by Chris Humpherys

Created on: December 31, 2008

Commissioner Santa Goodell took a break from suspending Pac-Man Jones last week and scurried down our chimneys bearing gifts to be cherished. Along with his elfin NFL schedulers, he befriended us with the most entertaining Week 17 ever.

Nearly every game had playoff implications.

Usually we roll into the final week of the season with most games meaning nothing at all. Teams already in the playoffs inevitably rest their starters or play them for only a half as we're left with a Sunday about as meaningful as the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.

Not this year.

Giants-Vikes, Chicago-Houston, Tampa-Oakland, Carolina-New Orleans, Falcons-Rams, Jax-Baltimore, Dolphins-Jets, Cowboys-Eagles and Broncos-Chargers all had significant, playoff implications, the last three of which were fierce division rivals. Win and you're in. Lose and it means your job, Messrs. Mangini and Shanahan. If only the final week of every season could mean so much. Even the hapless Lions were playing a meaningful game.

Sports bars around the nation were packed with rabid fans in their team colors, their eyes lit up like kids in front of a Christmas tree. I frequented two such establishments that particular Sunday, one for the early games and another for the late. The crowds did not disappoint.

As you might imagine, fans came out in droves, spending what little money they had left from Christmas on warm beer, greasy wings and shucked oysters. On Pats fans, on Steelers, on Fish fans and G-Men. Heck, that Giants game didn't even mean anything and their fans were still as rabid as ever. Guess they were marking their territory. Steelers fans were abnormally reserved that day, hard hats and all, as they saw their wunderkind Roethlisberger carted off the field with a concussion. And Eagles fans were their normal selves. They had every right to be after beating the Cowboys into submission. If you've never had the (dis)pleasure of witnessing a drunk, Philly fan in action when his team is beating another, I suggest you go to a local zoo and watch a tiger at feeding time for comparable imagery.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were ashamedly relegated to one of the smaller screens. Keep in mind, I live in Florida. Management must have known Gruden and his cast of underachievers would lose their fourth straight to a thirteen-point underdog and wave their playoff hopes good-bye in the process.

After a home loss to the Chargers in Week 16, Jon Gruden joked that he still had some friends in Philly.' He definitely does now as that

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>