Now that I’ve thawed out and my fingers are moving again, I can finally write this…yes, I was one of the fortunate 74,000 plus that froze our outer extremities at Lambeau Field Sunday night (actually, excuse me, it’s referred to not only as Lambeau Field, but also as “the frigid conditions at Lambeau Field” or “the Frozen Tundra” or “the numbingly cold Lambeau Field”…well, you get the picture). And, yes, it really was THAT cold….I think somewhere around negative 24 degrees with the wind chill. Anyway, part of the mystique of being there is the experience of the cold…it’s about as close as any fan can get to feeling like they were “there for their team”. Well, thanks to Catherine, Mark, Sheryl and Dave (who kindly offered up extra tickets to my husband and I) we were “there for our team”, even though our teams are really the Dolphins and 49ers respectively and well, obviously they’re pretty irrelevant right now (and for a while). Ok, so which team do we root for? Well, after arriving in Green Bay and going straight to Brett Favre’s Steak House, we were starting to lean towards rooting for the home team. Then, going to Catherine’s family’s traditional Green Bay tailgate complete with Brats (as they are supposed to be called….never, ever say sausage), and an entire basement filled with Favre, Lombardi, Starr paraphernalia, how could we possibly not root with these gracious and utterly committed (not in the Britney Spears way, just die-hard fans) fans.

Walking into the frigid Lambeau, you can’t help but feel something special…..just a beautiful place filled with years and years of tradition and championships. The game did not disappoint. It was close, tension filled, COLD and remarkably mistake free (from Eli Manning). As much as I was “feelin” the emotion of the Green Bay crowd, I did change my allegiance by the beginning of the 4th quarter. With the game tied at 20-20, I started envisioning the story line of the wild card Giants pulling off one of the biggest upsets in modern times….coming into the frozen tundra and taking on the wildly popular and legendary Brett Favre and his Packers…..it really doesn’t get much better than that. And, I love the thought of how crucified Eli Manning has been all season (actually all his 4 seasons) with the Giants and how he’s always in the shadow of his big bro Peyton, and couldn’t help but send my support to these underdogs.

And, as you probably saw, the Giants did prevail, even with the disadvantage of sub-zero temperatures in the hallowed stadium. One graphic even showed that Green Bay, WI was colder than Greenland at the present time. That’s amazing! Alas, the Giants blew the game TWICE (2 missed field goals by Giants Kicker Lawrence Tynes). But, the Packers couldn’t capitalize, and Lawrence Tynes booted one through in OT — sending the extreme underdog Giants to the Super Bowl. When the refs threw up their hands indicating Tynes kick was good, you could almost hear a pin drop in the stadium. Packer fans were stunned! They could not believe their team actually lost. People just stood in place in silence. (Note: The Giants mirror the Pittsburgh Steelers of 2 years ago, winning 3 road games to get to the Super Bowl. The Steelers went on to win the whole thing. Will the Giants?) (NY Giants 23, Green Bay 20)

In the early game on Sunday, we watched the San Diego Chargers take on the undefeated New England Patriots. Sure, this was not the most exciting matchup we could have anticipated (everyone, other than a Chargers fan, wanted to witness the Indy Colts take on the powerhouse Pats) but even though it was not as exciting of a theoretical match-up (given that the Pats smeared the Chargers earlier in the season), the actual game turned out to be a duel to the end (or, um… at least the 4th quarter). Tom Brady and the Patriots earned a ticket to the Super Bowl, and moved to 18-0 defeating a bruised up Chargers team. If Tom Brady wins the Super Bowl, not only will the 2007 Pats be dubbed the greatest team of all time, but we need to start talking about Tom Brady as the best Quarterback of all time. What else does this guy need to prove?! And in another upbeat note, Junior Seau (the Pats All-Pro Defensive Back) beat his former team to earn another trip back to the Super Bowl. His Chargers got destroyed by Steve Young and the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX. (New England 21, San Diego 12)

So, easy question — which team are you rooting for? Do you want the Pats to win, and see history made as the Pats are dubbed the BEST TEAM TO EVER PLAY FOOTBALL — or do you want to see the ultimate upset, and watch the Giants pull the rug out on the fun party at the last second? It’s really hard to decide. And to make your decision even harder, this matchup also reprises the whole Boston/New York rivalry. Bet you didn’t think about that until just… this… second.

And a big shout out to Bill at Sportif….we can’t thank you enough for outfitting us to survive the frigid conditions. Our Canadian Goose Down did the trick and we made it through not only a full 4 quarters, but an overtime to boot! You’re our Hero!

One more aside, the best part of being female at a football game (in cold weather) is the line for the Ladies’ bathroom is WAY shorter than the mens…..and, much warmer and cleaner.

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