For you local NFL historians, you may remember back in the early 1990s there was a heated rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. They faced each other virtually every regular season (included national games on Thanksgiving) as well in the playoffs. The games were intense and often close, but there was one problem with the ‘rivalry’. The Cowboys always won. From 1993 – 1995, the upstart Packers were reestablishing themselves as one of the top teams in the NFC. They made the playoffs each season and were a threat to win every game with Mr. Favre under center. However, in six meetings (3 regular season and 3 playoffs) the Packers were 0-6 against the powerful Cowboys. Packer fans hated the Cowboys. They were the team’s #1 ‘rival’ in those years. Cowboy fans had a different perspective. They didn’t really care. The Packers weren’t a rival…the Packers were a nice up and coming team they always beat! It wasn’t until the great Cowboy teams began to decline that the Pack finally got a leg up on them. Not much of a rivalry after all.
We here at team In Over My Head have identified our new ‘rival’ and his name is Annieswesterncard. We, like those Packer teams, are an upstart youngster who is just now starting to make a name for ourselves. Annieswesterncard, on the other hand, is like the Cowboys. In just 11 starts this season, he has banked over $280,000. As a two year old, he raced 12 times and took in $220,000. He ranks among the elite in the 3 year old pacing colts in the country. Oddly enough, in In Over My Head’s first lifetime start, he finished 2nd to…you guessed it Annieswesterncard. So why all this background? Our ‘rivalry’ will be renewed this Friday as Mo races at the $14,000 open at Maywood Park and much to our surprise (and chagrin) none other than Annieswesterncard has entered the race as well. We now have a regular season game against the Cowboys on our schedule.
To complete the analogy, our ‘playoffs’ will be two big races in Chicago at the end of the season. Like a real playoff scenario, we need to finish strong to even be eligible. There is a chance we may be watching those races from home. Annieswesterncard is already eligible and will more than likely be racing in them (unless the connections choose to take him somewhere else).
We hope to start a real rivalry this Friday night. Maybe we can pull off an upset and turn a few heads. Beating Annieswesterncard would certainly do just that. Is it likely to happen? No, it really isn’t, but you never know. Stranger things have happened. Maybe after the race we will be in the middle of a “Go Pack Go!” cheer instead of hearing “how ‘bout them Cowboys???”
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