Road Trip

Last weekend me and the boys went down to Buffalo for the quasi-annual trip to see the Toronto Bills in action. It was a weekend full of win. Well, except for the casino part. Uh, and the football game. 

Saturday night was spent at Boston Pizza on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, where we watched the Toronto Maple Leafs play the greatest third period of all time against the New York Rangers.

Five goals in five minutes and 21 seconds. That, Stephen Valiquette, is what I like to call revenge.

After making our donation at the casino, we proceeded to cross the border at around 1:15 AM. Of course our good friends, U.S. Border Patrol, summoned us inside, you know, so we could all catch up. Small talk: how are the kids, the dog, the job, when was the last time you visited the Middle East. The regular stuff. We're all real tight down at the Rainbow Bridge. The good people over there certainly never miss an opportunity to personally say hello and welcome us to their beautiful country.

We spent the rest of Saturday night in Niagara Falls, New York and, let me tell you, someone on the American side missed the memo that the area can work out to be a pretty bitching tourist destination. I mean, the Canadian side is absolutely bumping. You cross the border and you're walking deserted streets like Will Smith in I Am Legend. 

Instead of taking another beating at the Seneca Niagara Casino, we ended up at the uber-American institution known as Denny's. It was a no-brainer, really.

As for the game, you can see by the picture above that things are a changing at good old Ralph Wilson Stadium. They're still running the trough system in the washroom, but now that the words "Do Not Urinate In Sink" words emblazon the walls, people have stopped, well, urinating in the sink. I guess all it took was the sign to stop the insanity. Who knew?

Good times were had by one and all. The always pleasant tailgating experience left me joyously inebriated, the weather was beautiful, no one pissed in the sink, and I got into a round of verbal jousting with a Jets fan. He gave me the "You know what Bills stands for? Boy I Love Losing Super Bowls!" line, and it was my moral duty to let him have it. Yeah, the Bills lost, but come on, four out of five ain't bad. On top of it all, I got to see some guy everyone keeps going on about - I believe the gentleman's name is Brett Favre - live and in living colour.

One more thing: if we can't tailgate in Toronto like they do down in Buffalo, they deserve the Bills a lot more than we do. I think I enjoy the tailgating experience more than the actual game itself. Something about drinking heavily and eating red meat at 9:30 in the morning just sits well with me, I guess.

Stay classy, Buffalo...

*Thanks to my new friend Dave Sommer for the picture.

The Rebirth of Brett Favre

Two months ago, as I expressed my love for Toronto Blue Jays everything man Matt Stairs, I said he had found the fountain of youth. Check that. It's Brett Favre who has found the fountain, and he's led the Green Bay Packers to an astounding 10-1 record.

I'm torn in deciding what is more amazing - the fact the Packers are 10-1, or the fact that Brett Favre, the 38-year-old Favre, is playing like he's back in his prime. Ten years removed from his one and only Super Bowl championship, Favre is doing his best to make it happen again.

But hold on a second. Wasn't Favre supposed to retire? Two years ago? Wasn't he finished after the 2005 season, when the Packers finished with a 4-12 record thanks to the worst season of Favre's career? He threw only 20 touchdowns that season, along with 29 interceptions, and finished with the lowest quarterback rating of his career: 70.9.

Favre rebounded in '06, leading the Packers to an 8-8 record, throwing 18 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, but completing a career-low 56% of his pass attempts. It seemed father time had caught up to Brett Favre, arguably the best quarterback to ever chuck the pigskin.

Favre, however, wasn't done. The expectations in Green Bay were low, but Favre wanted to prove that he could still play.

Folks, Favre is back. With a vengeance. Yippee kayay mother...(you know the rest). Favre is having one hell of a season, and he can still play, alright. It's like he's been born again; an evangelical quarterback. And he's a pleasure to watch.

Yesterday, on American Thanksgiving, he cut up the Detroit Lions defense like a fat, juicy turducken (if you don't know what a turducken is, click here). Favre set a Green Bay record by throwing 20 straight completions and a season-high 381 yards, completing 31 of 41 passes. It was his seventh 300-yard game of the season.

Father time ain't got nothing on Brett Favre. The Pack are now 10-1, equalling their best start in franchise history, and have got the NFC North division all but locked up. The Green Bay Packers, led by Brett Favre, are off to the playoffs, my friends. Ain't nobody can tell me they saw that coming. If it wasn't for the ridiculous New England Patriots and Tom Brady, I think Favre would be a lock for his fourth career NFL MVP award. After 11 games, Favre has thrown for over 3,300 yards, 22 touchdowns and only eight picks. His QB rating of 101.5 is his best, ever.

Favre's career has been nothing short of amazing. I guess I've been living under a rock up here in the great white north, but I had no idea that (get ready for this one) Favre has started an incredible 248 games in a row for the Green Bay Packers. 248! That's 15 straight years! The man has not missed a start since the 1992 season. It's an incredible statistic, especially for a quarterback, and especially for a man who has had to deal with a number of trying issues in his personal life.

Earlier this season, Favre became the NFL's all-time leader in touchdown passes, eclipsing the record of 421 held by Dan Marino. He's won the most games ever by a starting quarterback and has completed the most passes, ever. Favre is also only 500 yards away from bettering Marino in career passing yards. It should happen in a couple of weeks.

If you haven't yet caught some of the legendary, and reborn, Brett Favre on the tube, I urge you to do so. You'll be watching history. You'll be watching the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.

I'm fast becoming a Green Bay Packers fan. It's tough to root against a guy like Favre - a true American hero (dramatic enough for you?). I'm also glad Favre didn't hang 'em up when everyone said he was finished. Here's hoping he sticks around for one more year after this one, so I can drag my behind down to Lambeau Field in (hello!) Wisconsin, and watch the legend known as Brett Favre work his magic live and in person...