliest days of the league.  These were original NFL teams, going to battle on the gridiron long before the 1966 merger with the AFL.

It was 47 years ago that the first NFL title game was played at Lambeau Field. New York’s Y.A. Tittle, Frank Gifford, and Sam Huff went up against Green Bay’s Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, Ray Nitschke, and their coach – a guy named Vince Lombardi. The Packers won that first game 37-0 on the frozen tundra of Lambeau.

Turn the calendar ahead 46 years, and the teams and the stadium they’ll do battle in haven’t changed much. They’ll even look pretty much the same as they did back in ’61 – the Packers’ yellow helmets, and green and yellow uniforms, against the blue helmets, white and red jerseys and gray pants of the Giants.
 
But the players are different, and the one that will make the difference this Sunday is Brett Favre. He looked very good in Green Bay’s 42-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks, and it’s hard to believe that this time last year, he was thinking of retirement.

If Favre plays like he has most of the season, he will lead the Packers to their first NFC championship in 11 years. Really, the only reason, or certainly the main reason, that the Packers are in the conference championship game is the 38-year-old Favre, who threw for 4,155 yards and completed a career-best 66.5 percent of his passes.

But I don’t expect the Giants to roll over for the Packers. New York has now won their last nine road games, an NFL record for consecutive road victories in a single season. This will be the Giants’ first trip to the NFC championship game since 2000, when they hammered the Minnesota Vikings 41-0.

A nice contrast with the Giants great road record is the fact the Packers have won 10 of their last 11 games at Lambeau Field and are 15-2 all-time at home in postseason play.

One thing’s for sure: this is the game of the weekend. No offence to San Diego, but I really don’t expect them to put up much of a fight against the unbeaten New England Patriots.

No, the Giants-Packers game will be a classic clash, and personally, I can’t wait for the kick off.

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