NFC Championship: Miracle on Sod?
By Bart
Check out the pre-game speech that Herb (Kurt Russell) gives to the US Hockey Players. My favorite, “Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have…..screw ’em. This is your time!” Now just replace hockey with football and Soviets with Packers.
As I walked out of Soldier Field yesterday trying to digest what it was I just witnessed and how it is going to lead to what I consider to be the 2nd biggest Bears game in my lifetime (I’m 37 by the way), I thought about Miracle on Ice Game and felt there were a lot of similarities. First of all, let me clarify, I left the 1985 Superbowl as number #1. However, I did rate next week’s game bigger than the Superbowl in 2006. Chew on that one for awhile, I’d be interested to hear everyone’s viewpoints on that topic. Anyway, let’s get back to the Miracle on Ice comparison:
+ Packers have become the media darlings of this season and playoffs. It has been that way all season. Despite their #6 seed, they are supposed to win the Superbowl. Russians – supposed to win the 1980 Hockey Olympic Title.
+People forget that when the U.S. won that game, it was not the gold medal round. The U.S. had to go play Finland for the championship. In alot of people’s minds, next week Packers game is the biggest game for Bears as the Russia game was bigger than playing Finland for the gold (myself included). For alot of Bears fans, this game will be more important than beating the Jets or Pittsburgh in the Superbowl. It will be remembered much longer. Think about it – how often is the US/Finland gold medal game talked about? Did you even know who they played?
+The US team = Underdogs. Chicago Bears = Underdogs. Now, the Bears being -3 doesn’t compare with the huge upset factor that was the Miracle on Ice. Nor do I think that this game will be deemed a Miracle if the Bears win, because despite the spread, the Bears should be favored. However, you can’t control public perception or public betting. You can check back later in the week for my thoughts on the game, spread, and my picks (I went 3-1 this week making my playoff total 5-3).
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts about the importance of this game. Is it bigger than the Superbowl for you? Do you agree with my comparison of the game to the Miracle on Ice? How would you feel if the Bears beat the Packers to go the Superbowl, but then lose that game? Would the Bears need to win the Superbowl to validate their win over the Packers in the NFC Championship Game?
One thing is for sure, this is going to be a long week. I’m a little worried about the Chicago economy and how much work is going to get done this week.
LET’S GO BEARS! LET’S GO BEARS! LET’S GO BEARS!