The "Aint's" No More

The NFC Championship, well most years “It is what it is,” two teams get together to see who gets to advance and lose the Super Bowl, but this year, it was different. There were two hardnosed teams battling it out for a chance to shine on footballs most prized stage. This game portrayed two teams that deserve a chance in the Super Bowl, but only one can advance. What a game it was, I haven’t had this much trouble picking someone to be left alone yet!

If your team is capable of putting together a win in a high profile game like this one everyone is a winner with one player’s performance being exceptional. That performance today was demonstrated by Garrett Hartley. Hartley nailed 40 yard field goal to end the game in sudden death overtime. I tried kicking a field goal once during middle school football; I was inaccurate, when the ball even left the ground, from any distance beyond the goal line. The field goal was perfect; it split the uprights and had plenty of height on it. I know he has been kicking them all season, and probably most of his life, but Hartley did it with ease. He was stuck in OT, with his team relaying on him, for a chance at the first ever Super Bowl appearance by the Saints, with some 71 thousand people in attendance and another million viewers on TV, not to mention a timeout called prior to his kick by the Vikings. So I tip my hat to Hartley and all kickers this week, your job isn’t as easy as everyone says it is.

You really can’t blame a loss on any one particular player; especially in a game like this one where there are so many great plays and key stats. However someone’s performance cost had to cost the game at some point. Today that player is Brett Favre. He had such a phenomenal season and another Super Bowl appearance on the line. He did throw for 310 yards. He only had one touchdown though compared to his usual three. He also had two interceptions. But the pivotal point for Favre was his second interception during the 4th quarter that ended the Vikings hope of their first Super Bowl in 33 years. He attempted to throw the ball across his body into the middle of the field when he had a receiver wide open in the flats. The only thing I can think he may have been trying to do is create a potential big play or set his field goal kicker up in the middle of the field. It is hard to say what goes through a man’s mind when actually put into a situation like that one, but you would expect a veteran to make the right choice. Now what do we do? Sit back and watch the talk about whether he’ll be back or not next fall.