THE PACKERS STARTED OFF LOOKING GREAT
IN THE FORTY-NINERS' GAME LAST WEEK
BOTH ON OFFENSE AND ON DEFENSE
THEY LOOKED TO BE PLAYING AT THEIR PEAK

JUST AS THE GAME SEEMED WELL IN HAND
THE FORTY-NINERS TEAM CAME ALIVE
AS WHATEVER MESSAGE WAS GIVEN AT HALFTIME
CAUSED A LETHARGIC TEAM TO BE REVIVED

SAN FRANCISCO TOSSED SOME SCORING BALLS
BUT THE PACKERS WERE ABLE TO ADAPT AND RECOVER
FINDING THE WAY TO CONTROL THE BALL AND THE CLOCK
WHICH IN GREEN BAY IS REALLY SOMETHING TO DISCOVER

PLAYING DETROIT ON THANKSGIVING
IS AN OLD-TIME TRADITION FOR GREEN BAY
EVEN WHEN THE LIONS JUST ARE NO GOOD
THERE ARE NO EASY WINS ON TURKEY DAY

LAST WEEK MATT STAFFORD ENTERED LIONS HISTORY
MAKING A BRAVE AND GUTTY PLAY AT GAME'S END
REGARDLESS OF HOW THE LIONS' SEASON ENDS UP
NO ONE WILL QUESTION HIS TOUGHNESS AGAIN

BUT MATT WILL MISS THURSDAY'S CONTEST
 'MEGATRON' JOHNSON WILL MISS IT AS WELL
SO THE LIONS ARE GOING TO START IN A HOLE
WHICH WILL FEEL DEEP AND DARK AS THE ENTRANCE TO HELL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE VIKES HAVE SETTLED INTO THEIR ROLE
OF THIS SEASON'S DESIGNATED BULLY
THE TEAM THAT STROLLS ONTO THE FIELD
THEN DOMINATES THEIR OPPONENT FULLY

THIS IS THE ROLE THAT HAD ESCAPED THEM
AT LEAST FOR THE PAST FEW SEASONS
A LACK OF LEADERSHIP FROM THE QUARTERBACK
HAS BEEN ONE OF THE PERSISTENT REASONS

BRETT FAVRE HAS BECOME THAT LEADER
AND IS PROVIDING PERFORMANCES UNPRECEDENTED
AND AS PACKERS' FANS WATCH FROM THE OUTSIDE
IT'S EASIER TO SEE WHY HE'S BEEN RESENTED

THIS WEEK THE VIKINGS FACE THE CHICAGO BEARS
A TEAM THAT HAS SPIRALED INTO DEEP DESPAIR
WHAT'S MOST DIAPPOINTING ABOUT THE SITUATION
IS CHICAGO'S PLAYERS JUST DON'T SEEM TO CARE

THE BEARS SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON A QUARTERBACK
WHO HAS FALLEN FAR SHORT OF HIS 'SAVIOR'S' EXPECTATION
WHETHER FALLING INTO OPPONENTS HANDS OR ONTO THE GROUND
EACH OF HIS PASSES PROVIDE ONLY FRUSTRATIONS

EVEN THEIR ONCE-FEARED DEFENSIVE TEAM
IS MERELY A SHADOW OF THEIR FORMER SELVES
FOR THIS TEAM TO HAVE ANY CHANCE AGAINST THE VIKINGS
WILL TAKE THE HELP OF ANGELS OR MAYBE ELVES....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOTH THE PACK AND VIKES SHOULD WIN THIS WEEK
BARRING SOME SORT OF TERRIBLE COLLAPSE
OR IF THESE TEAMS TRIP THEMSELVES UP WITH THEIR EGOS
WHICH IS WHY THESE GAMES ARE KNOWN AS TRAPS
                          Carl "Gator" Nelson
           Packers 'verses' Vikings: A Poetic Perspective
                www.PackersversesVikings.com