The stage was set for the playoffs, and we drew the Washington Redskins in the Wild Card round. Now, with the way the Packers had played in the weeks leading up to this game, I didn't have that high of hopes. The game started and we quickly fell behind 11-0 after the first quarter. Then the Packers just shifted into high gear, and outscored the Redskins 35-7 in the final 3 quarters, and scoring a TD on 4 out of 5 possessions! Finally, this was the Packers team that I remembered from the start of the season! We breezed to a 35-18 win, and we were on to Arizona, thanks to an unfortunate missed field goal from the Vikings kicker Blair Walsh. I'm sure the majority of you have heard about that by now. The Vikings played the early game in the Wild Card round, so we knew the Packers were going to Arizona with a win. So naturally, as the Packers were wrapping up their win, Robbie and I were already discussing travelling to Arizona the next weekend for the NFC Divisional Championship game. There was no question about it, we were there!
I was super excited as this would be my very first playoff football game, only the second away football stadium I have been to, and the first game I've seen in person since the season opener vs. the Bears at Lambeau in 2009. For a refresher, that was the game where Jay Cutler threw 4 INT's. :) The Packers played on Saturday night, which was perfect for our road trip plans, and neither of us had to take off work!
We left for Phoenix on Saturday morning, with about a 4.5 hour trip in front of us. The drive through the desert is always so boring, but we were able to see some snow-capped mountains as we left Southern California! We also had a Packers car window flag flying proudly in the wind as we drove!
We reserved a hotel in Goodyear, AZ, a western suburb of Phoenix, and just a few minutes from the stadium in Glendale. When we got there, Packer fans were very present, much to our satisfaction! We only stayed in our room for as long as it took to change, and I wore my colors well! I was head to toe green and gold, literally. From my shoes, socks, pants, shirt, necklace, earrings and hat, I represented well! As I was going through all my Packers stuff to bring with, I realized I was ill-equipped for a warm weather game! I had scarves, gloves, stocking caps and winter coats. I never fathomed going to a game (let alone a playoff game) in warm weather! Needless to say, I left all my winter Packer gear behind!
We decided to eat ahead of getting to the stadium, but weren't sure where. After checking out his map, Robbie had the perfect place for a Wisconsinite to eat, Culver's, an unexpected, yet great surprise! Culver's is a midwestern fast food eatery that we have missed since moving away, and I was pleasantly surprised that they had one in Phoenix!
After the deliciousness of Culver's, we were off to the stadium, and I was pumped! The venue, the University of Phoenix stadium was not in downtown Phoenix, which made it so much easier to get to! It's fun driving up to stadiums that are on their own because those stadiums look like behemoths rising up from the ground, and this one was no different! We parked in a lot that was adjoining with a shopping complex and also the arena of their hockey team, the Phoenix Coyotes. It was really a cool area, much like an outdoor shopping center, and we found out quickly that it was the hub for pre-game festivities. The outdoor mall was littered with Cardinal and Packer fans having such a great time. And let me tell you, Packer fans showed up! The fanhood in that mall was equal, I would say, and we were in good company!
We walked the rest of the way to the stadium, and it got even bigger as we approached it! The gates weren't open when we got there, and we were probably 4th in line! After getting through the turnstiles, we walked right in to see the field, and it turned out we entered about right at the 50-yard line! It was a pretty cool sight!
We then made our way to our seats. Robbie has been to plenty more football games that I have, so he chose our seats, and he did a GREAT job! We were in the upper deck straight up from the endzone, so we had a great view of the whole field! It also became my new favorite place to sit!
We had about an hour and a half before kick-off, but there was plenty to see. A few of the Packer players were out on the field doing pre-pre game warm-ups, so I had a lot of fun zooming in on them doing their thing. Before I knew it, the whole team was out warming up. We were lucky enough to have them warming up in our endzone so I was able to capture some awesome close-ups of various players, including Micah Hyde, James Starks and Eddie Lacy, and of course Aaron Rodgers tossing the football along the sidelines! Pre-game warmups for football is just as fun as watching batting practice for baseball! :)
The time was finally here for the National Anthem, and this was quite a production as they had a flag as big as the football field that they brought out as American Idol winner and Phoenix native Jordin Sparks sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was beautiful!
It might just be me, but during the coin toss, I always want the Packer to defer on the initial kickoff. I like the idea of starting on offense right away in the second half as opposed to the first half, and here's why: A) a trend that I've noticed is that the Packers usually go 3-and-out on their first drive; B) if the Packers score at the end of the first half, momentum stays on our side to begin the 2nd half; and C) if the opponent scores late in the 2nd quarter, we just took momentum away from them! The Packer ended up deferring at the beginning of this game, which made me really happy!
During the Cardinals' first possession, the stadium was really quiet, and I was thinking "what the heck, this is a playoff game and no one is cheering! If this was Lambeau, the noise would be deafening." But then, as the Cardinals went 3-and-out (see what I mean by the trend), I quickly understood the pattern of these fans. They are quiet on offense, but when the opponent has the ball, they blow the roof off the joint! I can't describe to you the level of noise in that stadium during the first Packers possession! I went to tell Robbie something and I couldn't hear myself speak! It was probably equivalent of when things got loud in the Metrodome. Think Favre vs. San Fran....
During the first half, the Cardinals got into the endzone once, and we mustered 2 field goals. There were a few opportunities to score at least one TD in the first half, but our receivers dropped some crucial passes. Sad day. The score was 7-6 at the half, in favor of the Cardinals.
This game was the first for me to ever see a halftime show! Singer Flo Rida performed a mix of his hits such as Apple Bottom Jeans, and it was just in time for the release of his new album. He was pretty good!
The second half started with an exchange of INT's on consecutive drives, and the Packers ended up scoring on that next possession after the Cardinals INT. 13-7 in favor of the Packers! I happened to capture it on video! And it happened to be the only time I recorded anything during the game! Good timing!
To end the 3rd quarter, the score was 13-10 after Arizona hit a field goal. I was really hoping their kicker would Blair Walsh at least one of them. Yes, I did just use his name as a verb.
The fourth quarter was an exciting one, and the Packers needed every single 15 minutes to score, so we will just jump to that. The Packers were down 20-13 with 55 seconds remaining. It was 4th and 20 and the ball was at our own 4-yard line. Right before the snap, I turned to Robbie and said "our season lies on this, a 4th and 20." It was a terrible way to end the season. Then the snap happened. Rodgers was scrambling in the very back of his endzone, and somehow was able to send the ball soaring...60 yards....into the hands of his wide receiver Janis! NO WAY! Rodgers just did it again, just like in Detroit. Hail Mary for a completion! Our season was still alive, and it sounded like the stadium deflated; you could hear a pin drop. Well, not really a pin drop, because it was the Packers fans' turn to raise the roof! However, the Packers were still battling the clock to get into the endzone! After a Packers penalty for a loss of 5 yards and an incomplete pass, the clock had ticked to only 5 seconds remaining. The Packers were at the Arizona 41 and needed another miracle. What are the odds?! The ball was snapped, and as time ran out, Rodgers yet again scrambled behind mid-field, let the ball fly into the endzone, and bam, TOUCHDOWN PACKERS! Oh My Goodness! I was flipping out, and I was even more excited when Robbie told me he had that touchdown on video! That play goes in my top 5 best sports moments I've seen in person! With a successful field goal, the game was tied, and heading into overtime. This was too much for me! What a game so far! Rodgers crushes pressure!
Might I just say that overtime scares me! I have always thought the NFL overtime rules are pretty unfair. They have a coin flip, and whichever team gets the ball, they have 4 downs to score. If they score a field goal, the other team has a chance on offense. If the first possession ends in a touchdown, the game is over. If neither team scores after they've each had a chance, the game ends in a tie. But being this was a playoff game, the game would go on until someone scored. I prefer college football overtime rules where, no matter what, each team has a chance to be on offense. In addition, the Packers track record in OT has always been dismal. Anyway, the Cardinals ended up winning the coin toss, and I just assumed our season was over right then. On the very first snap, Carson Palmer scrambled out of several tacklers and tossed the ball across his body for 11 yards to Arizona's #1 receiver, Larry Fitzgerald. He then ran for an additional 75 yard bringing them just 5 yards out from heading to the NFC Championship. All it took was a shovel pass for the crowd to errupt. Game over. Packers lose 26-20. Damn.
The Packers missed a lot of opportunities to put more points on the board throughout the game, and it's just tough that it came down to OT. What stung the most is the decision behind kicking the extra point to tie the game at the end of regulation instead of going for 2 to win the game. I'd like to sit with head coach McCarthy and ask him why. Ugghhh! If it were up to me, he would've been relieved of his duties after the NFC Championship game last season (don't get me started on THAT).
All in all, this game was a pretty great first playoff experience for me, even though the outcome was not in our favor! We got to see things that most games throughout the season don't have; 2 consecutive successful hail mary's with not even a minute left to tie the game (don't tell me your QB is better than ours, except Denver, maybe), and an overtime with 2 coin flips (let's see that happen again in our lifetime). In addition, Arizona knows how to do football. Everything from their stadium, their fans, and their class, I was not let down. U of A fans can learn a thing or two from them. Just kidding, kind of. I did find out, though, that the last time the Packers lost to Arizona in the playoffs, they won the Superbowl the following year (thanks Isaac). Time will tell....
The next day we began our journey back home, but we decided to take the southern route, the I-8 instead of the typical I-10 west. We had all day to get home, and we could definitely use a change of scenery on our drive. It turns out that the I-8 was a beautiful drive home! The I-8 west took us through Yuma and El Centro and finally over to San Diego. Along the way, in Arizona, I felt like I was in some kind of mid-western vortex. We started our drive by seeing hay bales and tractors in fields tending to green crops. Then as we drove further, the smell of cow manure led us to the biggest herd of cattle I have ever seen in my life, and I think it would even impress the biggest farm owner in the midwest. We were just driving along and we saw rows upon rows of what we thought was a solar panel farm. But then we spotted black and white underneath the covered ports. There had to be at least 5,000 cows standing there. Below is an aerial view picture of where the cows were, and it's really something you have to see to believe! Then, maybe 30 more miles down the road were about 5 rows of turkey barns. Are you kidding me?!
When we got into California, we were about 30 yards away from the Mexican border (we could see the fence separating the US and Mexico, 2nd picture down), and we even had to stop for Border Patrol! Then, after driving through a few miles of sand dunes, we were in El Centro, CA. During my very first visit to Southern California for spring break with my roommate in college, we stayed in El Centro with my roommate's aunt and uncle. This was my first time through since then, and it was fun reminiscing about my first visit. I even spotted the huge mountain that was outside my bedroom window when we stayed there! After El Centro, we headed down the most beautiful mountain pass to reach the civilization of southern California. It was a really fun adventure home, and even though it took about an hour longer, it was much more visually stimulating than taking the I-10 to and from Phoenix.
(Above is a picture of the map as we were travelling along the I-8. The blue dot is where our car was, and the yellow line just below that is the US/Mexico border)!
"Second place is meaningless.You can't always be first, but you have to believe that you should have been - that you were never beaten - that time just ran out on you." -Vince Lombardi
