Sunday, January 23, 2011

Texas Tidbits: NFL Playoffs and a Dodger

Champion
Today in the NFL, two teams will be going to the Super Bowl, while the losing teams start planning for next season. On the schedule for today are Green Bay and Chicago playing at Soldier Field in Chi-town for the NFC Title while in the AFC, the New York Jets, fresh off a big win on the road at New England will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers, lucky that the Baltimore Ravens folded like a cheap suit in the second half last week, in the Steel City. My picks: Green Bay's offense is hitting on all cylinders heading into Chicago, so I am going with the Pack in this one. The Jets beat up the Patriots, specifically Tom Brady, and came up big when they needed it. The Steelers are the better team, but I'm picking the J-E-T-S to pull off a big upset here. Book it. The Packers and Jets will square off in Dallas for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl  XLV, with Green Bay winning its 13th World Championship.

Because Toby said so.

Since we are talking about the NFL, the Super Bowl and the fact that the game will be played in Cowboys' Stadium, I want to remind you of a man who was a Heisman Trophy Winner and a Super Bowl Champion. This man took the Dallas Cowboys to five Super Bowls, winning two of them and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Ladies and gentlemen, from the United States Naval Academy, Number 12, Roger "The Dodger" Staubach! In spite of the fact that I grew up in a suburb of Dallas, I have never been a Cowboys fan, but I have long-admired the excellence they took to field of play. I can think of no one that better epitomizes commitment to excellence and the drive and determination that it takes to be a Champion than Roger Staubach. Want to know what makes a winner? Staubach led his team to 23 game-winning drives (15 comebacks) in the fourth quarter, with 17 of these coming in the last two minutes.(from Wikipedia) That is what makes a winner. Winners make plays in the Big Game  that will forever live in the minds of fans and players. Plays so miraculous that they are labeled with Holy names. Hail Mary, anyone? All the accolades and awards staubach won during his football career are mere knick knacks when compared to praise like this: ""Roger Staubach might be the best combination of a passer, an athlete and a leader ever to play in the NFL".The source of that quote? A man who should know about such things. Thomas Wade Landry. Who could argue with that?

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