Special start for a special season

In my best Al Michaels “Do you believe in miracles?” Yes, the Buffalo Bills found a way to circle the wagons in Orchard Park, N.Y., and beat the Seattle Seahawks to open the 2008-09 season with a win at home…just like I predicted.

Yeah, right.

Okay, so I went against my hometown team but I had to. Really! The Hawks were favored and the Bills were not exactly looking like an offensive powerhouse ready to deal with the birds from Grungeland.

Someway, somehow the boys from Buffalo whomped on Seattle to the tune of a 34-10 beatdown in front of the nearly 80,000 strong fan faithful.

At least I can still be happy about the win. I mean, one win is all it takes to get fans from Buffalo talking about the possibilities of a Super Bowl run.

Keep dreaming, Bills fans. I love ya, but it’s not gonna happen anytime soon. As an experienced Buffalo Bills fan, I’ll wait at least until Week 2 to pass judgment on their chances.

Speaking of insane, err, devoted fans, how long do you think the Cheeseheads took to forget about Brett Favre?

Brett the Jet looked good against Miami last week; albeit in a darker shade of green. The NFL’s thee-time MVP led the Jets to a 20-14 win over the Dolphins, and the 64-year-old Favre looked plenty youthful doing so.

Did you see his desperation touchdown pass? It looked like he went into the huddle and told his receivers to “just get open.” Funny thing is that it worked pretty much the same way he’s been getting the job done for years.

You’d think the uberfans in Green Bay were howling out of their screen doors, mourning the loss of the future Hall of Famer.

They probably were. Well, at least until Monday Night Football when his replacement led to Packers to a 24-19 win over their bitter rivals from Minnesota.

Aaron Rodgers looked confident, poised, and ready for primetime when he ran out of the tunnel for the first time as a starter for Green Bay.

After years of waiting behind a legend and an off-season drama akin to wondering who shot J.R. Ewing, Rodgers emerged like a real pro. All of his struggles might have installed a little character in him.

While I’m sure the experience made him stronger, I don’t think that Rodgers will be thanking Favre for his support anytime soon. [B][I](Brad Ruszala)[/I][/B]