Happy New Year In Packer Land!

As the Sun rises on a new year this morning, it also shines a spotlight on a rather improbable weekend taking place in Green Bay. Few could have seen this coming a month ago, and if you need evidence of that, look no further than the 40,000 season ticket holders who opted not to buy playoff tickets at that time.

Even with season ticket holders given a second chance on Monday to buy tickets and then opening sale to the public, there are still thousands of tickets available as of this writing. For the first time in forever, Packers fans in Green Bay and Milwaukee may have to worry about a possible TV blackout.

Conversely, for many fans who might never have been able to afford playoff tickets at scalper prices, the situation is a pleasant surprise, much like the Packers presence in the playoffs itself.

But as any player will tell you, just getting there, no matter how difficult a season you’ve had, is not enough. Winning in the playoffs is what it’s all about.

While the good news is that the Packers are in and playing at home, the bad news is they are playing their recent nemesis, the 49ers. The Packers have been out-played and out-coached by the 49ers in their last few meetings.

But that was LAST YEAR.

This is a NEW YEAR.

Wouldn’t sending the 49ers back to the West Coast as losers be the best way to start off 2014? Pretty safe to say for everyone who comes here it would.

Which brings me to my final thought. 2014 will mark year five for this web site. What started out as a simple diversion for me has turned into a major obsession, but in a good way.

With the plethora of news sources out there, I’m still amazed by how many of you are regular readers, coming here every day and commenting, not to mention the thousands every day that are just “passing through.” If we’ve brought you some information and entertainment over these years, that’s our primary reward (it sure isn’t money!).

I’m equally grateful for the fine collection of writers that take time out of their lives to contribute to the ALLGBP community. They all have their own reasons for doing what they do, but again, money is not one of them. These are dedicated Packers fans that simply live and breathe Green Bay Packers Football. We are all very lucky to have them.

Now that we’ve put 2013 to bed, let’s hit the ground running in 2014, starting with a playoff win on Sunday.

Have a healthy and Happy New Year everyone, and…

GO PACK GO!

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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.

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