During the first half of Sunday’s NFC Championship game, the FOX television cameras displayed downtown Green Bay … empty. Not a single vehicle, person or bird were in view, indicating that Green Bay natives were a) at the game; b) watching the game in the comfort of their own home; or c) incredibly nervous about experiencing ridicule for being somewhere other than a) or b).

Listening to the FAN yesterday, one caller called in and threatened Joe Anderson, simply because of this argument: Packers fans have an edge over Vikings supporters. Those freaks that didn’t have a ticket, but would have been at Lambeau if it had been twenty degrees cooler, deserve our praise.

But it’s not the mere fact that these fans are exceedingly loyal or the fact that you and I will have to remain content in front of a television instead of pursuing the craziness in person … for life.

What we need to commend is how these fans go about their business. When you go to a Packers game, you don’t see a Reggie White jersey. At a Vikings game, the chances of seeing a Daunte Culpepper jersey are about 1:1. Packers fans move on, roll with the punches, stick around. Packers fans enjoy football, offer constructive criticism and are stuck in the present, which happens to be a hard-to-swallow loss. Come training camp, however, that loss will be done. Erased. Vikings fans, conversely, are still stuck in a bitter trance over their NFC Championship loss, ironically to the Giants, eight years ago.

Vikings fans hate. Packers fans respect. Vikings fans show up to argue and ridicule. Packers fans are football fans, show up to have a good time, watch the game, demand improvement and set reasonable expectations. And sure, cheer against their rivals.

Vikings fans envy the Green Bay football experience. It’s not to say that the Vikings have bad fans, but they trance around the circle of hate because they will never match what Packers fans bring to the table each and every Sunday.

Disclaimer: I’d be remiss to omit those that are delusional.

Carl Gerbschmidt: Gerby, the frequent Packers voice and contributor to KFAN. From his blog:

Oh, hello.

I almost forgot about you here. After all, I was thinking about the NFL, and I really haven’t spent much time thinking about teams that aren’t good enough to keep playing when the big boys play.

I almost forgot that you were well on your way to overtaking the New York Giants, making the playoffs as the 5 seed, crushing Tampa Bay and coming to Lambeau to get your revenge on the Packers.

I almost forgot that Tavares “It Only Takes A Minute To Blow A Game” Jackson was going to claim his place as the greatest QB in the NFC North and not be the worst starting quarterback since the Bears trotted out Kyle Orton (and he even might be better that TJoke.)

I almost forgot that Adrienne “All Day Except When The Wind Blows In My Face” Peterson was going to break Eric Dickerson’s rookie record and think that he could even CARRY Ryan Grant’s lunch.

I almost forgot the legendary defense of Kevin and Fat Williams who can stop any running back, not to mention one of those Toyota Trucks that can stop an airplane. (Unless the game really matters, of course.)

I almost forgot that Brad Childlike was going to prove to everyone how smart he was, how we were all wrong in thinking he was nothing more than a blowhard who couldn’t coach ink out of a panicked octopus. Brad was going to be right there with Ziggy “I Love L.A” Wilf, holding up the Lombardi trophy, which would have been renamed the “Brad” trophy because he’s so much smarter than anyone else.

But I saw some old footage of the Hindenburg and it reminded me of the only disaster that lasts season after season, the Vi-Queens.

I keep hearing how the Vikings would have beaten the Packers because it’s tough to beat a team 3 times in the same year. Especially when one of them doesn’t even qualify for the 3rd matchup.

I’ll check in next week after the real football teams play and we spank that naughty little boy Matt Hasslehoff, and we play our last two games. You can either jump on the Packer bandwagon now, before your team moves to LA (and then you will have to), or you can go and check on the draft. That’s what the losers do.

Hey, Darren Sharper, I’m looking at you now, looking at you now. And I’m laughing at you.

He’s a Viking hater, and delusional in suggesting the untouchable nature of his one and only love. Packers fans (should) take issue with Gerby’s delusions. He paints Green Bay fans in an inaccurate and negative light, while fans of green and yellow as well as their media are reasonable … and unlike this ridiculous sports nut, wouldn’t have bet the house on a trip to Glendale.

Mathew Kowald: Oh isn’t it funny when adults act like children. This Packer fan taped and tied, taped and tied, his child after he refused to wear a Packers jersey during the Packers’ divisional playoff win. The man seriously restrained the boy and taped the jersey onto him and then tied him to a furnishing. He is now faced with a restraining order and a Prozac prescription expense after Sunday’s defeat.

By default, I cheer for and enjoy watching the Vikings. I hope like hell that one day, football in this state could somehow compare to the experience likened to a few hundred miles east.

We should respect and appreciate Brett Favre and the effort he brings each and every time he sets foot on a football field. Do I hope that Favre tears the Vikings’ defense to shreds when the teams collide? No. But how can you, as a sports fan, bash and ridicule someone that discreetly goes about his business, plays hard, and has never been in a courtroom?

But just that I respect and envy Favre and the Packers organization doesn’t make me not a Vikings fan or a lower-level fan than another fan that is bitter and hateful. The two - respect and excessive fandom - are not mutually exclusive.

Respect - rather than hate - can go a long way in a sports world caught up in negativity and bitterness.

Upsets on the hardwood. Saturday saw many.

#1 North Carolina 82, Maryland 80
#4 UCLA 63, USC 72
#9 Texas A&M 54, Kansas State 75
#15 Mississippi 80, Auburn 77
#16 Pitt 59, Cincinnati 62
#24 Miami (FL) 77, N.C. State 79
#25 Arizona St 52, Stanford 67

North Carolina and UCLA, the best-ranked teams out of these upset victims, both dropped games on their own floor. College basketball is following in the footsteps of their football counterparts; very few teams are displaying dominance. Memphis jumped to a number-one ranking, deservingly so. The Calipari-coached Tigers boast (blowout) wins over Arizona, Georgetown, Cincinnati and UConn. Although some would suggest that Tennessee is the only team standing in the way of a perfect season, if upsets this weekend are any indication, anyone can beat anyone on any given night - even on the road.

The PAC-10 is the best conference in basketball, and with the exception of Oregon St. (whose coach Jay John was fired on Monday), all squads are potential tournament teams. There are no cupcakes, so you won’t want to miss a beat. The east-coast-biased ACC has two teams (#5 UNC and #4 Duke). The SEC does as well (#3 Tennessee and #14 Vanderbilt). The PAC-10 has four (Washington St., UCLA, Arizona St., Stanford), but more impressive is one glance at the standings: Not one team is unbeaten in conference play. Every game is a battle, another prime example of f-u-n.

Super Bowl XLII is set.

Patriots 18-0

The sign of a spectacular team is one that can find ways to win despite playing sub-spectacular. Quarterback Tom Brady threw three interceptions. Randy Moss caught one pass for 14 yards. San Diego had two first-and-goals and a first-and-10 from the New England 13-yard line. And the Patriots won.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you respect them. You respect the way Brady’s emotions are kept in check. You respect how they find ways to win, grind, hang around, and then stick it to the opposition before Chargers QB Phillip Rivers could say “What happened?”

Have you heard Randy Moss pout about his performance or the frequency Brady threw to him? You’d darned near expect to, but the restraining-order-conflicted receiver refrained. This perfectly illustrates the Patriot mindset: play as a team, win as a team, and as the cliche goes, where is the “I” in this team? Nowhere, and that’s why I’ll be cheering for New England in two weeks.

Packers Go Down

Let the debate begin: Will Brett Favre’s last pass be an interception?

No one gave the Giants a chance, and most cited sub-zero temperatures as the opponent, not the Packers. But Plaxico Burress somehow maintained feeling in his hands, and won the epic game-long battle with Packers cornerback Al Harris. Eli Manning didn’t turn the ball over.

Sure, Favre struggled. You expected a feel-good game-ending drive, led by Favre, but it didn’t come. He’s human. Instead of placing the heat on Favre, someone that should be in a broadcast booth somewhere instead of leading the NFL’s second-ranked offense, the Green Bay media kept things in perspective. Instead of a plea for retirement, or cheap shots directed at the single individual that single-handedly has put Green Bay on a map, the message was simple: the Packers lost as a team. Imagine, for a moment, that Green Bay was located a few hundred miles west. If Favre and the Packers win, the Minnesota media praise his “gutsy” performance. If Favre and the Packers lose, it’s on Favre. Favre, I’m sure, takes more responsibility than the reasonable Green Bay media suggest.

And that’s why he’ll be back.

Tubby Smith’s Gophers men’s basketball team is the talk of a sports landscape that is suffering, succumbed to negativity and well, generally, victims of the loss column. On Thursday night, I was reminded of why sports are sports in the first place: to be f-u-n.

Why Thursday night (against Indiana), three rows behind the west basket, was fun:

- The energy in the building. I was reminded of the atmosphere of real, genuine collegiate athletics. Every offensive possession for the Hoosiers was a struggle, as the student section didn’t once sit down. There is something special and engaging when the home team drives on a two-way street: 35-second shot clock violation+too loud to hear whistle signifying such=basketball at the barn is back. Once it’s necessary for NBA assistant coaches to possess a white board in order to call a 2-3 zone, we can chat.

- The mixture of defenses. Any team that can play 94-feet of defense nearly entire game is worthy of mention and praise. Against a far more athletic and talented team in Indiana, and one that possesses the terrific freshman presence in Eric Gordon, Smith stuck to his style: full-court pressure, mixture of man-to-man and 2-3 zone half-court defenses. Minnesota was superb defensively, creating 26 turnovers. The times that Indiana made shots, they were forced to work deep into the shot clock.

- The elderly gentleman sitting beside me. Dressed in full Gopher garb, this man represented fun. He high-fived me after Kelvin Sampson was forced to call a late second-half timeout after a smothering Smith-propelled defense forced yet another turnover. The Gophers were up by one at this time, and I certainly couldn’t hear what he had to say to me as he attempted to scream into my ear. A minute or so later, Tollackson missed his seventh free-throw attempt in seven tries … It was slightly quieter now, he turned to me, and yelled, “I could do better.” Never met the man, but we had a special bond on this particular frigid night. Fun.

- The postgame press conferences. Kelvin Sampson was confused: 26 turnovers and a victory normally don’t accompany each other, but he paid much-deserved respect and admiration for what Smith has done with his group of inspired young men. When asked about what could be gained from the loss, Smith said, “We would have taken a lot more if we had won. I hope we learn that lesson. It was a tough loss, a tough task. You’ve got your home crowd here, you’ve got everything going your way, we were defending like we should.” As a fan, this was a moral victory, the game was played like it should be played: with passion, energy and a sense of preparedness. I think Tubby would disagree. When Tollackson came to the podium, he looked like he had been punched in the stomach. “I couldn’t buy a free throw, he said. “I have to figure this out pretty soon. Go 5-5 at Penn State and end up winning the game with five seconds left. Go 0-7 here and end up losing the game by five. Obviously it’s not acceptable and it’s disgraceful bottom line.” Free throws can be corrected, individually, with repetition. But was more impressive with Tollackson’s performance was his ability to not only get to the rim, but finish around it. We haven’t seen this part of the Chaska native before. “What Coach has tried to instill in me this year is to try to get to the rim. Making my moves in there, trying to draw contact, being more physical, and get to the free throw line,” Tollackson said. “I’ve tried to get their big men in foul trouble and I think he’s done a great job getting our big men the ball where they should get it running plays. It’s kinda sickening that I cannot produce the way that he wants and wishes I could. It’s really hard for me to say that but you can’t come away empty.”

- A team bought in. What’s key about this last quote from Tollackson is that Smith has his players believing in not only him, but the system in which he is developing. The word “sickening” is strong, yet really shows how much respect Tubby has creating surrounding his gameplan for success. Successful teams are bought in to what they are taught and execute because they believe this gameplan is the right way of doing things.

Well here you go – a few of ESPN.com’s featured headlines:

Pacman accused of punching woman at nightclub
Congress asks if Tejada lied in ‘05
WVU to investigate missing files

My greatest fear is that our games, our hobbies, our passions will become media-saturated soap operas. Maybe it’s my refusal to accept this world in which we live, where the media paints our world and culture as negative. But when I go to ESPN.com, I don’t want to see these stories. I understand that the folks at the Associated Press and other media outlets have a job to report the news, but I’d rather not see it. I want to believe that our games are pure and that our athletes are role models. I want to be uplifted by success stories. I want to be told the untold story, one that takes creativity and heart to create.

If I wanted to watch ‘Days of Our Lives,’ I would … but not in some weird sports version. If I wanted to hear about people’s faults all day long, I’d turn the television to CNN. That’s why I thought we were fans in the first place – because sports, at the most grassroots level, are supposed to be pure.

Pure does not equate to woman-beating or lying.

I could care less. Honestly.

According to ESPN, Senator George Mitchell tried to contact Clemens twice before his infamous report. Guilty, innocent, kind of guilty and not really innocent – again, what does it matter?

Sure, if you’re Clemens you get a little ticked. No problems there. But why, why, do we, as fans and supporters of this beautiful game, insist on following such a pointless case. Why do we care about Clemens’ potential involvement? You can’t use the “I feel cheated as a fan” argument any longer; you have to be brain dead if you believe that steroid use hasn’t been rampant over the course of the last century. Personal trainers were allowed, and continue to be allowed to, enter the clubhouse at their own will. That’s part of the problem.

As a society, we have a very hard time looking to the future and forgetting about the past. Mitchell’s report did nothing else but verify what we already knew – that yes, Major League players have (while some haven’t) used performance-enhancing drugs. We have the information; now let’s figure out a plan. Keep the trainers out of the clubhouse. Promote an anti-doping regulatory agency to monitor baseball, while developing an even-stricter punishment. We must escape the past by using Mitchell’s information as encouragement to do.

I was reading the paper form of USA Today’s Spring Training Guide today. Finally, I thought, something promising, something to look forward to, something to imagine as I walked into sub-zero Minnesota weather. And then I turned the page, and I saw Clemens’ uncomfortable smirk, seated by his lawyer. He wasn’t wearing a Yankees uniform, but rather a blue button-down shirt. For a brief moment, until I saw that image, I was satisfied.

Spring Training is a time of renewal. It is a time for newfound stars to make a dazzling play across the could-not-be-greener grass, and then make a roster. That moment will be a special time because those players, that next generation have the task of restoring our game to what made it our game in the first place.

“Testify” is not etched beside the graves of Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson or Ted Williams, and no way did they manufacture baseball to be dueled out in a courtroom.