Green Bay Packers

The Champions of the world return to defend their title, but can they do it? Popular opinion is that they are the team to beat, and I don’t want to second guess them winning the NFC Championship, but a second Superbowl? I’m not so sure…

There’s no doubt they’re capable, and given that I’m tipping them to make it to the big game I believe they have every chance to win it (any one team can win any one game, after all). But I think the pressure is far greater this year – a second Superbowl would move Aaron Rogers out of Brett Favre’s shadow for good, tie him with Bart Starr for rings and move GB onto five Superbowl rings and a three way tie with San Francisco and Dallas for second place. For all those reasons and one other, I don’t think Rogers and co will repeat.

That niggling reason would be their opponents, or, at least, the team I’m tipping to face them in Superbowl XLVI – the New England Patriots.

Aaron Rogers is a superb Quarterback, and the Green Bay Packers have bigger names at more positions than the Patriots. But the Patriots are the patriots. They are a collective; a unit; a one…

When people think about the patriots they may mention Belichick and Brady, but they are thinking of this complex pattern that bamboozles players, coaches and fans alike en route to postseason after postseason berth.

Although they’ve won 3 Superbowls in the last decade, they consider themselves woeful underachievers and, given their regular season records (especially the 16-0 2007 season) they damn well should do. They are overdue and the Packers will be the team to suffer for the Patriots long wait for Championship number four.

If the Patriots should fall before the big one (as they have done the last few years) the Packers move up to my number one spot.

Verdict: 13-3 record, NFC North Champions, NFC Conference Champions, Superbowl Runners-up.


Pick up THE HARE newspaper at Night and Day, Bar Centro, Font or Tiger Lounge in Manchester town centre, or the Oakwood in Glossop.

E-mail theharenewspaper@hotmail.co.uk with questions, comments or contributory pieces.