It was the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field! Since I became a Bears season ticket holder in 1999 the Bears have advanced to the playoffs four times. Once as the #1 seed and three times as the #2 seed (including this year). The first two times the Bears were the second seed they lost. However, the Bears won last week while the Green Bay Packers defeated the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons which sent the NFC Championship game to Soldier Field.

My original plan for today was to attend the Flyers at Blackhawks game starting at 11:30 am. However, since the NFC Championship Game was scheduled for 2 pm and not 5:30 pm there was no way I could attend both games without leaving the Blackhawks game early or arriving at Soldier Field late. Plus, I would definitely not be able to tailgate.

It was supposed to be cold for the game with the game time temperature at 18 degrees. And since I have spent a number of cold days at NFL games over the past several weeks, I thought my buddy, Mike Holzman, should sell his parking pass for the game and we would go to the bars near Soldier Field before the game.

Instead he said he did not want to miss the NFC Championship game tailgate so there we were again back tailgating in the cold. However, this time Parking Pass Mike did something worse than not bring enough propane as he did for the Seattle Seahawks game on October 16. He forgot part of the grill that makes it grill! Talk about a big mistake. Not only are we tailgating in freezing weather but now we have no way to cook our food. However, as was the case when we forgot propane we asked our neighboring tailgaters if we could use their grill and they, of course, said yes…as soon as they were finished.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Not much I want to write about this game. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-14 to advance to Super Bowl XLV. Before the game, I received an email stating I won the Super Bowl lottery for Bears season ticket holders. Thus, if the Bears won, I would have the right to purchase two tickets to the Super Bowl. Oh well.

Jay Cutler left the game with a questionable injury that basically sealed the fate for the Bears. How are you going to win the NFC Championship with Todd Collins or, even worse, Caleb Hanie? Although, Hanie did play pretty well driving for two touchdowns including a 35-yard touchdown pass to Earl Bennett.

Packers’ Sam Shields became the first rookie and fifth player since 1982 to register a sack and two interceptions in a playoff game.