(Rankings 3, 4, 7, 8, and 10 written by Jim Ayello. Rankings 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9 and the intro written by Tim Martens)

Stuck in quarantine, waiting for a draft (even when it is moved up) can seem endless. So what are two morons like Jim and Tim to do with all of the extra time on their hands? Well, we decided we would break down all the top teams in Will Carter Bowl history.

With 13 seasons of WCB action, there is a lot of data to break down, so we had to think of the fairest way for us to start cutting off the excess fat and getting to the good meat of this league. Jim and I started with figuring out who were the top three scoring teams in points-for in a given year. After that, we looked at overall regular season record. Lastly, we figured out the league average in points-for on the year and calculated how many points these teams had scored above league average on the year. When you see points above average below, that is the yearly points a team scored over the league average in yearly points (If an owner scored 1400 points on the year and the league average was 1300, his points above average is 100).

For a final note, we figured out how many points was the average weekly score for a team in our league and we went back week-by-week to find out how many times a team scored above league average for all 13 or 14 weeks of the regular season.

As we dissected everything, one major aspect came into play: what is the worth of winning a Will Carter Bowl vs. being a runner-up or not making the Will Carter Bowl at all? It was tough to figure out, but in the end I think we have a great list here. Seven of our top ten teams were teams that won a Will Carter Bowl and the three teams that didn’t were very much the best team in the league in that particular year, but they happened to meet an unfortunate end in not winning the league.

Jim made sure to make me mention in this introductory paragraph that Will need not read this article as his name will not show up. He stressed this point many times, so here is that paragraph to note this.

***For context, we do not have access to the 2007 or the 2013 league years anymore. All we have are the final standings that we have screen-capped on willcarterbowl.com. Therefore, we cannot see week-to-week results or rosters for teams in this year and this could have skewed some of the rankings.***

So, without further ado, here are the top ten teams in Will Carter Bowl history…may the arguments commence.

10. 2018 Tom: The Reign of King Henry

8-5, 119.37 points above average, scored over average 9 of 13 weeks

Though Tom’s 2018 title run will likely be best remembered for Derrick Henry’s reign of terror, Tom put together an outstanding overall season while battling injuries and suspensions. The aptly named “Commissioner Exempt List” started the year 8-2 before a late-season nosedive kept it from wrestling away the bye week from Joe. Still, Tom managed to finish the season third in points while scoring above the weekly season average nine times. He cruised through the playoffs, demolishing all in his path (scoring 1st, 3rd, and 1st most points in weeks 14, 15, and 16) en route to a second championship and the last spot on this hallowed list.

9. 2014 Sean: A Day Late and a Yard Short

10-3, 174.41 points above average, scored over average 11 of 13 weeks

The 2014 Sean squad is one of those should-have-been-Champion teams. With a lineup that included Drew Brees, Marshawn Lynch, Jamaal Charles, Davante Adams, Jarvis Landry, and Emmanuel Sanders, Sean burst onto the scene his first year with a 10 win season, and the most points scored in the league. His story also ended in the most heartbreaking way, losing Will Carter Bowl VIII to Tom by .02 points…which is literally a yard from any player. Sean would play in two more WCBs before leaving the league, but 2014 was his best team and one of the best teams to never win it all.

8. 2017 Conor: Better Than the Browns

10-3, 198.63 points above average, scored over average 11 of 13 weeks

Conor’s 2017 season ended in tragedy when he put up more than 107 points in the KFC Championship and still lost to Sean. Thus closed the book on the greatest team in league history never to play for a championship. Had Conor won a title, he’d have a case for a spot in the top three on this list with his 10-3 record and his 198.3 points above the weekly average. While “Cleveland Browns SB420″ will be remembered fondly for its lethal rookie RB duo of Alvin Kamara and Leonard Fournette, what will haunt Conor forever is the heartbreak of losing the title combined with the disappointment that resulted in trading DeAndre Hopkins for Dez Bryant and Alshon Jeffrey. He may never trade again.

7. 2015 Cam: The Dawning of the “Dudley Boyz”

9-4, 85.69 points above average, scored over average 10 of 13 weeks

It didn’t take Cam long to take power over the Will Carter League of Champions. In 2015, just three seasons into his tenure as a WCB league owner, he claimed his first championship after coming agonizingly close his rookie season. Behind a balanced attack (top three in both RB and WR scoring), the “Dudley Boyz” cruised to a TFC championship, blowing out Tim by 40 points in the championship game. Though he finished third in total points that season, no team was more consistent than Cam, scoring above the average 10 times in 13 games (12-of-15 if playoffs are included).

6. 2017 Jim: The Year the Music Died

10-3, 129.45 points above average, scored over average 10 of 13 weeks

First off, Jim is a piece of shit. It was the most fun watching him lose year after year, even when he was in the top three in scoring six different years before 2017 and had never won the title. But alas, all dreams have to end. An idiotic fake punt from their own 10 yard line gave Dallas a first down in Jim’s TFC Championship Game that year and Dak Prescott ended up piling up the yards and running in a touchdown to end that drive…a drive that should never have happened. Jim won that TFC Championship by a point and smoked Sean in Will Carter Bowl XI aka the darkest of day of our league. His team was good…whatever…good record, lots of points, consistent week after week, blah blah blah…please let me move on…

5. 2019 Jim: The 2007 Patriots

10-3, 244.71 points above average, scored over average 13 of 13 weeks

I have to fucking write about him again? Fine. This one is at least a little more fun. If Jim had pulled off a win when it mattered most, in Will Carter Bowl XIII, he would likely be the best team of all time. Scoring above league average every week of the regular season, Jim became the first team in 12 team/dynasty format to eclipse the 1,400 point total on the regular season. An absolute powerhouse, Jim was destined to win it all, until he didn’t. Always the little brother, Jim was put in his place by Dan in Will Carter Bowl XIII leaving the proverbial poo stain all over his 2019 team’s legacy. He scored over league average every single week of the year, except when he choked in Will Carter Bowl XIII with a measly 76 points. Ranked better than his own championship winning team, the 2019 team should have been everything…all of it…but Jim totally blew it at the end and maybe created a more upsetting legacy than losing to a certain someone we will hear about later on.

4. 2016 Cam: Dudley Domination

9-4, 156.97 points above average, scored above average 11 of 13 weeks

In 2016, for the first time since Aaron kicked off this glorious venture in Will Carter Bowl I and II, another owner won back-to-back titles. After conquering the league in 2015, Cam became the first to win consecutive crowns in the dynasty/12 team era in 2016. (He and Tom are the only team to have twice in this time period). Behind an electric David Johnson, the “Dudley Boyz” were even more dominant (156.97 points above the weekly average) and more consistent (11 of 13 games above average) than his run in 2015. From Week 6 to the championship, he lost one game, walloping everyone in his path, including Sean by a staggering 56 points in the title game.

3. 2007 Aaron: The Gold Standard

11-3, 185.5 points above average

Unfortunately, some of our league archives have been lost to time, thus, we cannot fully explore the depths of Aaron’s dominance. But take it from those of us who were there to experience his early wrath – and the vulgar, abusive rants that came with it – the 2007 team was one for the ages. Aaron not only paced the league in points that season, but was the only squad to exceed 1,400 points (1,414). Aaron decimated his foes by margins that would make you blush, winning 11 times in the regular season and housing Rob in the championship, 93-78. While Aaron would blow out Rob yet again the following season, there’s no debate that this is the finest team Aaron has ever assembled.

2. 2009 Rob: Holy Shit, Remember When Rob Beat Jim, Hahahahaha

11-3, 217.24 points above average, scored above average 11 of 14 weeks

I know it’s fun to give Jim a super hard time about how he fought really hard to get to Will Carter Bowl III and played pretty well in it just to watch Rob Dvorak take a big old dump on him, but there is no joking about how good Rob’s team was. He was 11-3 and that includes scoring 135 points in one of his losses. Back when we were a re-draft league, having a good draft was important (like Rob drafting CJ2K in 2009, the year he got his nickname), but assembling a great squad on the waiver wire was important too…which Rob certainly did. Ray Rice, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Lawrence Maroney…all waiver pick-ups…got Rob 3,800+ yards and 24 TDs that season. His points above average were 113 more than Jim (the second highest scoring team) and he beat the team that scored the most points in a losing effort in a Will Carter Bowl *checks notes* who was also Jim. Rob beat Jim.

1. 2011 Tru: Tru(th) Hurts

10-4, 207.45 points above average, scored above average 12 of 14 weeks

I know you all jumped to the bottom of this list right away to see the number one team… hoping it was you. Well it isn’t…unless you are reading this right now, Tru…which in that case, congratulations. Somehow not talked about enough, Jim and I were amazed when we went back and looked at the 2011 Tru season. Tru scored 1,580.12 points on the year (most ever), had 207.45 points above average (second most ever), and almost tripled the next highest team above average (Conor at 72.23 points above average) which is far and away the biggest separation anyone has had in points above average. This team consisted of Tom Brady (5,235 passing yards, 39 passing TDs, 3 rushing TDs), LeSean McCoy (1,624 yards from scrimmage and 20 combined TDs), and (the greatest free agent pickup in Will Carter Bowl history) Rob Gronkowski (1,327 receiving yards and 18 combined TDs). Any absolute powerhouse, this team could have been even better if Tru had not traded away Mike Wallace and Jordy Nelson (2,456 combined yards and 23 TDs between them) to Will (ha, I did mention him in this list, Jim) who would actually hand Tru two of his four losses that year, but go 4-8 in the rest of his games (sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned you, Will). This team was unstoppable and was unanimously selected by two morons who are bored in quarantine as the Greatest WCB Team of All-Time

For further reference on this list, here are the rankings we created of every Will Carter Bowl Champion in league history:

1. 2011 Tru: 207.45 and 12 of 14 (10-4), 1st in scoring that year

2. 2009 Rob: 217.24 and 11-14 (11-3), 1st in scoring that year

3. 2007 Aaron: 185.5 (11-3), 1st in scoring that year

4. 2016 Cam: 156.97 and 11 of 13 (9-4). 2nd in scoring that year

5. 2017 Jim: 129.45 and 10 of 13 (10-3), 2nd in scoring that year

6. 2015 Cam: 85.69 and 10 of 13 (9-4), 3rd in scoring that year

7. 2018 Tom: 119.37 and 9 of 13 (8-5), 3rd in scoring that year

8. 2008 Aaron: 56.4 and 8 of 14 (10-3-1), 3rd in scoring that year

9. 2013 Stoy: 115.32 (8-5), 3rd in scoring that year

10. 2019 Dan: 91.37 and 7 of 13 (8-5), 3rd in scoring that year

11. 2012 Tim: 38.68 and 7 of 14 (11-3), 4th in scoring that year

12. 2014 Tom: 25.97 and 7 of 13 (9-4), 6th in scoring that year

13. 2010 Tim: 8.87 and 8 of 14 (9-5), 5th in scoring that year

Arguably more exciting than the first week of the year and the Will Carter Bowl itself, draft day is a franchise changing moment for many teams. Finding the sleepers, avoiding the busts, and fixing the holes on a roster, each owner does their best to find the future stars of the league and add them to their roster.

There are many different tactics that owners have in the draft. For some, trading roster players to get higher up in the draft is the best strategy. For others, trading out of the first round or the draft all together is the best way to rebuild your team.

But one of the most interesting tactics ever seen in Will Carter history was that of Joe’s “Joe for Broke” roster in the second round of the 2016 Rookie Draft. With talent like Ezekiel Elliott, Michael Thomas, and Derrick Henry already off the board, Joe took a page right out of Jason Licht’s playbook. Just like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who drafted kicker Roberto Aguayo in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, Joe decided that the 17th overall draft pick of the Will Carter Rookie Draft should be Aguyao.

Upon ridicule for the pick moments after the selection was made, Joe commented “Just wait. You’ll see.” It is unconfirmed if Joe’s binder of pie charts and bar graphs were on-hand during his draft that year.

Coming off a year where Joe’s relatively unknown kicker, Adam Vinatieri, averaged 8.3 points a game, Joe banked on Aguayo to come in and increase his weekly totals with unheard of kicker numbers. However, things didn’t go according to plan.

Aguayo averaged just 6.375 points per game in the 2016 season, making only 22 of his 31 field goal attempts. Included in this rough season for Aguayo was a tough season for Joe, where he finished 4-9. Looking deeper at the stats, we see a match-up during Week 2 where Joe lost to Jim by 4.9 points in which Chandler Catanzaro outscored Aguayo 11 to 1.

While Aguayo may have only directly cost Joe one game, there is also the fact Joe missed out on players such as Jordan Howard, Kenyan Drake, Dak Prescott, and Jared Goff, all drafted after Aguayo. Howard has averaged 12 points a game in his two years in the league thus far, Drake had 4 games of 15 points or more in the final 8 games of 2017, Prescott has averaged 17 points per game since entering the NFL, and Goff’s sophomore season had him averaging 17 points per game as well.

While we will never see a kicker drafted too early in the league again with the kicker position being eliminated from the rosters, we can always remember this Great Moment in Will Carter History…a fond memory for at least 11 members of the league.

Sun. Dec. 23, 2012

Big games call for big performances. And when the lights shine down on the field during any championship game, it is often times the last person you would think of that steps up to win the big game. Mike Jones. Adam Vinatieri. David Tyree. And now another player performance when the stakes are the highest will go into the record books: the Seattle Defense in Will Carter Bowl VI.

Losing 90.08-84 with only the Sunday night game to go, Tim put everything on the line (an 11-3  regular season record, wins in 12 of his last 13 games, and a Will Carter Bowl VI championship) with the Seattle D in a home match-up with the San Francisco 49ers. Not only did the Seattle D need to make up the deficit created by the early games, but they also had to hold off San Francisco’s Frank Gore and  Michael Crabtree, who had combined for 40.4 points the week before for Mike. Before the night game even began, Tim seemed to be giving up all hope. Instead of laying down some confidence in the smack talk box, Tim stated “Yup. I’m fucked. Congrats Mike.” Little did Tim know that he was about to be given the greatest Christmas present of all-time two days early.

And with the odds stacked against Tim, the Seattle D came out fighting. Allowing no points in the first quarter, the Seattle group made one of the biggest plays of the game three plays into the second quarter. Seahawks DT Red Bryant blocked a 21 yard David Akers FG, and the loose ball was picked up by Richard Sherman, who returned the blocked kick 90 yards for a touchdown. Allowing only 13 points and racking up an INT, fumble recovery, blocked kick, defensive touchdown, and one sack while holding Gore to just 28 yards rushing and Crabtree to only 65 yards receiving, the 17 point performance by the mighty Seahawks D was enough for Tim to pull off the improbable; a 101-98.38 Will Carter Bowl VI victory.

Though Calvin Johnson would later be named MVP for his 20+ point performance, the Seattle D was the role player that made Tim’s championship dreams become reality.

Box score:

Sun. Dec. 16, 2012

It is easy to start feeling down about your team early on a Sunday. When you have some of your studs playing at night and you go down big early on, it is easy to lose hope and forget why you call you call your best guys “studs.” Whether Mike gave up hope or not on a cold December 16th evening is not known, but we know now that he had nothing to be nervous about.

Losing 102.78-53.7 with three players left to play and his opponent still waiting for his defense on Monday Night Football, Mike scored 67.22 points in the Sunday night San Francisco/New England match-up. Tom Brady lead the way with a 26.82 point performance and Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore added 22.7 and 17.7 points respectively. The three performances were enough to give Mike a 120.92-102.78 lead as Sunday ended. Will’s 7 point performance from the Tennessee D the following night was not enough for Will to make a comeback of his own, and Mike advanced to Will Carter Bowl VI.

One week later, Tim would top Mike 101-98.38 to win the championship. Meanwhile, Will would score 139.34 points in the third place game, a point total that would have been enough to win the championship… had Tom Brady, Michael Crabtree and Frank Gore not knocked Will out and broke his heart the week before.

Box Score:

Sun. Dec. 9, 2012

It looked grim for Mike’s team. With matching 7-6 records with Joe’s squad, but substantially less total season points, Mike’s only way to make the playoffs was going to be a victory and a Joe loss. And when the games started on December 9th, Joe found himself up a substantial margin on Tim, while Mike was having trouble racking up enough points to keep up with his opponent, Aaron Mackel. But in the afternoon games, Tim’s Seattle defense sparked. Scoring 41 points on 0 points allowed, three sacks, four interceptions, four fumble recoveries, and two defensive touchdowns, Tim defeated Joe 136.16-123.32. This lead to frustration for Joe, who, in the middle of the Seattle v. Arizona game, felt so upset he posted to the league that he felt team defense was unnecessary to the league.

Titled “Team Defense…” Joe’s post read: “Before I begin, I want to say that I am not bringing up this topic purely because I am bitter about what Seattle is doing to me at the moment. For most of us, team defense is an afterthought going into draft day…  Even more than a typical position player, it seems to be a totally random event that is not even mildly predictable. I suggest that we consider diminishing the impact of team defense for next year, either by removing the position or by changing the scoring scheme. I don’t think that after studying the draft, surviving a long grueling season, and picking up many impactful players through FA or trades throughout the year, a team defense should have the power to decide a matchup.”

The post was met with disagreement from Tim, Andrew, Matt, Will, Conor and Tom (who went as far as to add a “U Don’t Have to Cry” meme to the post). Meanwhile, Mike was still in desperate need to win his matchup. Down 86.28-67.5, Mike only had Tom Brady left, while Aaron had one of Brady’s top targets: Wes Welker. But somehow, someway, Tom Brady scored 28.44 points on 296 yards passing, one passing TD, and one rushing TD, while only dishing the ball to Welker for 52 total yards. It’s as if Mike had Brady on speed dial and gave him the call to tell him he needed a huge game with no points to Welker. Whether speed dial came into play or everything was happenstance is still to be determined, but the performance was enough to give Mike a 95.94-91.48 win and a playoff birth.

To which Mike added his thoughts on Joe’s post: “Yeah fuck that idea and we already have team def scoring tied down pretty tight with INTs only 1 point and no points for any return yards. Plus scoring gets crushed when the opposing team scores as little as 13 points. Don’t hate just because some of us sacrificed a bench spot for a decent DEF. Tim, congrats on a stellar DEF performance. It’s a great feeling. Oh and Deegs have fun watching the playoffs. Thank you Tom Brady.”

Box Scores:

Nov. 26, 2012

A series of events led to Andrew trailing Mike 116.82-80.44 after the Sunday games in their Week 12 match-up. Miles Austin failed to make a single catch in a game against the Redskins, Tom Brady put up 31.42 points for Mike against the Jets, and Mike’s three wide receivers outscored Andrew’s two 28.6 to 4.2 points.

It would be easy to say that this game was over. Mike still had Carolina tight end Greg Olsen to play, and Andrew’s final two players were the inconsistant Brandon LaFell and the unproven backup to LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown. A rookie from Kansas St., Brown had never started an NFL game and seemed like a long shot to give Andrew the points he needed. And through the first three possessions of the game, Brown rushed for only 29 yards and LaFell only had a 6 yard rush.

But things started to change dramatically over the next few possessions. Cam Newton hit Brandon LaFell for a 43 yard TD on the Panthers second possession and gave Andrew a much needed boost in his receiving core. But Andrew was still going to need some help from Bryce Brown.

And Brown delivered. In the Eagles first possession of the second quarter, with Brown sitting at 58 yards rushing, Brown took a handoff off the right end and galloped downfield for a 65 yard TD. The 12.5 point play early in the second quarter suddenly gave Andrew a glimmer of hope. Adding 12 more yards in the first half, Andrew had put up 30.4 points in the first half, increasing his total score to 110.84. Maybe a comeback was in the making.

But the second half was a roller coaster of highs and lows for Andrew. In the Eagles first possession, Brown fumbled in Carolina territory and the Panthers recovered. The minus-two point play had Andrew walking the wrong way. But on the next possession, Brown ran a five yard TD in to get Andrew moving in the right direction again. But, just when things were looking up, another relapse. Brown fumbled again on the Eagles very next offensive play. The game ticked on until Brown was stopped on a 4th and 1 for no gain with 8:35 left in the game.

The Panthers sustained a long drive that ended in a Cam Newton rushing touchdown with just over four and a half minutes to play. Needing just five yards from Brown to achieve total victory, Andrew was going to have a shot to win in the Eagles next possession. But on the ensuing kickoff, Eagles kick returner Brandon Boykin fumbled at the Carolina 44 yard line, and the Panthers recovered. Looking to run out the clock (and not throw the ball to Andrew’s receiver Brandon LaFell), Carolina dwindled down the final 4:29 on the clock, and Mike got the 121.82-121.34 victory.

The closest match-up of the 2012 season, the victory would be enormous for Mike, who needed all eight of his regular season wins to make his way into the playoffs. If Brown had rushed for five more yards or fumbled one less time, Andrew would have defeated Mike. Andrew’s bad luck continued the following week when he lost a tight matchup with Conor, 101.52 to 96.02. Had his team produced .5 more points in week 12 and 5.51 more points in week 13, he would have made the playoffs. Maybe it could be best explained in Andrew’s late season team motto, which read “5-3 Through week 8 and then I go and lose 5 of my last 6 games to miss the playoffs what a terrible season!!!”

But in the case of week 12, it is hard to complain about a backup running back putting up 26.9 points on 178 yards rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Box Score:

Sun. Oct. 15, 2012

Winning 81.72-80.5 going into the Sunday night match-up between the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos, Tim was going to need Ryan Mathews to hold off Tom’s Phillip Rivers to pull off a week 6 win. Things started off all in favor of Tom as Rivers had 131 yards passing and 2 TDs in the first half to give Tom a large lead. But everything changed in the second half when the Broncos defense came to play.

Rivers and the Chargers had six possessions in the second half. The first ended in a Rivers fumble, the second in a three and out, and the next three in drive-killing interceptions by the Charger QB. Still needing help with only seconds to play, it all came down to a 4th and 16 for the Chargers with under a minute to play. Down 92.14-91.02, the only way Tim could win the game was with a Rivers fumble. And just then, Elvis Dumervil burst through the San Diego offensive line, wrapped up Rivers, stripped the ball, and Denver’s Mike Adams recovered the loose pigskin. The play resulted in minus-two points for Rivers, his fifth turnover of the second half and sixth of the game. A kneel down later and Tim had achieved the historic 91.02-90.14 victory, his fifth straight win and one of the craziest endings in fantasy football history.

Box Score:

Oct. 5, 2009

The night before a huge matchup with Aaron, Conor completed more trades than he may have ever made since. In desperate need of a WR for his Sunday lineup, he traded off Oakland’s Michael Bush, a solid RB and great handcuff for his team, to Will for Indianapolis’ Pierre Garcon, who was listed as questionable. The move was dangerous with Garcon’s condition, but Conor felt like the risk was worth it. Unfortunately, it did not work out for him. When Conor awoke Sunday morning, Garcon was listed as out.

Now completely desperate, Conor needed to make something happen. He checked the free agency pool, but nothing got him too excited. At one point, he even contemplated just leaving his third WR spot blank and holding his roster where it was, a move only the trigger-shy Conor could consider. But he finally came to and saw that action had to be taken. Deciding he needed to make a move in order to win his matchup, Conor gave up on keeping Garcon for future weeks and traded him to Jim, who gave him Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson in return, who had a Monday Night matchup with Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

Conor was not known for doing well on Mondays, and when he was down by a little more than six points entering the final night, he wasn’t feeling too good about his chances. And for 56 minutes of game time, Nelson had only 14 yards. Conor sat with his head in his hands, knowing there was not much time left.

But by St. Patrick, you should never give up on the luck of the Irish. With just under four minutes of game left, Rodgers took the snap from the Minnesota 33, hit Nelson on the 19 yard line, and the Kansas St. alum weaved his way to the two yard line, where he stretched the ball across the plain of the endzone as he was being brought down. Conor, who’s reaction was delayed by both shock and the fact that he didn’t know Nelson was the white receiver on the Packers, had pulled off the comeback and defeated Aaron.

Conor took to the message boards. In a post titled “JORDY NELSON” Conor explained his feelings:

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A love affair between Conor Clarke and Jordy Nelson blossomed that day; a love so strong, Conor devoted his team picture to Nelson for the rest of the year.

Oct. 29, 2007

While the opponent is hazy, the defeat has stayed with Tim for years. On a cool October night, Tim trailed his opponent by 4 points heading into a Monday Night Football showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos in Denver. While his opponent had used all nine players in the Sunday games, Tim had his tight end still to play: the Green Bay Packers Donald Lee.

And things started off great. On the Packers third drive of the game, Favre connected with Lee three times for a total of 34 yards. With 11:42 left in the second quarter, Tim felt confident that Lee would not only be able to get the six yards to tie the game, but 16 for him to win it. And with good reason. 41:42 of football is a longtime, and Lee had already nabbed a bulk of the yards he needed.

But things did not go according to plan the rest of the game. Drive after drive, Favre would hand off the ball to Ryan Grant or complete passes to Greg Jennings or James Jones. The clock ticked and ticked and ticked. As the fourth quarter winded down, the Packers led by three and Denver had the ball. Tim, realizing the only way he could tie or win now was if the game went to overtime, screamed at his dorm room TV as the Broncos slowly marched downfield. With :22 left on a 3rd & 1 with no timeouts, Denver quarterback Jay Cutler was brought down for no gain. The clocked rolled as Jason Elam dashed onto the field. “Kick it! Kick it!” Tim screamed as Denver could not stop the clock. And with a second to spare, longsnapper Mike Leach got the snap to holder Todd Sauerbrun, and Jason Elam kicked a 21 yard field goal through the uprights.

Spared temporarily, Tim cheered as the Packers won the coin toss for overtime and chose to receive. But one play later, the dream ended. Favre took the snap, stepped back in the pocket, play action faked to Ryan Grant, and heaved the ball downfield where it was hauled in by Greg Jennings at the Denver 37. Jennings scampered into the endzone untouched, the game ended, and Tim lost his matchup.

And if the pain wasn’t bad enough, Favre rubbed salt deep into Tim’s wounds when he told reporters in the post game press conference that the play was designed to go to Donald Lee, but he decided to take a shot up top to Jennings. To which Tim remarked “Fuck You Brett Favre…and Donald Lee.”