The green, green grass of home
We were ribbing a friend of ours who's a Packer fan the other day. "You must be worried," we said. "You've got a problem. Drew Brees [the New Orleans quarterback] is playing out of his mind." He was quick with the answer: "But we don't have to play him in the Dome."
A good point. The Pack has home field advantage. And their field has a mystique that most visiting teams simply can't crack. Not to mention the wicked cold.
But despite legend, the Green Bay gridiron itself is neither barren nor frozen, even in the harsh middle of a Wisconsin January. All sorts of steps are taken to keep it green and soft, as explained here and here.
| Posted at 9:41 AM | Permalink |
|
Comments (7)
I don't think your friend needs to be worried, as I don't see the Saints getting past the 49ers.
Posted by Dave J. | January 14, 2012 10:14 AM
Good stuff! Thanks, Jack.
Green Bay won the Super Bowl as a wild card last year, on the road throughout the playoffs as everyone remembers. This will be the first home playoff game of the Aaron Rogers QB era. Over the past decade, the Packers are 3-2 in home playoff games at Lambeau:
• Jan. 12, 2008 - NFC Divisional - Green Bay 42, Seattle 20
• Jan. 9, 2005 - NFC Wild Card - Minnesota 31, Green Bay 17
• Jan. 4, 2004 - NFC Wild Card - Green Bay 33, Seattle 27
• Jan. 4, 2003 - NFC Wild Card - Atlanta 27, Green Bay 7
• Jan. 20, 2002 - NFC Divisional - St. Louis 45, Green Bay 17
Packers Chronology: 1919-2011
http://www.packers.com/history/chronology.html#2000
Packers, Giants get boost from history
by Barry Wilner, AP Pro Football Writer
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/14/2589221/packers-giants-get-boost-from.html
Notable excerpt:
The Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have good memories from recent postseasons. Green Bay went from sixth-seeded NFC wild card to Super Bowl champion a year ago. New York used a similar route to win the 2007 NFL championship - winning at Lambeau Field on the way.
They meet Sunday in the final game of the divisional round.
****
Just as 2007 certainly helped the Giants. They fell to New England in the season finale that year, completing the Patriots' undefeated record, but gained so much confidence from that loss that they were not intimidated when they met up with the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Giants won 17-14.
Posted by Mojo | January 14, 2012 10:26 AM
Ah, that's 2-3, sorry. Frozen brain tundra.
Posted by Mojo | January 14, 2012 10:28 AM
All I can say is God Bless the men who made football what it is today
http://www.electro-mech.com/team-sports/football/who-invented-american-football/
Posted by Gibby | January 14, 2012 11:01 AM
That's not the kind of grass we had when I lived in Wisconsin.
Posted by Newleaf | January 14, 2012 12:17 PM
Mojo - Did you read the article you pasted?
Posted by Pdx2SF | January 14, 2012 1:13 PM
Yes, of course, Pdx2SF. Did I miss something?
Posted by Mojo | January 14, 2012 1:22 PM