Eighteen years ago in preparation for Thanksgiving, each student in Ms. Puetz's four-year-old kindergarten class had to tell their teacher the one thing they were most thankful for. Some said their mom or their dad. Others said their pet hamster. Still others said their best friend or their favorite toy.
Yet one young pupil thought and thought and thought and, when all the kids had moved on to other activities, told his teacher, I am most thankful for my toothbrush.""
While listening to Matt Lepay on the Badger Radio Network Saturday afternoon (thank you Big Ten Network), I once again, began thinking about all the things I was thankful for.
Family, friends, good health and Captain Morgan all crossed my mind. Yet I then realized the one thing I was most thankful for, was not a ""thing"" at all.
No, for Thanksgiving 2007, I am most thankful I was wrong.
Before the NFL season began, a fellow columnist and Packer backer wrote how the ""Pack would be back in 2007."" He analyzed the talent level at each position and stated how the men in green and gold would have no trouble making the playoffs.
As I read line after line of praise for the Packers, I began to question his sports knowledge and overall grasp on reality.
Was he smoking the green dragon? Snorting the stardust? Sucking the sugar cube?
Had his devoted love to Brett Favre blurred his senses?
I wondered how even the most idealistic Packer fan could possibly think Green Bay would improve upon its 8-8 record in 2006.
Sure there was Brett Favre. But there were also a bunch of young receivers, tight ends and running backs few had ever heard of, a second-year head coach - whose main claims to fame were unintentionally talking like Elvis and leading the 49ers to new levels of futility as an offensive coordinator - and a strong safety named after a 1970s video game system.
The Bears are the defending NFC Champs. The Vikings drafted Adrian Peterson. The Lions drafted Calvin Johnson, and the Packers picked an injury-prone overweight defensive tackle that most analysts thought would be a ""decent"" second or third round selection.
How could we fail?
Then there was the schedule. Four out of the first five contests were against playoff teams from a year ago, and the schedule also included back-to-back trips to Denver and Kansas City.
Taking this all into consideration I figured the Packers would be 2-8 or 3-7 by the time they headed to Detroit for their Thanksgiving showdown with the Lions.
It's a good thing I don't gamble because I'd be sleeping next to Mr. Lincoln up on Bascom Hill.
It's difficult to put this 9-1 start into words. It's more rare than a turnover-free game for Rex Grossman, more perplexing than a John Madden analysis and tastier than grandma's pumpkin pie.
Favre looks like an MVP, Ryan Grant looks like a diamond in the rough and Ted Thompson looks like a genius.
I look like a fair-weather fan for saying the Packers would go 6-10 at best this season. Maybe I should be eating crow instead of turkey for Thanksgiving.
So to all the optimists and loyalists out there, here's a cynic telling you, congratulations. I'm ever-so thankful you were right and I was wrong about the Packers, at least so far.
Perhaps it's inappropriate to be thankful a sports team is doing well when there are so many other things to be thankful for.
But coming from a kid who said he was most thankful for his toothbrush back in kindergarten, I think I've made a lot of progress.
To tell Ryan what you are thankful for, e-mail reszel@dailycardinal.com.
