With the Seattle Seahawks travelling to Green Bay for the Packers’ season opener at Lambeau Field, there has been less-than-expected talk of the tragic collapse in the waning minutes of last year’s NFC Championship game. In hopes of quelling such distractions, coach Mike McCarthy has been quite explicit that the team will not resort to emotions or a quest for vengeance to fuel any competitive advantage.
The question arises, however, if that is wise and whether such comments are in line with how legions of diehard Packers fans feel. Indeed, it is somewhat troubling that McCarthy, Aaron Rodgers and others talk about how last season’s collapse is in the past and that the team refuses to be too emotional about this while at the same time appealing to the emotion and passion of fans at Lambeau Field in the Packers’ somewhat half-hearted “Get Loud” campaign.