Going for Two: Week Thirteen Still Talking

I should post about other games today, and maybe I will, or maybe that will wait to tomorrow. I've been watching replays and reactions. Some considered it subdued, but Wayne Larrivee and Larry McCarren's commentary was only that if you have never heard them before. They're old-timers, they're been there through the good years in the Glory Days, the bad decades that followed, the comeback in the 90's, Rodgers' Super Bowl, and if you can't hear the excitement in their voices, well, maybe you need to read it.

One last un-timed play... scrambles to his left, under pressure, rolling right, he escapes! Right side looking, rainbows high and deep in to the end zone! And it is CAUGHT! CAUGHT FOR A TOUCHDOWN! A LEAPING TOUCHDOWN CATCH IS MADE AND THE PACKERS HAVE WON! Unbelievable. - The Packers Radio Network

The catch heard round the world.

The silence from the Lions radio announcer speaks more than the rest of the words. I don't really understand Portuguese, but I understand excitement, and this is definitely the best broadcast of what will be the play of the year. And now for the dramatization a 61 yard and season-saving throw of which I am glad to be on the good side. Don't forget to check out the video from the stands that showed the play from the side and just how close the ball got to the rafters.

It was an incredible moment for Packer fans. I can't remember just how many times I told my "where was I" moment about turning off the game to ease my stress level, seeing a promising Facebook comment, the 27 to 23 score, then turning the TV back on again in time to see the replay. My mother called me this weekend to relay the experience of her and my dad, and we just can't stop watching and sharing the videos.

Aaron Rodgers breathless interview at the end of the game showed that the difference in the psychological effect between a win and a loss is real, and this one is huge. An emotionally positive win can give a team the edge they need to win an upset the next week. On the other hand, a loss is complete in its devastation. There may be wins that count for more than others, but awarding partial points for losses only made my calculations less accurate. In fact, subtracting partial points for a loss can increase the accuracy for some of my calculations. The Packers have a lot of things to work on, but Dallas limps into town next week and I will be very surprised to see that Rodgers scowl for a while.