RiverDog wrote:That and the (storied) 9ers are just better press and with a bigger following. If a inside-the-box writer has to pick a side between the two, he would do less damage to his cred in picking the 9ers to win, even if they lose, than going against the grain and picking the winning Panthers. These people are a disgrace to the great writers unafraid to establish and stand behind the real story. The Panthers are a much better story, IMO, than the 9ers this year, and that is no knock on the 9ers...who just keep winning. In another forum, people are whining about the "9ers winning ugly". But we "win ugly"...we are just brilliant in our never say die resolve. Can't get my head around that...but I'm a fan of the NFL, even more so than our Hawks (alone).HawkWow wrote:
There is a tendency to believe that the champ is still the champ until proven otherwise, and in this case, the champ of the NFC is the 49'ers. That's why I hope that our road to the Super Bowl includes a playoff victory over the Niners.[/quote]
Me too bro. And I'm OK with the mentality of "you have to take the title from the champ", but for me, that is more applicable to boxing than football, for the simple reason that age aside, boxers are fairly stable. What you see is what you get. Football teams are in constant transition, and with that, much less predictable. I don't think any of us thought the Ravens would repeat this year...because few ever have.
Like yourself, I badly want to beat the 9ers and end their season. Yesterday was tough. As hard as I tried to root for them over the Pack, I was extremely bummed when they won, even knowing it was the best outcome. Best for our rivalry, best for the sport. It will be interesting to see if the 9ers get more breaks than the Panthers next week. An NFCC game between these two bitter rivals will only enhance "the brand". Fingers crossed.