NFL Playoffs Not Going Well for Me So Far

Ever since the Miami Dolphins lost miserably to the Steelers last week in the first playoff round...and in miserable 17-degree (1-degree chill factor) conditions at Pittsburgh...I have been scrambling to figure out exactly who to root for among the National Football League teams still in the playoff mix. My favorite team out of gratitude, the New York Giants...who ingratiated themselves to me by twice beating the hated New England Patriots in past Super Bowls, also got thumped under even more frigid conditions at Green Bay.  So the Packers will play at Dallas later this afternoon, the winner facing Atlanta for the National Conference championship next week.  The Falcons surprised visiting Seattle, my "other" favorite team in this conference, by decisively defeating them yesterday...so far "my" teams just aren't doing very well in the playoffs this year.  And what's worse: the Patriots manhandled the Houston Texans in their game last night, making them the home team in the American Conference championship game against the winner of the Steelers/Chiefs game to be played this evening at Kansas City.  Now that all of the teams that traditionally (or recently) have been favorites of mine have dropped out...or never made the playoffs to begin with...I'm left with the defeat of New England being my primary goal.  Yet I know that, of the six teams left in the playoffs, Atlanta and Kansas City are my favorites in their respective conferences...and Dallas is my least favorite in the NFC.  So today I'll be rooting for Green Bay to beat Dallas and Kansas City to advance over Pittsburgh, but as I said before I'm not doing too well so far with the playoffs this season...with the Seahawks' win over Detroit in the first round being the only bright spot...and am waiting for something to get excited about: I mean, none of the games have even been close!

As for the Dolphins, I'm still proud of them for breaking through some barriers (first winning team and playoff qualifier since 2008) and showing some clutch, spirited play in close games and in the second half of the season...a marked departure from the pattern they displayed in the recent past and no doubt due in part to their new head coach Adam Gase.  Now it's time to build upon their success...let's see if they can win in the playoffs next year...