Sunday Night Football: Merry Christmas In Green Bay

I could break down this game, but the reality is the Bears defense would have to play an incredible game to keep them in it, because of the offensive struggles without their quarterback and running back.

So instead, I’ll say thanks to all of our readers and hope that you are having a Merry Christmas. This has been a rough week in my household, as my father passed away a week ago. My eight-year old son and he had a special bond, and my heart aches because of just how special that was. His grandfather was involved in his life and was here to teach him about baseball, and to throw the football with him before his first season.

Boys eight to twelve years old have a special bond with their heroes, whether they be their dads, their granddads, or their sports heroes. They don’t see the flaws, and they have a need to associate with success. Everything is larger than life when you are that age (for me, it was George Brett, Deron Cherry, and later Bo Jackson). So it is that my son latched on to Aaron Rodgers last December, about the time his daddy was saying he was just as good as the other top quarterbacks in the league, and the Packers had a chance to win it despite the 10-6 record. That has grown over the last year, as the Super Bowl title and the run toward a perfect record continued, and when my son was the quarterback for his flag football team this fall, he identified with Rodgers even more. He was even rooting for a Packers comeback against the Chiefs on Sunday.

As a father, you only hope that your son picks good role models, and you hope it starts with you and that you can live up to the task. My dad was a great one, and I’ll be forever thankful. I’m going to try to do the best I can without him. I’m also thankful that my son latched on to Aaron Rodgers, who seems like a really good dude, and who should be around to watch for while. So, on this Christmas, I want to say thanks to all the NFL players and coaches who get it, who do great charitable work, and who recognize that it is the fans, particularly those with twinkles in their young eyes, that matter.

I’ll put my objective hat back on later, but I’m going to be watching this one as a father with his son, and for tonight, we’ll be watching Aaron Rodgers and cheering him on.

[Photo via Getty]