December
2012 Green Bay Packers: Which History Will Repeat?
The Packers need to regain the unforgiving home-field edge that Lambeau Field once presented in the postseason
Unfortunately, the Packers didn’t get the job done in Minnesota last week and the Vikings prevailed, eeking their way into the postseason. Still, the Packers are division winners and will host a playoff game this coming Saturday evening. As fate would have it, those same Vikings will be Green Bay’s opponent.
At first glance, any opponent coming to Lambeau in January should seemingly have their reservations. It’s cold and there is a rich history of the Packers winning in those types of games. But recent history suggests that the Vikings may not have as much to worry about as teams historically have in the past.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a big believer that history is bound to repeat itself. I’m sure you can all think of other examples, but the biggest one that I always point to is the assassination of President John F. Kennedy almost exactly 100 years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Under head coach Mike McCarthy, Green Bay has won just one time in three games at Lambeau Field in the postseason. Those two losses did come to the New York Giants and both times, the Giants went on to win a Super Bowl. But both times, the Packers were also favored to win, as they should have been. McCarthy’s most successful postseason was one in which his team had to play and win three road games before getting to and winning Super Bowl XLV, another virtual road game.
