A Rotten End — A Ruined Season

It’s going to take a long time to figure out why this happened, as no one associated with the team now will admit that they were rusty, overconfident, under-prepared, or whatever. But this loss will stick with the fans for eternity. A team that seemed destined to repeat as champions fell flat on their face with their pants around their ankles. From day one after the lockout, this team was the unanimous choice as the best in the league, the almost sure pick to play in and conquer Super Bowl XLVI. All season long, they piled up win after win after win, stumbling only in Kansas City. Securing the number one N.F.C. seed and the all-“important” home field advantage. The last football some of the team played was three weeks ago, on Christmas Day. No need to risk the starters to injury in the last game of the season, right? Let them lounge on the sidelines for another week. Then, the coveted “week off” — the reward for being such an awesome team. Now, when at last the whole team is on the field, at Lambeau Field because it’s such a huge advantage (another “reward” for being so awesome), they play like the Indianapolis Colts. The Packers, in front of the whole nation (who had to be laughing their rear ends off) played like the worst team in the N.F.L. for all four quarters, and were beaten soundly by the same team that last beat them in the playoffs at home. Their 15-1 season is just, to use a Ron Wolf quote about the ’97 team, “a fart in the wind.” That record means absolutely nothing except as a monument to the biggest choke in Packers’ history.

The window in which you have everything lined up just right to win a championship is incredibly narrow. You cannot squander that opportunity. To do so is inexcusable. How much this demoralizes the organization is yet to be seen. It could be disastrous.

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