Go Big Blue!

I’ve always felt that after the Yankees the football Giants were the most popular pro team in the shore area so there is certainly quite a bit of interest in Sunday’s NFC Championship game in which “Big Blue” takes on the Packers at storied Lambeau Field. Much of the talk this week has been about the weather forecast for Green Bay in which the high temperature Sunday is expected to reach only 6 degrees and it will likely be colder then that when the game kicks off at 6:30 our time. The good news (if you want to call it that) is that with the exception of a few flurries there is no snow in the forecast but make no mistake about it the weather conditions will be a factor.

I would imagine that TV ratings for this game will be off the charts for a few reasons. The Packers are really a national team and have fans all across the country and feature one of the most popular players of our generation in quarterback Brett Favre. In playing the Giants they meet another one of the NFL’s traditional franchises and while not having the sex-appeal of say the Dallas Cowboys, the G-Men also have a large and loyal fan base. What also makes this game so appealing is that the weather here is going to be cold Sunday…making for a perfect excuse to stay indoors. And when you throw in that Monday is a National Holiday it means there will be a lot of people attending house parties as well as local bars and restaurants because they don’t have to get up early the next day.

Of course there is another game Sunday but to me that one is a mere formality and just a warm-up to Giants-Packers. The Patriots should have little trouble in disposing of the warm-weather and injury-riddled Chargers in frosty Foxboro, Massachusetts where they play for the AFC Championship. While it won’t be as bitter as Green Bay it will not be nice as the high temperature is expected to be just 26 degrees with windy conditions. I imagine sometime late in the 3rd quarter San Diego will be looking forward to the flight home to Southern California.

As for a prediction on Giants-Packers. My heart says “Big Blue” but my head says”cheeseheads” in a close one…say 20-17.