And Then There Were Eight

What did Michael Steadman say after his DAA coup fell through? "I'm so bitter my eyes hurt."

I will have to return to a post mortem of the Packers' amazing comeback loss in a day or so. I need to get through the first step or two of the football grief process. For this moment, however, I must be a generic fan who looks ahead without looking back. At least for tonight.



Well, four games means four losers. And four losers means four teams eliminated from the 12-team pool of playoff contenders. So now we're down to just eight teams that still have a hope of winning the Lombardi Trophy in 2010.

I have reproduced below my ordered list of preferences, and I have faded the text of those teams that have been eliminated.

My nightmare Super Bowl would have been Patriots-Vikings. I wouldn't have known for whom to cheer! Well, now at least that can't happen, thanks to the Ravens' domination of the Patriots -- in New England, no less, where the Patriots had not lost this season.

Back when New England was introduced as a team in the Super Bowl when they upset "The Greatest Show on Turf," I was a Patriot fan. After all the hype surrounding Belichick and Brady, the undefeated season, and the easy-to-hate Moss, however, I have grown quite tired of that team. And so I welcomed their defeat.

1. Green Bay Packers
2. Arizona Cardinals
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. San Diego Chargers
6. Cincinnati Bengals
7. New York Jets
8. Baltimore Ravens
9. Philadelphia Eagles
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New England Patriots
12. Minnesota Vikings

So, based on my ordering and the match-ups next weekend, here are my preferences:

A) Cardinals over Saints
B) Cowboys over Vikings
C) Colts over Ravens
D) Chargers over Jets

I think all of these preferences are good possibilities, and so -- after I dry my eyes this week -- I may be able to care and cheer again for the teams that remain.