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NFC Championship Game
First of all, congratulations to the NFC Champion Green Bay Packers. (That's all I have to say about that. 
)
Who watched this game? I want a non-Chicago perspective on my quarterback. Cutler left the game early in the 2nd half with a knee injury. (MRI scheduled for today, we don't know the extent of the injury yet.) Cutler said he couldn't remember the play when the injury happened. He said he tried to "give it a go" in the second half, but ultimately stood with his teammates and watched the rest of the game.
He has received crazy amounts of criticism from current players, former players, knowledgeable fans, and not-so-knowledgeable fans for seemingly "tapping out."
For those of you who watched the game, what was your take? I'm caught in the fray, it's hard to see the truth from the inside sometimes.
[Poll]
Perfect love drives out fear.
Re: NFC Championship Game
This. I hate seeing fans turn on their team, period. My husband is a fairweather Vikings fan and it annoys me. He claims to be a die hard but when the going gets tough, he starts cheering for random other teams and tries to play cool by acting like her doesn't care about the Vikes. Lame. Packer fans are die hards. We don't sway. We love them win or lose. So when fans boo their QB for being injured, it just looks bad.
However, while I don't at all condone players playing with an injury, we watched Brett Favre do it for years with the Packers and then do it some more as a Viking. There are just some players who are warriors and some who are not. Cutler has always been a whiner to me, no matter who he was playing for, and last night he just seemed like he had given up.
FWIW, I'm not sure there was much booing (other than booing Todd Collins, who is a complete waste of a NFL jersey.) And it's not just fans, but current and former NFL players. So to try to pin a "NOTAFAN!" flag on people who are disappointed in poor decision making is a bit silly.
Starting to cheer for the opposing team is one thing. Those people are, well, they're not fans. And in crazy jersey burning cases, they're just idiots.
But being a "die-hard" (I hate that term, by the way) does NOT mean you slap on a smile and cheer despite poor play, poor effort, poor attiudes, poor decisions, etc. If that were true I think the Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Lions would have stadiums full of people doing the freakin' wave. Supporting your team win or lose doesn't mean you can't voice your disappointment in things.
Switching gears, early reports say that Cutler's MRI showed a torn MCL. I feel bad for the guy. I just wish he cared more about how he is percieved by others. I can't think of anything worse for an NFL player than to have other players and former players questioning your guts. A little effort on 6's part would have gone a long way.
J
Perfect love drives out fear.
To be honest, I think part of Cutler's problem is that he isn't all that bright. I'm not just saying that as a Packer fan either, I watched him when he played with Denver. I just don't think it would ever occur to him to watch his facial expressions on the sidelines, or not to get up and walk around while he has a knee injury. Its not necessarily that he doesn't care how he's perceived, I really, truly think he doesn't get it.
There are plenty of quarterbacks that would have only left that game on a stretcher, but there are plenty that would have sat out just like Cutler. The two sides just don't really understand each other. The truth is, none of us know how much pain he was in. He made the call that he felt was right for him. I don't fault him for that, but I"m not a fan of his team. I might feel differently if it was my team.
I do have to say, that Urlacher (sp?) made me respect him so much with his defense of Cutler last night. He is the epitome of team player. Class act.
Annelise 3.22.2007 Norah 10.24.2009 Amelia 8.7.2011
AMEN! This guy is not the brightest bulb on the marquee. I remember during the game the camera shot to Cutler on the bench sitting beside either Collins or Hanie (I don't remember who because I genuinely don't give a damn) but as the back up QB was studying the pictures from the previous series, Cutler was staring blankly at the game. Uh, hello dude? You might want to give a little bit of advice to the guys that now have to try and get your team to the Super Bowl since you are unable to do so.
I had a discussion of sorts about this on FB yesterday. The three biggest Bears fans I know all chimed in with good points, but...I think he disconnected. I'm not saying he necessarily gave up, but he knew he couldn't play, so he just pulled himself away from the game.
Now, I will say this - I tore my MCL my junior year of high school, on the very first day of volleyball season. I had some rough days and had to play with a super clunky brace, but I played that entire season and had surgery afterward. I would've given anything to keep playing for my team...but I know that's not the case with everyone. Who knows what was going through his head when he hurt his knee.
I agree with you here, but what I am more frustrated with is the PR department and/or Fox. Why did it take Urlacher and Kruetz to come out and say what was exactly wrong with Cutler after the game during the press conference? And, why did they have to say that Cutler begged the coaches and doctors to let him back in the game? Where was Fox with their sideline reporters or their cameras showing this to the people at home? You know that darn well if it were Manning or Roethlisberger those cameras would have been all over it.
I know that there were rumors that they didn't want to come out with his injury because there was a chance Cutler could have gone back in the game and they didn't want the Packers to find out it was his knee. But once Hanie was in, they could have released that information.
Its the way the situation was and still being handled is what is most frustrating!
I love that you brought up the sucktasticness of the Pirates. Hence why there is this popular tee shirt available in Pittsburgh.
LMAO!!!
....poor Pirates.
J
Perfect love drives out fear.
I'm not going to comment one way or the other about this, because I don't know much about knee injuries. However, reports like this aren't really going to help his case with disgruntled fans.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/3520770-419/cutler-knee-cavallari-injury-chicago.html
I also think it reinforces that he doesn't really think (because wouldn't you be protecting your image a little and be careful to avoid this stuff?) and that whoever is advising him on PR sucks.
Annelise 3.22.2007 Norah 10.24.2009 Amelia 8.7.2011
Amen sister!!