The Green Bay Packers

When the Houston Texan field goal kicker, who had been terrible all day, kicked that 40 yard field goal in the closing seconds to beat the Packers, I felt awful.

Like many Packer backers who live out of state, away from the likelihood of getting to see our team on TV this year, following the scruffy play-by-play on NFL.com, I still was caught up in the ebb and flow of the game.

Collins injured? Oh no, that guy's a walking ambulance passenger. Tausch is out with a wrecked knee? There goes the right side of the offensive line. Hawk hasn't made a tackle all game? That groin injury really messed him up. Bigby can hardly move? No big hits from him for months.

And middle linebacker Barnett and DT Cullen Jenkins are on IR? Who's left to play defense?

But somehow, the Packers were still in it till the very end. . . for the fifth time to lose by less than four points.

There are many (including some of my favorite sportswriters) who are saying the Packers have lost it and aren't going anywhere because of this coach or that misplay or the general manager or even the club president.

But let's remind ourselves of a few things.

One, the Packers had one of the easiest schedules last year because they were playing teams with terrible records from the year before.

Two, they knew they lucked out in some of their games because they played some of the better teams when those teams were down because of injuries.

Three, they got some calls and breaks that helped keep them in the game.

Four, they won several games by less than four points.

Five, Brett Favre and Rob Davis's mature years were still not enough to keep the Pack from being one of the very youngest (and least experienced) teams in the league.

It was an incredible season topped off by playing even up into overtime with the team which went on the win the Super Bowl. That feat, though a losing effort, really validated their right to their record, even though it was obtained with no small amount of luck.

That the general manager and head coach were able to provide what the team needed in that sterling season cannot be overlooked.

Major league sports are games of inches and seconds, of speed and power, of injuries and luck.

This year, playing against a much tougher schedule which included many teams on the rise like Tennessee and Carolina who pulled out tight wins against this still immature team, it is amazing to realize that with a little bit of luck, maybe this bunch could have been 10 and 3 instead of 5 and 8.

We fans live and die emotionally with our team. We put a lot of ourselves into hoping and, well, physically pushing and squirming in our chairs as we watch.

Calling forth that kind of involvement from us takes its toll when our guys lose. It is a little harder to watch in that circumstance. But we come back next time and hope and squirm some more on the chance that we will see a victory.

That's entertainment!

As Jim Irwin, longtime sportscaster at WTMJ Milwaukee who called many Packer seasons, used to remind everyone: Hey, it's a game.

We get to watch grown men play a boy's game for entertainment. If we were not in it for the entertainment value, there would be no explanation for how come there are still Cub fans!

I look forward to Packer games. Win or lose, they give me a few hours of distraction. Having been a fan for over 65 years, I understand how sports franchises often survive recessions because they are so successful at giving us something else to think about.

I'm really feeling good about this year's team and its coaches and management. The games are entertaining, keeping me on edge and hopeful for a good result, right down to the end. Even the blow-out in New Orleans was a treat because I did get to see one of the finest exhibitions of passing I've ever seen, even if it was against my favorite team.

This is a good year, despite the losing record, for my Green Bay Packers. So, despite the negative press and comments from disgruntled fans, next Sunday can't come soon enough. I know the team will give its best effort. Maybe the breaks, the calls, the luck will go for us this time. And maybe all the rookie mistakes will be behind us. And maybe we'll finally get off the snide and our guys will come home with a victory.

Even if that doesn't happen this time, there are still two more games to anticipate.