By Amy Lignor
Was it pretty? Absolutely not. It was, however, unbelievably freezing!
Although there were two NFC wild card games yesterday, it was the game between San Francisco and Green Bay that was real and utter football. It was the game you want to see. It’s the game you wait all year to see. Rivals. Dynasties that have broken each 
other’s dreams almost every single year when one beat the other to move forward or head straight to the Super Bowl and win the whole darn thing. You expect that when the Packers meet the Niners it should not only be good…it should be great. And yesterday, neither team let the fans down.
The Ice Bowl returneth! The white breath filled the air and when players were smashed on the turf (which, oh, boy, they were constantly), no one bounced. It was amazing that more of the players didn’t just stay down. But again, these two dynasties have that killer instinct, the drive to win, and they’ve been to the ‘big show’ so many times they know exactly how to get there.
Kap, the young Montana in some peoples’ eyes, ran a whole lot more than he passed. This is last year’s rookie who went to the Super Bowl last year (and most say he won it because of the messed-up refs that will go down in history as being completely and utterly bad at their jobs that day.)
Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay QB who has been absent for quite a while this season, was coming off the awesome win last week, 
ready to lead his team straight through the Niners in front of his home crowd. Then, he would look toward the state of Washington with hope that they could defeat the Seattle Seahawks. Well, yes, there is another game before then, but Seattle truly looks like the ‘sure’ bet to represent the NFC side of the ball in the Super Bowl this year. (Hopefully, we’ll be wrong).
At the beginning of the season it was the Niners being called the sure NFC bet; Kap would lead his team back to the Super Bowl without a problem. The only decision to be made was whether or not Manning and the Broncos, or Brady and the Patriots would stand across from him on the field to bring home the Lombardi trophy.
Well…things change, don’t they? Although the AFC is still looking like a Peyton Manning versus Tom Brady shoot-out, it would be thrilling to see the Colts, after this weekend’s amazing game, head into MetLife stadium when the big day arrives.
Drew has one notch on his belt, taking the New Orleans Saints one step closer by crushing the Eagles hopes. The Bengals said goodbye (although pat them on the back, considering no one said they would even have the chance to say hello). The Chargers forge ahead, and the Colts and Chiefs monumental game definitely showed NFL fans everywhere that the power of Luck can win a game!
So the Chargers head to the land of the best, wondering if it’s even possible to push Peyton Manning off his perch. (No, by the way, it’s not).
Colts will face the Patriots, and even though Brady is considered the man (or the second man, after Manning), Luck and the Colts do have a very good chance to be the ones who…Did! Go! All! The! Way!
The Carolina Panthers are about to host the ‘Ice Bowl 2014’ survivors, with most experts and fans already calling the Niners to be the ones moving forward to the NFC Championship.
But when it comes to wild card games, both the Packers and the Niners can be proud. The Pack will be back next year – everyone knows this. Aaron is their spine and he is now healed, ready to go, and will have a whole off-season to get primed even more.
Perhaps the greatest part of yesterday’s Ice Bowl was watching Niners Head Coach Harbaugh jump up and down and dance wildly on the sidelines. Usually this is done because he’s really mad about something, or he’s really thrilled with his team. Yesterday, it was basically just to keep the blood from freezing in his veins.
Yet another awesome Packers/Niners post-season game that was completely up-for-grabs the entire time. THIS is what football is all about. Now go home and defrost, guys. Game well played!
Until Next Time, Everybody,
Amy