Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Crystal Sugar



A few years ago Crystal Sugar ran a commercial starring an older lady. I know, this is fascinating, just bear with me. This older lady would taste various baked goods and whatnots and dismiss them, as old ladies are wont to do. Finally, they'd drop a bag of good ol' Crystal Sugar on the screen and she'd take 35 seconds to utter her support for the superior sugar product "Crystal sugar...Don't. Take. Chances."

Clearly this commercial had a slightly bigger impact on me and mine than you and your'n. I can't find the old lady on google images or the commercial on youtube. Which would be an outrage if I was 15 and thought the internet had everything on it. But I'm not 15. I'm at least 25, as far as I know. To be fair to me I was like 1 second old at the time of my birth so I don't remember everything that happened. So sue me.

You may be asking "hey, why is he bringing up old ladies shilling for baking ingredients in a post that is ostensibly about football?" To which I would reply, "excellent use of the word 'ostensibly' buddy." The reason is simple, for the first time in oh, let's just guesstimate at 16 years, I watched a Packer QB control the game and not take chances.

I don't want to get into a Favre vs. Rodgers discussion here. I will be forever on the record as saying that I wish Favre had stayed and played, but that I also thought Rodgers could be the guy once he retired. I refuse to pick sides in the Teddy T vs. Brett argument. I love 'em both. Favre for being the best player I've ever seen and Teddy for somehow combining his abilities as an effective GM while also maintaining an ongoing impersonation of Herman Munster.

So, now that I'm on the record for loving life with that Rayovac sellin', Wrangler wearin', whacko Favre let me tell you what I enjoyed about the first game of the post-Favre era:

  1. I saw zero, count 'em zero, opposing defensive backs holding their helmets in anguish after dropping an interception they thought they had wrapped up.
  2. I saw two QB sneaks.

  3. I saw 36 yards rushing by the Packer QB.

  4. I saw a QB complete 82 percent of his passes who never once seemed to get lucky or force the issue.

I'm not saying that I prefer the new way or that Rodgers will be a hall of famer like his predecessor. I'm just saying that I enjoyed the change. In my defense, it's been 16 years, but still...As Packer fans it shouldn't be considered a rejection of Favre to acknowledge that the "safety first" approach from Rodgers was effective, fun to watch, and a helpful addition to my anti-heart attack regimen.

I don't know what the future holds. One game means exactly nothing. But I will say this much, I came into the game feeling that I didn't know this team due to the shuffling on the O-line, the absence of Ryan Grant during the preseason, and the presence of #12 in the huddle. I left this game feeling like I know that our QB is good enough to win games for us, and poised enough not to lose them. I'm fired up for the Crystal Sugar era.

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