NFL Conference Championship Picks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Green Bay Packers: things are looking pretty good for the Pack, after they scored 32 points versus the league's best defence last Saturday, never really letting up, even if L.A fought with irascible vigour. They're at home in late January, they've won 7 in a row, Rodgers is playing incredibly well, and for the first time in a long time, I've thought, the Pack's really gonna make it this year. Plus, Cleveland defeated rival Pittsburgh with multiple turnovers (5 if I'm not mistaken), a Pittsburgh team that generally defeats them, and then lost the following week in Kansas City, while the Bucs beat New Orleans with multiple turnovers (4), a Saints team that generally defeats then, so perhaps they'll lose this week in Green Bay in a similar fashion. Tampa did crush the Pack 38 to 10 earlier in the year in the only game Green Bay really let get away from them, but that was a long time ago, and I'm sure the Pack's ready to make amends. As to who to pick, I know someone else in Montréal who's indeed a loyal Packers fan, and he's an inspiring politician for whom I've volunteered for many years. He's a true person of the people and someone I genuinely trust to fight for democratic rights, and equality, it's been great volunteering for him, playing a small role on a multivariable team. I imagine he would recognize that my snow shovelling memory, in which a loyal Bucs fan expressed support for the Broncos the year they won Super Bowl 50, comes from a good place, and was the result of constructive labour. And that therefore I can't stop picking the Bucs, unless they're playing a team who's never won the Super Bowl. It's strange, on the one hand, I'm picking Tampa Bay, who's had zero success in the playoffs for the longest time, but on the other, I'm picking Tom Brady, who's about to enter his 14th, that's 14th, Conference Championship. What an odd blend. The last time the Bucs won the Super Bowl I remember hearing that they had never won a game when playing below a certain temperature. Here's a related article, it looks like up until 2002 Tampa had never won a game when the temperature was below 40 degrees (I think they won one that year, the year they won the Super Bowl, and have possibly won more since). So in terms of teams overcoming traditional odds, the Bucs did beat the Saints last week, so they're bound to lose like Cleveland lost to the Chiefs last weekend, but since Tampa hardly ever wins when the temperature is below 40, assuming it's that cold in Green Bay this weekend, the ridiculous against-all-odds parallels cancel each other out. If that helps clear things up, you're less confused than I am. Hoping it's an amazing Rodgers/Brady showdown. Brady vs. Brees one week, Brady vs. Rodgers the next. It's really too much. Glad he switched over to the NFC. Picking the Bucs. Thinkin' the Pack will win. 

Buffalo Bills/Kansas City Chiefs: nice to see the Bills back in the coveted Conference Championships. I was but a wee lad the last time they made it, and it's great to see their success inspiring new generations. They played well last week picking up a tight win over the Ravens in a game where the wind was treacherous, and it was close till the fearsome third quarter, that makes 8 straight wins derived from integrity and confidence. Even if Mahomes doesn't play, Kansas City's still imposing, and they won several games without him in 2019, they're built to withstand sincere disappointment. They beat the Bills earlier on in the year by a score of 26 to 17, when Buffalo was still finding their stride, and not as well versed in victorious tenacity. Still, the Chiefs are formidable and require nothing less than perfection to defeat them, and going for it on fourth down, if you're trailing late in the fourth quarter. I recommend not giving them the ball back late in the fourth even if it's fourth and nine, I could never even come close to being a football coach, but I figure it's best to keep the ball out of their hands. If trailing. They've met three times in the playoffs long ago, once for the AFL Championship, twice during the Super Bowl era, Buffalo winning post-1966. I hate to see athletes injured and unable to play in big games, but sometimes injuries can't be avoided although I suspect Mahomes will play. Hoping it's incredible either way, so glad Buffalo made it. Dig in deep, dissonantly distract and outdistance. Looking forward to salient enterprise. Picking Buffalo on the road.