This year has brought back a lot of old memories of Super Bowls past. There is nothing quite like seeing your team reach the pinnacle of the game. What makes it much sweeter for a Packer Fan is playing for the trophy named after the coach you adored as a kid. People still use Lombardi quotes all the time when trying to convey sales, competition and or human trials and tribulations. But this year just seems special compared to all those seasons past. There is even a hit Broadway play called Lombardi this year. It just seems like it's destiny this year and I am starting to believe they will pull it off.

This season has been loaded with key and major injuries that would usually knock any team out of playoff contention. But as Ted Thompson, General Manager and chief architect of the team personel said, "It's like these guys don't know they aren't supposed to be successful." There are so many key positions that are now held by players who couldn't make any team roster earlier in the year... and they are now not just starters, but excelling when they are out there!! Something special is happening here.

So I was thinking back to other opportunities at winning it all. There was of course all those championship teams of the 60's which culminated by winning the 1st two Super Bowls... not so super really. The AFL was not a league quite of the same quality as the NFL yet. To lose to those teams would have been a joke, until Baltimore didn't take it as seriously and the Jets prevailed. That was a shot of adrenalin that brought them into legitimacy. The first "Super Bowls" weren't even called super bowls... they were simply the NFL-AFL Championship game. Nonetheless, the Packers walked all over the first 2 AFL teams they faced and continued the winning trend in Green Bay. If they had started the Championship game one year earlier, the Packers would have won 3 straight Super Bowls... no team has ever done that.

Then there were the drought years... as the old Packer players retired and their coach moved on, they fell back into mediocre play for many years. They were content to be able to beat the Bears each year and that wasn't so easy either. Then along came a guy at QB that really made us notice... after so many journeymen at the position for so long... the Magic Man started giving us hope. No, not Brett Favre, but a guy who seemed to be able to pull out close games at the end with heroics by the name of Don Majkowski, the Magic Man. His star was rising quickly until a day in the early 90's when he went down early in the year with a season ending injury. In comes this fresh young kid that nobody except Packer fans ever heard of... Brett Favre. And even Packer fans pronounced his name Favor at first. You know the rest of his story so I won't go through it all.

Brett certainly gave us thrills... but for 4-5 years he couldn't seem to get us into the Super Bowl. Losing year after year to the Cowboys... then it happened. We got there finally and won it. I still remember sitting up till all hours that night trying to watch every replay and interview I could find. Being an atheist, I didn't even mind listening to Reggie White praising Jesus for this win. Whatever Reggie... glad God told you to go to Green Bay!! It had been so long since I felt this way... the closest I could remember to feeling that way was the Pirates winning the 1979 World Series! It was an amazing high. I was not a follower of Jesus Christ at that time and it was the best feeling I knew. The party lasted all year and then they were favored the following year and ran into another team of destiny... the Denver Broncos.

That was the lowest feeling I had ever known. So much worse than not even making the playoffs... to get that far and lose like that was devastating. I was inconsolable for weeks. I'm sure I was miserable to be around too. When that is all you have in life, it's sad and you take it hard.

I was saved in 2005 and although I still loved my Packers, it wasn't all I focused on anymore. I started having more thrills hearing winning players like Kurt Warner state on the podium after the game how he owed it all to Jesus Christ. When they lost a game, even a big game the sting lasted as long as an injection. It was just a game and there was always next year to look forward too. Last year, I thought the Packers had a good shot in the post season only to watch them make 2 key mistakes within the first few minutes of the game against Arizona and facing a 17-0 deficit before they could blink! It was an amazing comeback as Aaron Rodgers actually brought them back to tie the game in a real barn burner. It was not to be but they gave me a thrill of fighting back and almost pulling it out. I could have had sour grapes after the game ended by a hard shot to the head of Rodgers which ended up as a fumble recovery for the game winner. The play should have been nullified but Rodgers probably wouldn't have played anymore anyway.... so here we are now.

One year later... and this team looked so good and was favored by many at the beginning of the season... then by the 6th game of the year at 3-3 with no running game, the 2 biggest  offensive weapons in Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley lost for the year along with some major players on defense... I was ready to give up. Fortunately the Packer's players didn't. I believe they are destined to go into the enemy's camp and take back that Lombardi Trophy to Green Bay, Titletown, USA! I also believe we will hear Aaron Rodgers, a man who I believe is the heir apparent to Bart Starr and will be back here a few more times in his career, make a statement of faith after the win. Bart Starr was the quintessential leader in all respects for that Packer dynasty in the 60's. When he spoke, everyone listened. Where he led them, they followed. He was a true leader on and off the field. He had impeccable character and is a man of deep faith. That is what was lacking with the B-Team. Brett was an amazing player but just lacked that certain quality that the really great ones have. Character. I am seeing that quality in the leadership of the A-Team and I know he has the character and integrity that Bart Starr has.  That will be the sweetest memory for me. Win or lose, we now have a leader of character and should have more opportunities like this in years to come. I do believe they are going to win this thing!!

Go Pack Go! and Let Jesus be praised!