A year ago, I wrote my first article for the Odyssey, titled “When The Clock Stops.” It wasn’t a planned narrative, but one written out of heartbreak and utter disbelief after watching a bizarre overtime rule abruptly end the Green Bay Packers’ playoff run.
Again.
Even now, the wound still feels a touch too raw.
“When the clock stops, we stay,” I wrote in my debut piece. “Win or lose, we proudly stand behind our team. While the stadium collects dust and one sports season is traded for another, we continue to live and breathe this game, just like the Packers themselves do. We feel the pain of such hard losses and we hang our heads with them. We hold on to the promise of next year and another shot at redemption.”
That shot at redemption began promising as Jordy Nelson returned to the lineup and the historic team commenced the preseason as Super Bowl favorites. But we all know what happened next; Packer Nation had front row seats as their more-than-a-team team unraveled in dramatic fashion.
Fast forward into the season and the same team picked to win it all struggled and fell to 4-6. Their chances of making the playoffs? A dismal 11.4 percent.
“Overall, average roster. That’s what they are.”
“I don’t see them running the table.”
“They can’t beat a team like Dallas. I don’t even think they could beat the New York Giants.”
ICYMI: the Green Bay Packers won their remaining six regular season games, clinching a spot in the playoffs and claiming the NFC North title. Increasing the win streak to eight games, they knocked both the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys out of the playoffs in route to the NFC Championship game.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last 24 hours, you already knew that.
Here’s the thing, though. I don’t think Packer fans are that surprised to be here. Those that routinely endure sub-freezing temperatures, those that bleed green and gold, they believe whole-heartedly that the Green Bay Packers are the greatest football team the world has ever known, and that faith is not at all related to win-loss percentages. Packer fans don’t know anything but utter loyalty and love for their team, playoff run or not.
When the clock stops, we stay. The only difference is, this time, the season continues.
Maybe the rest of the football world thought our roster was average. Maybe they thought we couldn’t beat the Giants or Cowboys. Maybe they thought the McCarthy era was over. Maybe they thought our season was finished long ago. But it’s not how the Green Bay Packers started that’s important; it’s how they’re never finished.
And if Aaron Rodgers says his team can run the table, you best believe that’s exactly what they’re going to do.
