The Twin Cities, Pt. 1: Day 1-2

I'm generally not the person who takes their major annual vacation in the Summer. This is somewhat annoying to my colleagues and project mates who generally are (given many are still European....) but anyway, it is what it is. But that said for a few years I've decided to visit some Mountainous outpost in the Summer, taking advantage of areas more known for skiing to just mill around. In 2018, it was Salt Lake City, in 2019 it was Calgary & Banff National Park. In 2020, it was understandably nothing. In 2021, it was Denver & Colorado Springs. And this year, it is Minneapolis.

It may seem an odd place to pick. Minneapolis is far from the biggest tourist destination in North America. But a few aspects made it appealing. Firstly, I haven't been her, nor flown through MSP airport. Adding another airport to my list (now up to 128) is not meaningless. Maybe 5% of the reason. Second, again I haven't been here. This isn't the biggest metropolis in the country, but it is far from the smallest, and has an interesting vibe from what I heard. Third, they have a great beer culture from everything I read. Fourth, they have a burgeoningly great food scene. And while they didn't have the amount of outdoor mountainous beauty that the last three all had, it has great lakes, rivers, parks and so far (a day in as I write this) about as Green a major city in America.

Day 1

My first day in Minneapolis was defined by parks and beer (until dinner at Alma, which is to come). I'm not trying to be funny when saying that, as I largely think this trip will be defined by that. Minneapolis is a very green city, reminding me much of Calgary. There are parks everywhere, as are the lakes surrounding the Mississippi River that runs through it. The first stop was close to my AirBNB, a part of a larger park called the Eloise Butler Wildflower Reserve. It was about a 1-mile loop through lush Minnesota forest and plains, flowers and trees everywhere. Apparently the best time to visit is either Spring or Fall, but even in Summer it was a calm 80 degrees and beautiful - a calming, if not incredible, way to start my trip.

Then came the Sculpture Garden, a park right in the heart of the city, a coupel blocks away from the Mississippi, befit with the famous Cherry over Spoon sculpture. That is the main event, but the rest of the Sculpture Garden is quite beautiful as well - my favorite being the deep blue tall rooster sculpture pefectly placed with Minneapolis's very photogenic skyline behind it.

The Sculpture Garden is free, but in a way it isn't as the parking lot for the Garden had a minimum 12-hour meter charge. It was only $4.50, but still - Minneapolis is definitely making it up on the backend.

After a stop at the first brewery of the trip - Clutch Brewing, in St. Paul's Warehouse Market, a picturesque spot that is still being filled out - I went to Mills Ruin Park, a long swath of green park hugging the Mississippi River, right around the famous (for Minneapolis) Stone Arch Bridge. The park had some nice views, though I was somewhat disappointed that it is a bit low and the city skyline was blocked which if not would've provided a great photo opportunity.

The breweries on Day 1 were all uniformly very good and very well laid out. Clutch was basically the entire second floor of the Warehouse Market, with the middle open to a view of the market down below. It was well adorned, and the beer was surprisingly good for what was by far the most "commercial" spot I went to, with both an IPA and a Nitro Milk Stout being quite good.

The second was Arbeiter (by the way at this and the rest of the spots I only had one each...) which was a bit mroe traditional in set-up, taking up half a warehouse with the brewing area the other half. Their Hazy IPA was great, the crowd was probably what you would expect, a lot of dogs, a lot of youngsters out of work early on a Friday, and the works. The third was Sisyphus Brewing, which is really high rated and probably the most "chill" set-up, with table games, pinball machines, a group of people having a surprisingly deep and all-over-the-place philosophy conversation, and the like. The final one was a quick stop after diner to HeadFlyer, which was another classic warehouse style craft brewery, but with a large outdoor space that everyone was taking advantage of

Dinner at Alma was excellent, if a tad confusing at the start. They call themselves a restaurant that serves a prixe fixe menu. But the menu reads like a tasting menu. When I sat, I first wondered if I had to pick from one of the antipasti, one of the first course, main course, etc., but then the waitress came around and said that I would get all of them. I was confused again, but quickly realized that the restaurant is going to serve all the plates of a course together. The antipasti were largely all one bites, but all great - especially a breaded squash in dashi that you just slurp up. The first courses were an sesame heirloom tomato salad, which I surprisingly ate a decent amount of, and a prawn fritter. The best part were their three mains, a chili oil lamb sausage orecchiette, a pepper crusted sea bass in tom yum broth, and a lightly grilled quail. Alma's dishes were a perfect mix of hominess and quality. Very much recommend.

After dinner and the stop at HeadFlyer, the night ended at The Loft at Skyway Theater, which is an EDM space that was rocking. The drinks were bad, but cheap. They gave out water bottles for $2 a pop which were a hit. The place had far better air conditioning than most similar places I've been to and was just a great time.

Day 2

My Saturday in Minneapolis had a few planned items that would shape the schedule of the day. First being a 4pm tour of Paisley Park, Prince's estate. I'm not that much of a Prince fan, knowing truly few songs of his beyond the very famous ones (i.e. Little Red Corvette or Purple Rain), but I can't come all the way to Minnesota and not pay my respects. The other was a 7:45 dinner at Travail, a modern tasting menu joint that is listed as one of Minneapolis's best restaurants. That didn't leave a whole lot of time to do other things, but I was still able to make good use of the day.

The first stop after a quick grab and go chorize biscuit breakfast sandwhich (very good) was the Minneapolis Institute of Art - i.e. their Art museum. I have to say, this was one of the better art museums I've ever been to aside from truly major cities (your Parises or New Yorks). It is large, it touches upon basically all types of historical art from all over the world, from a lot of European Art from 1200 to 1900 (including a handful of French impressionist masters), to American art, to most of the 2nd floor being taken up by Asian art from all parts of Asia (including India and Southeast Asia with is often overlooked). The only real downgrade I can give is the place is so sprawling that is incredibly easy to get lost and incredibly difficult to carve out a logical way to see everything without retracing steps. 

The museum took a good 90 minutes to 2 hours, but I was never bored or tired. It was constant in the quality of its exhibits and the differences of each area - this coupling as both an art museum and a anthropological one. Some of the pieces were truly stunning. It is free to enter (though donations are requested), but they make it up charging basically an entrance fee like charge for their special exhibits, the one I went to was a Van Gogh exhibit about art specifically from his time at a psychiatric hospital. 

After a truly pleasant experience at the museum, I ventured to a part of the city I hadn't been before, the now being gentrified industrial area around the baseball stadium. This area is a facsimile, in a good way, of Denver around Coors Field in a sense. Lunch was at Union Hmong Kitchen, which was good if a bit standard being a really well grilled skirt steak and asian slaw salad, but the place was housed in a warehouse turned mini food hall. These places are not unique to Minneapolis but are more and more just such a standard offering in a great city like this. After lunch was a trip a couple blocks away to Inbound Brewing, which had maybe the best set-up of any brewery I've been to so far. Huge open warehouse, rows of long community tables, an outdoor area, good beer. Honestly, Minneapolis is up there in terms of beer cities - which is not a surprise in the least admittedly. 

Paisley Park was an experience. I honestly didn't know much of the background, the fact that he first built it in 1987, but it was a great experience. Annoyingly they have a strict no photos rule for the first 75% of the tour - which goes through the main parts of the facility, from an atrium and little office rooms, to his main studio, to a second studio and a room full of his shoes. The entire thing was surreal, with so many purples, so many shoes, so many great pieces of art and artifacts of the genius he was.

In the recording studio they even play a little clip of a recording session soon before he died. It was an uncut, unfinished snippet, but even in that you could feel that something amazing would've come out of it. The last bit of the tour was on the sound-stage, a 12,000 sq.ft. performing space where they played concert clips and then turned the lights on and finally let us take pictures of some Prince memorabilia, gear, a collection of 8 of his outfits, some of his classic cars and other paraphernelia. It was a great end to a pretty great tour all things considered given I still don't know too many of his songs.

After Paisley Park I took in a few brews at Sisyphus (main advantage here is the location is pretty close to my AirBNB), before heading to Travail, which deserves its own post.

Post the great dinner was another quick stop to Inbound, which was nicely showing the UFC Card PPV, they charged a $5 cover, but fair enough. Quite a great setting to watch a UFC card sitting in a really great taproom, and being on CT it didn't end at 1:30am like it normally does. After that I went to Meteor, finding little of interest in the heard of downtown with The Loft closed for the night replaced with a show at their sister space that was more punk rock. Meteor was a great scene, with a really lively crowd and further great cocktails. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, it largely works.

My 12 Favorite Trips I've Taken

12.) Germany and Poland (2014)

Itinerary Overview: 9 days total, three in Berlin, three in Krakow, two in Warsaw, one for travel

Cities in my Top-50 List: Berlin, Krakow, Warsaw

This was my first trip as a gainfully employed adult, using hard-earned PTO days to go to Europe for a week. When I was in Berlin at the start of the trip, some medum-sized fire flared up on my project and had to spend more time answering e-mails than I wanted to - a beautiful head-first dive into the world of traveling as an adult. Anyway, the trip itself was quite good. The only reasons it wasn't higher are (1) I went in mid-March so it was still slightly cold, and (2) the food in these areas isn't the best compared to others on the list. Remove those two and it was a great trip.

Berlin had a lot more history than I expected even outside the stuff with the Wall and War. The museums detailing Germany's full pre-Weimar history was great. The city is a little big despite having a good transit system, so it made it tough to see too much of the city. Krakow was the opposite, being small enough for almost everything worthwhile to be within a 10-15 min walk of their great main square. That main square is probably my favorite main square in Europe. The history there was both chilling in a good way (stuff related to the Pope) and bad (Auschwitz). Both places were great, and I would go back to either for a qucik hang. As a first trip abroad alone as a gainfully employed adult, this was about as good a start as I could have wanted, knowing that many better were still to come.


11.) Peru (2016)

Itinerary Overview: 8 days total, three in Lima, four in Cusco/Machu Picchu

Cities in my Top-50 List: Lima, Cusco

I took this trip with two friends. As a reminder, this whole list is being judged on how fun, how memorable, how special these trips were, not just how good each city is to travel to. The latter would be basically just some mathematical equation of my Top-50 cities list. This is differnet. For Peru, the two most memorable aspects were the food, and Loki hostel. The food was amazing, with our central meal being at Maido (generally in the Top-10 of the San Pellegrino list of the World's Top-50 Restaurants). That was my first foray into a beautiful tasting menu, and the 13-course Japanese-Peruvian infusion still remains maybe my favorite meal. Even outside of that, the other meals were mostly all great.

Loki is something else. We all were working, and probably could have split a normal hotel, but chose to stay at Loki Hostels because they are known for being a good time. I don't think we knew what we were getting into with it. The one in Cusco is probably the most noted, and for us it basically served as our ngith spot, with the nomadic bartenders serving blood bombs and rounding the crowd into 'Loki, Loki, Loki.... Aye, Aye, Aye!' chants over and over again. The fun in the trip emanated from these things, and the friends I shared it with - this being the first international trip with buddies.

From a travel perspective, Lima is a bit flat for tourism, and while Macchu Picchu is incredible, it takes a whole 1.5-2 days to travel to and fro even if you aren't doing the Inca trail. It is all worth it, but a longer trip than we took is probably more ideal for Peru. I would though highly recommend what we did which was do Macchu Picchu towards the end, because with the hiking and all we were all basically beat up physically for a couple days.


10.) Germany and the Rest (2000)

Itinerary Overview: ~17 days, split between Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic

Cities in my Top-50 List: London, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Prague

Three of these trips took place before the purview of this blog, and this is the earliest one. This was the second year my family and I went to Europe for our Spring Break holiday. To be honest, I have far less memory of hte first trip (UK, Belgium, Netherlands) than this one, though even if I did, my guess is I would rank this one higher. The best aspect was just the sheer number of countries and cultures. Yes, being 9 at the time they all blended in together, but the difference of seeing the Alps in Swizterland, the open fields in Austria and the classic beauty of Prague and Budapest was fascinating.

I loved this trip because of how large it seemed at the time, how fun it was to drive oin the Autobahn, to eat Goulash (which I still love and want to go back to Budapest at some point to eat again). I still remember the night river cruises in Budapest and Prague seeing the flood-lit gothic buildings on each end of hte river. I still remember all the music-related stuff in Salzburg and touring the Sound of Music house. This trip will always hold a place in my heart because it was the first one that I have a significantly good memory of - even more than later trips that didn't make the list because of how cloudy that memory is.

In the end, it was probably trying to pack a little too much into 17 days to see so many countries, diverse cultures, and see them all well. However, that's how my family rolled back in the day. My Mom and Dad were vigilant in waking my sister and I up every day early so we could see as much as we could, and I couldn't be any more grateful for that.


9.) Italy with Friends (2019)

Itinerary Overview: 9 days, three in Rome, three in Positano, three in Palermo

Cities in my Top-50: Rome, Positano, Palermo

It is hard to judge a trip that just happened, but I think I'm fair in saying this was truly a very good trip edged to great because I went with five close friends. If not for that fact, this probably lands up around #10. What was great about the trip, outside of just hte people we traveled with, was seeing such differnet parts of the Italy, from the megapolis that is Rome (the original megapolis, one would say) to the hills of Positano, to the gritty realness and beauty of Palermo. It was three very different, interesting aspects of Italy.

Despite going to Italy the first time three years after the European trip I detailed at #9, I had little actual memory of that trip, so even Rome with the Vatican and Colosseum and Forum were more new than expected. Positano was interesting given we were literally 7-10 days before the rush season began (and prices would start jumping >50%) but the town was lovely with its perfectly manicured hills, great views, well maintained trattorias and the rest. The real star, for me, was Palermo. I don't know exactly what it is aobut that place, but it was a huge hit with my friends and I.

Palermo had a lovely mix of new urban chic design for newer restaurants and bars, but a very earthy traditional foundation. The food was great. Our AirBNB was conveniently located right above one of the main bar crawl drags, allowing us to mix with throngs of local Sicilians enjoying their Friday night, up to including getting routed in a game of foosball. Turns out they can play that better too. Somehow I haven't really mentioned the food yet, which was great ranging from fancy tasting menus (my favorite: I Pupi in Bagheria) to modern classic to hole in the wall pizza in Naples. This was a great classic one-week trip.


8.) Turkey (2007)

Itinerary Overview: 16 days, split between Istanbul, Capadocia, Anatolya and others

Cities in my Top-50: Istanbul

I wasn't actually supposed to be on this trip. That same Spring Break my school's Orchestra did a tour of Russia, a place I missed out on and still hope to go to (see: it being #1 on my list). Then again, instead I got to go to Turkey and have a fantastic time. The other unique aspect of this trip was this was the first (and so far only) guided tour I have been on, with my family meeting ~40 other people in Istanbul for a 14-day Gate-1 tour program.

There are definitely negatives to this: the speed they operate is slower, you are kind of boxed in to their itinerary, there were a lot of early morning starts to drive on buses. But the positives way outweighed them - primarily in that all the logistics were taken care off, and we got dinners to ourselves. The food in Turkey is execptional, be it the kofta kebabs on the streets in Istanbul, the great many preparations of lamb, or hte fresh fish in Izmir.

The tour was great even at its leisurely pace. I loved every aspect of Istanbul (which I sitll have ranked #3 on my cities list). I loved the varied topography of Kapadokya or the day in Ephesus, which set my then standard on Roman ruins. Turkey was such a great place to go at that, even if I still have a 2% regret about missing out on playing Orchestra music in the halls of Russaia. Turkey was a great, excellent, brilliant consolation prize.


7.) Asia Trip (2019)

Itinerary Overview: 18 days, two in London, three in Taipei, three in Ho Chi Minh City, three in Luang Prabang, three in Hanoi/Halong Bay, one in Singapore, and three mostly in transit

Cities in my Top-50: All of them

This was the longest trip I've taken fully alone. I'm somewhat cheating adding London to this, but the trip did start in London for my company's Summer Party, where we were up singing karaoke in a room till about 6:30 and I got up at 8:30 to head to Heathrow to head to Taiwan. Anyway, the rest of the trip was alone, and it is basically only that fact that keeps it from being higher up. I don't dislike traveling alone, but still there is some added benefit being with people. The trip itself was amazing. Taiwan was far more impressive than I expected. After a largely disastrous trip to Vietnam in 2013, this more than redeemed it, with me falling in love especially with Ho Chi Minh City, and Luang Prabang was one of the msot serene, remote outposts I have ever been to.

Taiwan was an amazing start - I spent months thinking of a place that I could spend 3-4 days before starting the trip proper, and Taiwan was like my 3rd choice, but it more than made up for it with great food, underrated sights, and just a great overall vibe. All of those things are true of Ho Chi Minh City, but add to it the beer culture, and maybe the single best "club" I've been to in my life in The Observatory - each night ending with a motorbike taking me from there to a Pho place to my AirBNB.

But what made the trip really is Luang Prabang, the remote two-road town deep into Laos. So calming, so relaxing. The sites, from the many Wats in the city, to the two great waterfall ponds outside of it, to the Elephant Village - all of it was just so incredible. Again, I've been lucky to go on many great trips. This very easily could be higher, but the ones higehr were all incredible as well.

6.) Israel + Jordan (2018-19)

Itinerary Overview: 16 days, four in Jerusalem, three in Tiberias, two in Tel Aviv, three in Jordan Coast, two in Amman, two for travel

Cities in my Top-50: Jerusalem, Amman

These top-5 were all tremendous, and it was quite tough to rank them all against each other. Out of these top-5, this is the most recent (and the first one that I painstakingly chronicled on this blog). Yes, this is elevated by emotional chills gained by visiting Jerusalem. As I said many times, I wouldn't classify myself as particularly religion, yet it was still fascinating and exhilerating being there and walking the same streets and steps that Jesus did, both in Jerusalem, and in a more pointed way, in Tiberias near the Sea of Galilee. This was such untapped land.

But even looking at the Jordan half and it was an incredible vacation. Other than maybe the trip I have ranked #1, there were few better back to back days than visiting the magic of Wadi Rum - climbing rock and sand dunes, eating with bedouins - and the lost city of Petra. Jordan also gave us incredible hotels, great food (lamb, lamb and more lamb) amd amazing kunefe. Jordan was just as good as I could have hoped for.

Ultimately, this trip was thrilling and special, and I do see myself going back at least once, maybe in another 5-10 years when they uncovered more hidden gems in both countries. The lasting memory, beyond the tight bond to my faith, is how advanced both countries were at their best (Israel obviously more-so than Jordan). Both show a better side of what we commonly see as the most dangerous, tightly wound part of the wrold. Instead, they are a goldmine for tourism bliss.


5.) Iberian Peninsula (2001)

Itinerary Overview: ~15 days split between Madrid, Andalusia (Sevilla, Granada, Malaga), Lisbon

Cities in my Top-50: Madrid, Granada

This is the other trip from way back in my childhood. It left such an impression that Spain is probably my favorite country to visit (and there are so many more areas of Spain to go to). Portugal wasn't too bad either, with its fado music, rolling hills in Lisbon, a little religion thrown in (Fatima) and incredible food, simply incredible food. This also lined up when I was learning about such things as Ferdinand and Isabella, so that too was a nice touch of symmetry.

Back to Spain though, it left such an impresion that I remember so much of that trip despite it being 18 whole years ago (God, I'm old). I remember the Prado and Reina Sofia, and being enamored by Dali despite not really knowing what it was at the time. I remember so much of Madrid, what an incredible city it was. I remember the brilliance of Andalusia, with the white hills of Costa del Sol, and of course the Alhambra in Granada.

I can certainly say that the Alhambra is somethign I would appreciate a lot more now than I did then, but even the 10-year old me loved walking around those grounds, seeing the incredible views, and of course getting the chance to retreat back to our resort and eat that lamb. Oh that lamb. I have no idea how it was made, or what sauce they used, and who knows if 28-year old me would like it, but man was it one of my favorite meals from my childhood travels. This trip has certainly been played up, but I've been to Madrid twice since, and I remain steadfast in my undying love for everything Spain.

4,) Iberian Peninsula (2021)

Itinerary Overview: 15 days, three in Barcelona, two in Granada, one in Sevilla, three in Lisbon, two in San Sebastian, two in Bilbao, one in Madrid, one traveling

Cities in my Top 50: Barcelona, Granada, Lisbon, Bilbao/San Sebastian, Madrid

Hey - it's Spain and Portugal again! 20 years later I did a trip that repeated a lot of the elements of my first trip to Spain & Portugal, but traded more time in Andalusia and going to Malaga for the Basque Region and Barcelona, which is a net positive. The other inextricable advantage this trip had in particular was it being the first lengthy trip I took since the start of the Covid pandemic. It was also with friends. While places in Spain and Portugal closed way earlier than they would've had we gone two years prior, it was still us letting loose.

This trip had it all - from great restaurants, especially Belcanto in Lisbon and Azurmendi in Bilbao, to great, if short, nights out, to just a lot of experiences and running jokes that the five of us that went (three of us in the first half of hte trip) would always have. When I travel with my friends, it is always a bit slower than when I go alone or with family, but here that pace added to the experience. Each part of the trip had something memorable, from meeting a 6th friend in Barcelona who moved there early in the pandemic, to seeing the Alhambra with "adult" eyes, to enjoying Lisbon with friends, the one place that stayed open until at least 2am, to seeing the long heard about Basque region for the first time. It was all excellent.

This was the one international trip I took that was impacted by Covid, in the sense that many of the main sites required masks, places closed by 11:30 (Barcelona, hilariously) or 1am (rest of Spain) instead of 4-5am like normal, and there was still a certain "is this real?" vibe in the air. By the time I took my next trip out of the country the following Feb to Cape Town, Covid was largely in the rear view mirror in terms of impacting every day life. I do enjoy the fact that I got this one trip during Covid, and the memories taken from it. May we never have to travel that way again, but may I always remember that I did and still had an amazing time.

3.) Egypt + South Africa (2018)

Itinerary Overview: 17 days, one in Johannesburg, four in Cairo, four on a Nile Cruise, five in Cape Town, two for travel

Cities in my Top-50: Johannesbug, Cairo, Luxor, Cape Town

It's interesting that this ended up being three different types of trips. This was mainly solo (for Egypt, then with a friend for Cape Town). My #2 was with a large group of friends and my #1 with my family. This was the most complex trip I had done from a logistics standpoint, but also the ressurection of two aborted trips. The most direct connection was me not being allowed to go to Cape Town in 2017. The other was when I decided to move Egypt to Cape Town as the launching point for my 2013 Round-the-World Trip. Finally they both came together, and man was it great.

These were such great contrasting differences. Egypt was all about the history, the legacy of this great Ancient civilization. Cape Town being all about the natural beauty, incredible food and incredible people. One was hot, one was perfectly temperate. They both combined for an excellent vacation. There are so many lasting memories, but the best honestly mght have been the Nile Cruise on the MS Dolphin. Being able to say I sailed down the Nile the cradle of so much civilization. All the temples and tombs were so enriching. So incredible old.

Cape Town was Cape Town, but it was great to enjoy this incredible city with company for the first time. I had more interesting food this time, going for a few medium-sized posh dinners around the Western Cape. Did more hiking this time, getting to see all aspects of that beautiful Table Mountain from way up high to the forests that careen into Kirstenbosch. I may never go on such a complex trip in terms of flights back and forth (I first flew to Johannesburg before then heading up to Cairo via Dubai - did allow me to go to a Lion Park in JoBurg though) but for one 2-week stretch it was amazing.


2.) The Balkans (2017)

Itinerary: 10 days, three in Belgrade, three in Dubrovnik, two in Split and one in Zagreb

Cities in my Top-50: Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Split

As mentioned, this is my highest ranking trip with my friends. It was a group of five of us in Belgrade, and then two others joining us in Croatia. So many memories of this trip. Belgrade is still a little rough around the edges, but that roughness allowed us to get affordable bottle service on a floating club on a barge playing classic hip-hop bangers. This trip launched a thousand running jokes as well.

It really kicked off in Croatia however, which was about as whirlwind a 7-days as you can get between Dubrovnik, Split and a day at Lake Plitvice (a truly stunning experience with such variety of untouched blues). The crazy thing about this trip is how littel we slept, being out till 2-4 AM each night and up by 8 to have seven of us shower in time to make 10am tours. A whole lot of espressos were had sitting in outdoor patio'd coffeeshops in the red tiled main square old towns of Dubrovnik and Split. Somehow, I slept less on that trip than any normal week of work.

The food was great, the views were great, both in teh cities and the drive between them. I got to cross three more countries off the list (I'm including Bosnia which we drove through for a good 30 minutes on the way to Split). It was days and days and days of laughs, our first turly group international trip. And the fact we picked a place that was not too tourist heavy (in terms of sites) and more about fun (club in a castle!) it made it all the better.


1.) Patagonia (2017-18)

Itinerary: 13 days, one in Buenos Aires, two in Punta Arenas, two in El Calafate, two in Puerto Natalas, two in Santiago, two in Wine Country, two for travel

Cities in my Top-50: Punta Arenas, El Calafate, Santiago

It had been a good seven years since our full family took a trip together - that one to Greece in 2010 (probably my #11). We had gone to India together, but that is more about family and what-not. This was pure tourism. My sister and I were old enough to do most of the logistics, painstakingly picking out restaurants (both of us), hotels (mostly her) and flights (me again). In the end, it all came together in probably the most perfect 12-day vacation you can imagine.

Other than maybe the one day we lost just driving form Punta Arenas to El Calafate, but even on that day, we got to see some really cool, open terrain (tons of photos), a bunch of cute sheep and vacuna, and have two great meals. The food was amazing throughout, with such interesting range of cuisines from the more earthy food in Patagonia, to fresh seafood in Vina del Mar (near Santiago) to tasting menus to grab and go ceviche. The drinks were nice too, be it well manicured but not overbearing wineries in the main wine region, to the beer spots I dug out - my favorite being Zorra's Taproom in El Calafate, a truly one-road town.

What makes this trip sing though is the tourism, the indelible images and experiences in Tierra del Fuego - as South as I'll probably ever go, and then the two-day combination of Perito Moreno Glacier and Torres del Paine park. The Glacier I've already ranked as my favorite outdoor site ever, and from both the cantileverd steps on one side, and walking with crampons on its Hoth-like presence on the other, it was amazing. Torres del Paine was just the best National Park I have ever been to. Finally to cap the trip was two days in Santiago, which very quickly jumped to being my favorite South American city. This trip was perfect, and it will be a long time before we recreate anything close.

Twenty Years of NFL Playoffs: Ranking the Conference Title Games, Pt. 2

Tier IV – The Great Games

16.) 2008 AFC Championship – (A6) Ravens 14 @ (A2) Steelers 23

Review: In the first year of the newly-revived Steelers-Ravens rivalry, the Steelers beat the Ravens for a 3^rd time after beating them 23-20 in Heinz and then 13-9 in a smashmouth game at M&T Bank capped with a 92-yard TD drive by Ben. This one wasn’t as close, but the hits were just as many. It started out in (smashmouth) style with two Ravens needing medical attention after the opening kickoff. It featured sacks by the usuals: Suggs, Woodley, Ngata, Polamalu, and great play by everyone around on both defenses. Every score seemed like a minor miracle. Any first down for the Ravens (198 yards in the game) seemed like a large miracle. The Steelers led 13-0 and 16-7, but both leads were answered with Ravens’ TD runs by Willis McGahee, keeping the Ravens in a game they were mostly outclassed in by a defense that was just 5% better. Flacco played like a rookie in a Conference Title Game, throwing three interceptions and going just 13-30, but timely red-zone defense kept the Ravens in the game. In the end, it ended the way any Ravens-Steelers slugfest should, with a dramatic pick-6 as the Ravens were driving for a potential game-winning field goal. Troy Polamalu did the honors, cutting in front of a Flacco pass and weaving his way to the house for the capper in a hard-hitting night in Heinz Field. 

Interesting/Memorable Play: Steelers 2^nd round bust Limas Sweed had an interesting two plays. First, he dropped a walk-in touchdown and then, in what is mostly seen as an act of cowardly fright, faked being hurt so he could curry up some sympathy. Two plays later, he laid out Frank Walker with a massive, Hines-Ward-ian block.

Interesting/Memorable Play 2: The Steelers first touchdown came courtesy of one of the strangest plays you will ever see. Ben Roethlisberger, like he does, escaped a sack and spun and heaved a ball downfield off-balance. The Raven defender overran the ball, and Holmes came back and caught it, and then weaved his way for a 62-yard touchdown. The play really should have been a sack or an interception, but somehow, someway, Santonio Holmes did what he did constantly in the 2008 postseason.

15.) 2017 AFC Championship - (A3) Jaguars 20 @ (A1) Patriots 24

Review: The Patriots trailed 14-3. The Patriots also seemed like a lock to win the whole time - so mismatched was Brady vs. Bortles. The Patriots trailed 20-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, and it still seemed like a lock. It wasn't without its fun along the way, though. The Jaguars were able to consistently move the ball, but Bortles in the end was felled by pressure, very un-Patriots-like pressure. The Patriots rallied first with a huge TD right before half, and then back-to-back TDs to Danny Amendola, moving from a 20-10 deficit to an insurmountable 24-20 lead. But the comeback almost never happened. First was a fumble by Dion Lewis that arguably should have become a Jaguars TD, but the whistle blew too early after the Jags recovered. Then, on their drive that made it 20-17, the Patriots were forced into 3rd and 18, before a 21-yard strike to Amendola. The Jaguars final comeback ended when Trey Flowers sacked Bortles - an inevitable end to what was an entertaining game where we learned how close a Bortles-led team could get to beating a Brady-led team.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The Patriots scored a TD to cut it to 14-10 with a minute to go in the first half. Despite having a timeout, the Jaguars decided to have Blake Bortles kneel twice and go into halftime. There might have been some feeling to accept the 14-10 lead, but you can't beat New England playing scared. I'm pretty sure Doug Pederson doesn't kneel there.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: This was the seventh time that Gillette Stadium hosted a Conference Title Game ('03, '07, '11-'12, '14, '16-'17), placing it in a tie with Candlestick Park for the most title games hosted ('81, '84, '89, '90, '92, '94, '97, '11). Obviously, Gillette has the clear upper hand in a race to get to an 8th.

14.) 2021 AFC Championship - (A4) Bengals 27 @ (A2) Chiefs 24

Review: This is maybe the most stunning upset in Championship Game history. Not in the macro sense - this was not a great Chiefs team (at least comapred to the prior three) and the Bengals were on something special, but in the micro sense. The Chiefs were up 21-3, and a yard away from being up 28-10 at halftime. But then seemingly just forgot to play football for a half. It was stunning in its slowness of the collapse. The Chiefs started the game with three straight touchdowns, and then managed just a field goal in their final 8 drives, going three-and-out more times than scoring. The Bengals got better obviously, but it was jarring to see in the second half Mahomes just not find people open, be skittish about throwing, waiting too long, and even getting sacked multiple times instead of throwing hte ball away. The Bengals scores were on a beautiful screen pass to Perrine and a beautiful quick jump ball TD to Chase. The Chiefs still had their chances, the two biggest missed opportunities being a three-and-out after picking off Burrow at midfield, and then on their lone scoring drive, having 1st and Goal at the 5, with 1:30 on the clock, and having Mahomes get sacked twice, necessitating a 44-yard field goal to jsut get to OT. In OT, despite winning the coin toss this time, Mahomes got picked off and it was all over. It was stunning, it was memorable, it was a potential dominant AFC team for years to come growing up in front of our eyes. But most of it, to repeat, it was jsut stunning.

Interesting / Memorable Play: I skimmed over the real turning point. After scoring three straight TDs to start, the Chiefs had 1st and Goal from the 1 with 0:09 left in the first half up 21-10. After a Mahomes incompletion, Mahomes convinced Reid to give them another shot instead of immediately taking the sure field goal. Mahomes' screen pass to Hill was perfectly read by Eli Apple who tackled him for a loss, in the field, and the clock ran out.

Interesting / Memorable Fact: Evan McPherson became the first kicker in NFL history to hit two game winning kicks on the last play of the game in the same postseason, with this coming off hte heels of his walk-off field goal against the Titans in the divisional round.

13.) 2008 NFC Championship – (N6) Eagles 25 @ (N4) Cardinals 31

Review: The Colts comeback from 21-3 down in a game still to come on this list was as memorable as any in recent memory, but here, the Eagles came back from a 24-6 halftime deficit on the road and took a 25-24 lead after a 62-yard TD by DeSean Jackson. Too bad for the Eagles, though, as Kurt Warner and the Cardinals put together their only drive of note in the 2^nd half just in time, with a 7:40 long, 14-play march to retake the lead for good. The drive featured a 4^th and 1 pitch-out to Tim Hightower at midfield and a 3^rd and Goal screen pass for a TD to Hightower again. The game itself was a wild affair, with Larry Fitzgerald scoring three 1^st half TDs, including one on a end-around pitchback that I alluded to back in the description of the 2005 Wild Card Game between the Steelers and Bengals. Donovan McNabb and the Eagles answered with three straight TD drives of their own in the 2^nd. In what was the final NFC Championship for both quarterbacks, McNabb was slightly erratic at times, but threw for 375 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT, while Warner was brilliant, going 21-28 for 279 yards and 4 tds with no picks. Fitz, DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis and Brent Celek all had big games. It was a nice shootout that was never really boring (even as the Cards took that 24-6 lead). A nice precursor to the epic shootout that would be in that stadium 51 weeks later.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The game really turned on one brilliant pass. It was the Eagles 2^nd drive of the 2^nd half (after a fumble and then a Cardinals punt), and with 6:41 remaining in the quarter, still down 24-6, the Eagles faced a 3^rd and 18 from their own 31. In what may have been his best pass as an Eagle, McNabb perfectly shot a 50-yard pass to Kevin Curtis, which changed the game completely. If the Eagles won, it might be remembered as one of the biggest plays of the 2000s.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: The Game set a couple records that aren’t exactly good ones. This game marked the first time that both Title Game participants won fewer than 10 games (not to mention the first time since the 2002 AFC Title Game where neither team won 12 or more games), with the Cardinals going 9-7 and the Eagles going 9-6-1. It also marked the lowest combined seeds for Title Game opponents, with the Cardinals being the NFC’s 4^th seed and the Eagles the 6^th.

12.) 2012 NFC Championship - (N2) 49ers 28 @ (N1) Falcons 24

Review: The 49ers did something amazing in this game. No, it wasn't just coming back from 17-0 on the road to win a Championship Game. That was incredible. What was better was doing it without really stopping the Falcons more than twice. The Falcons punted just twice in the game, and only once was in the half. Matt Ryan turned the ball over twice during the 2nd half, where once was when his receiver slipped and the other was a terrible snap. The 49ers, of course, played quite well on offense themselves, capitalizing on a soft run defense with a great game from Frank Gore, who had 90 yards on 21 carries with two TDs. The Falcons kept Kaepernick in the pocket, but he had his best game throwing of any in the playoffs, going 16-21 for 233 yards and a TD with no INTs. Of course, this wasn't close to Matt Ryan, who went 30-42 for 396 yards with three TDs and one pick. Matt Ryan's incredible statline just underscores what a strange comeback this was for the 49ers, who played terrible defense all day. The game actually mirrored the Super Bowl in that way, with the losing team having a large advantage in yardage (the Falcons outgained the 49ers by 104), but the 49ers, like the Ravens did to them, stopped the Falcons in the red zone with a controversial non-call on 4th down. It is hard to for 49ers fans to complain about the Super Bowl since they saw that exact same story play out two weeks earlier. It didn't stop them from complaining, but it happened.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Another example of how well the Falcons played in a losing effort: against a top pass defense, all three of the Falcons main weapons went off. Julio Jones was the star with 11 catches for 182 yards and two TDs. Of course, Roddy White chipped in with 100 yards on 7 catches, and Gonzalez had 78 yards on 8 catches with a TD.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Another example of how the Falcons stopped the Falcons, and not the 49ers, was what happened a handful of plays before their incomplete on 4th down. Throwing from the 50 yard line, Ryan found Harry Douglas wide open on a wheel route near the 30, with absolutely no one inbetween him and the end zone. What did Douglas do? Fall down trying to catch the well thrown ball and turn a sure TD into a 22 yard gain.


11.) 2014 NFC Championship - (N2) Packers 22 @ (N1) Seahawks 28

Review: In what was a fascinating game of two teams competing to play as badly as possible, it ended up being the Packers who decided to make a few more mistakes than the Seahawks did. The game itself was a wholly defensive affair, with the Packers defense absolutely confusing a terrible Russell Wilson into four interceptions, and the Seahawks playing the Packers tight and picking off Rodgers twice themselves. Those two QBs had a combined 6 interceptions in their first 16 playoff games. The Packers built a 16-0 lead, but it should have been so much more. Twice the Packers kicked field goals on 4th and Goal from the 1 and 2 yard line, and once more Rodgers was picked off inside the 20. They could have ended this game, and also moved it far back on the list. Instead, they didn't and the Seahawks woke up. The Seahawks first bite back came on a beautiful fake field goal for a TD. Then a normal drive ended in a TD to make it 19-14, but with 1:25 left it was still basically over. Except the Packers forgot to recover the on-side kick, that part of the equation fell through and the Seahawks scored quickly enough to not only take the lead but give the Packers enough time to send the game to OT with a fifth Mason Crosby field goal at the gun. In the end, Russell Wilson finally put together two good plays in succession, with back-to-back 35 yard passes in OT. First to get them out of 3rd and 7, and next a strike to Jermaine Kearse to walk off a winner. It was a frantic game that changed a lot of perceptions about how bad Russell Wilson could play and still win a playoff game, and how many things a team can do wrong, from Drive 0 to Drive N to lose a game.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The game could've ended numerous times, but other than the bobbled on-side kick, the real 'agent zero' play was the interception by Morgan Burnett, the 4th pick of Wilson on the day. At the time there was 5:15 left, with the Packers up 19-7. Burnett picked it off at his 40, with open field ahead of him and instead of try a return, he slid to safety. It was understandable, but kicked off a horrific series of events.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Right after that interception, the Packers had a 99.9% chance to win the game. That ties the highest win probability for an eventual loser in NFL Playoff history, and breaks the record for a 4th quarter. The last team to do it, though, was not too long ago. The Chiefs had a 99.9% win probability up 38-10 in the 4th quarter of their Wild Card loss to the Colts in 2013.


10.) 2021 NFC Championship - (N6) 49ers 17 @ (N2) Rams 20

Review: So many games up in this list are made better by the strong home crowd atmosphere. The Championship Games being the one even where hardware is handed out where the majority of fans are real fans. Well, this was a version of that, but with a Super Bowl mix as unsurprisingly there were a lot of 49ers fans in attendance. That wild, unique atmosphere improved what was a close, well played and dramatic game between two division rivals. The 49ers took a 17-7 lead off strong situational play, a rare great Deebo receiving game (4-72 with 1 TD). It helped that the 49ers picked off Stafford in the end zone after a long drive. The Rams got back in teh game doing what they did so often - just ball out with Cooper Kupp, who had 142 yards on 11 catches with 2 TDs. Odell Beckham played a huge role as well with a 9 catch 113 yard game. The game reached its apex after the Rams made it 17-14 early in the 4th. First the 49ers ran for no gain on 3rd and 2, before punting on 4th and 2. The Rams then avoided disaster, with the 49ers dropping a sure interception, which led to a Rams field goal to tie a few plays later. The 49ers couldn't do anything, and the Rams went on the drive of Matt Stafford's career, converting to 3rd downs, leading to Matt Gay's field goal to make it 20-17. The 49ers couldn't muster anything, with Aaron Donald and Von Miller taking over, the final play with Garoppolo flinging the ball away while being flung to the ground by Donald, for the game sealing interception. It was a well played, if defensive game, between two teams that knew each other innately.

Interesting / Memorable Play: A little more nuance is needed before slamming Garoppolo for the stupid last interception. Yes it was comical (I mean look at the picture), but it was also 3rd and 13, with 1:19 left. If he just takes a sack, the game is basically over (they were starting down a 4th and 20). If he's able to throw it away first, it's still 4th & 13. Also, let's not forget that the pass did hit Jamychal Hasty on his hands.

Interesting / Memorable Fact: With the Rams win, this was the second straight year that a team ended up playing the Super Bowl at home. However, unlike with the Buccaneers the year before, the Rams became the first team to play the Conference Championship Game and Super Bowl in teh same stadium (of course, it being their home stadium to boot).

9.) 2018 AFC Championship - (A2) Patriots 37 @ (A1) Kansas City 31

Review: Oh if only for Dee Ford not being an inch offsides. The Chiefs were set to beat the Patriots 28-24, with Brady driving late but having a pass tipped at the line and intercepted. It was his third of the day, including a brutal one early in the second quarter at the goal line. It was not his best game, but for a half it didn't matter as the Chiefs couldn't really get their offense going. It woke up eventually though after trailing 14-0 at halftime, scoring five plays into the second half. The Chiefs took their first lead midway through the fourth, scoring two plays after Brady's second interception. After trading more TDs, including the one scored two plays after Dee Ford's ill-fated offsides, the Chiefs had 0:39 on the clock to get a field goal. Somehow they got into position to even take a shot at a win, but didn't get it. We went to OT, where the Patriots won the toss, and Brady completed three 3rd and 10s on the same drive, ultimately leading to Rex Burkhead's game winning TD. I would love to blame the now thankfully old OT rules for that loss, but we should credit Brady for the three straight 3rd down completions. I guess.

Interesting / Memorable Fact: This was the first road playoff game Tom Brady & Bill Belichick won in twelve years. The last was their 2006 Divisional Round escape in San Diego. After that they lost their only three other road playoff games - the three AFC Championship losses to Manning teams.

Interesting / Memorable Play: I obviously focus a lot on the near interception that would've ended the game, but I should credit Brady, and more-so Gronk. After the penalty it was still 3rd and 5, but Brady the play after connected with Gronk for 25 yards. They just killed the Chiefs on 3rd down all day.

8.) 2018 NFC Championship - (N2) Rams 26 @ (N1) Saints 23

Review: Sure, it is easy to say the fact I have this ranked higher than the other 2018 Title Game classic is because in that one Brady won. And that is part of it. But I think in terms of lasting impact, this was a more memorable, and admittedly infamous game. Both games that day swung on a late call that if went the other way the other team wins. While Dee Ford was offsides, here, it was a blown missed call. The pass interference that wasn't, that gave the Rams new life. The game itself before that was a cagey affair with both teams playing better defensively than expected. Both QBs had similar stat lines, completing around 60% of their throws for ~250 yards, and a pick each. But the Rams did just enough, from a brilliant fake punt pass by Hekker on the drive that made it 13-7 when the Rams were down 13-0, or the interception of Drew Brees in OT, who threw it while being hit and floated a pop-up. The Rams still needed to eek out a few yards, but they just did enough to make it work. In the end, it was a well played game by all units, with both defenses playing both offenses to a draw. It didn't have the dynamism of the AFC game that year, but it had every bit the intrigue and ultimately way more controversy.

Interesting / Memorable Play: Ok, we have to talk about the missed DPI. It absolutely cost the Saints the game - they would've been able to essentially kneel the ball, and kick a field goal with about 0:15 left. Instead they gave the Rams about two minutes. Also it probably is the worst missed penalty call I can remember. I'm sure there are ones before my time watching the game, but I can't think of any that were as meaningful and impactful as this.

Interesting / Memorable Fact: Greg Zeuerlein's 57-yard FG to win in OT set a few records. It became the longest field goal in playoff OT history and also, and this is an odd one, the longest field goal ever hit by a road kicker in a playoff game.

7.) 2011 AFC Championship – (A2) Ravens 20 @ (A1) Patriots 23

Review: This game probably would go in the higher section if either Lee Evans gets that 2^nd foot down in time (or holds onto the ball, but if he got the foot down a little sooner what Sterling Moore does becomes irrelevant) or Billy Cundiff makes his kick and it went overtime. Instead, we got merely a great game between the AFC’s best offense and best defense in 2011. The Ravens used every ounce of resourcefulness that they had to stay with the Pats, three times holding the Patriots to field goals and twice picking off Tom Brady (including a sweet pick that Bernard Pollard tipped to Jimmy Smith off of a ridiculously dumb deep pass by Brady to Matthew Slater). Joe Flacco, after a useless 1^st quarter, got into a rhythm, and ended up with over 300 yards, largely to both Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin had huge big days. In the end, the Patriots did what they used to do in 2001-2006, win a close game where they were possibly outplayed. The Patriots offense was able to run the ball better than what most would have expected, but their passing game was limited by a Ravens defense that tackled exceptionally well, making sure. The game featured everything, including a classic Brady drive (although it came quite early in the 4^th) which ended with a Brady 4th and 1 QB-sneak for the game-winning touchdown, a weird matchup where the Patriots tried covering Anquan Boldin with Julian Edelman on their final drive, and in the end, some kicker-related luck bailing the Patriots out.. If not for that last part of that last sentence, this could have been the 1^st of two classics on the best title game day in recent history.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Right before the Ravens last drive, the Patriots were in almost the exact same position they were in five yearas earlier. The Patriots had the ball with 4 minutes to go needing one first down to effectively ice the game. Just like last time, they couldn’t get it. Just like last time, it was a great safety defensing a pass on 3^rd and 4. Last time it was Bob Sanders nearly pick-sixing Brady, here it was Ed Reed playing great coverage on Aaron Hernandez. Sad the similarities didn’t perfectly continue in the ensuing drives.

Interesting/Memorable Moment: After the game, Jim Nantz, before letting Tom Brady speak, rhapsed poetic about Brady being the 2^nd QB to make it to 5 Super Bowls and basically stopped just short of giving Tommy a Happy Ending. Then, in one of my few favorite Brady moments, Tommy took the mike and immediately debunked Nantz’s shit, saying “I played like crap today.”

Interesting/Memorable Moment 2: One of the few memorable images of the end of the game situation that I like to see is that beautiful picture of Vince Wilfork (who played stellar) with his helmet off and steam rising from the top off his head.

Tier V – The Epics

6.) 2015 AFC Championship - (A2) Patriots 18 @ (A1) Broncos 20

Review: The last game in the Brady-Manning rivalry played out in a way that was entirely unexpected, and entirely incomprehensible to anyone who had documented and lived through what Brady-Manning meant. For once, it was Manning's side whose defense came to the party, whipped the Patriots lineman, harrassed the QB, forced timely interceptions and wrapped the game up by making one last great play. The last game between these two titans were not about them, but about Denver's historically good defense outplaying the Patriots defense. The Broncos offense started strong marching right down the field for a TD, but after that the defense just took over. They sacked Brady four times, and hit him 18 other times. The total 22 hits was the most any QB took in any game, regular or postseason, in 7 years. The rush was relentless, the coverage nearly as good, as they held Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola in complete check. If not for an inhuman game by Rob Gronkowski, who had 144 yards on 6 catches, the Patriots might never have scored a TD. Instead, the game was finally decided by Denver's defense making two straight 4th down stops, both highlighting one aspect of their defensive dominance. The first came on a 4th and 1, when Demarcus Ware didn't bit on the playfake and harrassed Brady into ruining a nice little throwback play. The second was another rush forcing Brady to throw a lob to a triple-covered Gronkowski. What makes this game a true epic, though was the last drive where the Broncos couldn't make 4th down stops. On the Patriots final drive, Brady threw 10 passes, three of them complete, and the other seven almost all plays where the rush forced Brady to throw up a lob that was lucky for not being intentional grounding. The Patriots trump card in Gronk turned a 4th and 10 and a 4th and Goal into positive plays, but on the final real play of the game, one last great pass rush forced Brady to roll and throw against his body. Aqib Talib, finally healthy enough to complete a Championship Game, batted the ball into the waiting arms of Bradley Roby to end it. When it was over, Manning got a 3-2 lead in his head-to-head playoff meetings, one Brady and the Patriots would never get a chance to match, and for the 2nd time in three years, the Broncos knocked out New England in an AFC Championship, this time because of Manning's team finally bringing the hammer.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The game really turned on Brady's first interception, which was thrown in the shadow of his own end zone to Von Miller, who dropped brilliantly into coverage and undercut Gronkowski. Miller was the star of the game, adding his interception to 2.5 sacks.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Never escaping controversy, the Patriots play in this game spurred yet another rule change. No inquiry this time, but the intentional grounding rules were slightly changed in the ensuing offseason, seemingly allowing Brady's "Toss up the ball to any general direction when being sacked" play an intentional grounding.

Interesting/Memorable Play: It wasn't a play, but a moment, but after the game, Manning basically repeated to both Brady and Belichick the following sentiment, "This might be my last rodeo, so it sure has been a pleasure." Him saying this to Belichick got picked up clearly by the NFL Films mics, but the CBS game mics picked up a softer record of Peyton saying the same to Brady too.

5.) 2011 NFC Championship – (N4) Giants 20 @ (N2) 49ers 23 (OT)

Review: Other than Lambeau Field, no stadium in the NFL has as much 'mystique and aura' as Candlestick Park, and with the new stadium coming soon, this could easily be the last playoff game played in the 'Stick, and damn was it great. As the rain slowly went away, the game become more and more special, a truly awesome spectacle of defensive football played in a sparkling, dark night by the Bay. Both defenses dominated, with the Giants sacking Smith three times, and the 49ers repaying the favor six times. Justin Smith absolutely killed David Baas, Chris Snee and Kevin Booth. It was just staggering watching Eli Manning drop back 64 times and getting hit repeatedly, but keeping his team in the game just enough. For the 49ers, the story was, once again, Vernon Davis, who had three catches for 112 yards and a pair of scores. Alex Smith returned to mostly what we think of Alex Smith, going 12-26, but much of that has to do with the insane pressure he faced, and the incredible inability of any of his receivers to get open (The 49er receivers combined for one catch for three yards). Still, with the two Davis TDs (one catch and run for 72 yards and one 27-yard deep post), they led 14-10 midway through the 4th quarter. The 49ers forced a Giants' three-and-out capped with an Aldon Smith sack, when Kyle Williams went back to punt. Then, his name forever became etched in San Fran history right next to Roger Craig (at least when it comes to fumbling), as the punt bounced off of his knee. The Giants recovered, and six plays later, Manning fired a 17-yard TD to Manningham on 3rd and 15. The 49ers then proceeded to dominate the Giants offense the rest of the day, sacking Manning two more times, but only put up a field goal to tie the game. They almost got their fumble (in what would have been eerily similar to the Craig fumble scenario), but Bradshaw's fumble was ruled dead as forward progress was stopped. Then, to cap off this play was Act III: OT. The new rules were, again, deemed unnecessary, as both teams couldn't get anything going. But after the Giants second-punt of OT (set up by a Ahmad Brooks sack), Kyle Williams again fumbled, and the Giants recovered. The only drama left was Lawrence Tynes, who has a history of both huge makes and bad misses, but he nailed his 2nd NFC Championship Winning Field Goal in OT in 5 years, ending a game that no team deserved to lose.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Kyle Williams (who I learned later is the son of White Sox GM Kenny Williams) was only the main returner for the 49ers because Ted Ginn Jr. was hurt in the Saints game, and I'm sure he, more than anyone, would've wanted Ginn to play. That said, it was his 40-yard kick-off return that set up the 49ers at the 50 for their game-tying field goal in the 4th quarter.

Interesting/Memorable Moment: Before the OT coin-toss, the game ref does a little meet-and-great with the players, telling the rules, giving them the timeout and challenge scenarios, and all that generic garbage. Well, Ed Hochuli decided that instead of being rote, he would take the time to recite Shakespeare, giving us a 1 minute 11 second long introduction to OT. The best part of the moment was the audible groan that came on the crowd at about the 0:40 mark of the speech.

4.) 2013 NFC Championship - (N5) 49ers 17 @ (N1) Seahawks 23

I can't wait for the 2015 NFC Championship game. The last four times the NFC has had the late title game, they've been classics (spoiler, they rank #5-#2 on this list). This is the only one of the four to not end with a walk-off field goal in OT, but it didn't make it any less great. I still argue Carolina was as good as San Francisco, but this matchup seemed a little predestined. Thankfully, despite getting gutted the last two times traveling to Seattle (losing 42-14 and 26-3), the 49ers showed up and made this a game. They showed up from the first play, with Aldon Smith stripping Russell Wilson. The Seahawks defense held firm early on when Kaepernick looked like the only person on the field who could do anything, running peerlessly through the defense. Kaepernick racked up nearly 100 yards rushing in the first half. Of course, the Seahawks gave up just 10 points in that half. It took Seattle forever to get going on offense, but the Seahawks finally hit a play before the half when Wilson evaded a few sacks and launched a bomb. The 2nd half was a great Greek Play. First was Marshawn Lynch's great run to tie the game. Then a few defensive battles. Kaepernick threw a laser TD to Boldin right over Earl Thomas's head to take a 17-10 lead, but that would be all. A 4th down TD to Jermaine Kearse on a bomb tied it, and then Kaepernick fell apart. Three 4th-quarter turnovers ruined their chances. But still, after a goal line stand, the 49ers had a chance. Kaepernick was driving them. Crabtree was making a few catches. They had 30 seconds and 20 yards to go, and then Kaepernick decided to challenge the best corner in teh NFL. The best corner won, tipping it to Malcolm Smith, ending a classic in front of an awesome 12th man crowd. The best NFL games seem like events from a different world, a strange unique setting,. This was definitely one of them, taking place in the isolated Northwest. What a special game.

Interesting/Memorable Play: The play will be remembered for NaVarro Bowman's scary injury, but the reason the injury will be replayed and replayed was Bowman, after essentially tearing all the knee, recovering a fumble that was not given. The rule changed in the off-season, and the justly the Seahawks were stoned on the ensuing 4th down.

Interesting/Memorable Play 2: The last play was a great individual moment by Richard Sherman, but of course what is more notable was what happened after the interception, with Sherman and Crabtree getting into a little hissy fight and then Sherman's great interview with Erin Andrews. Sherman acted like a dick, but an awesome dick. Thing is, though, Crabtree had a pretty decent game.

3.) 2009 NFC Championship – (N2) Vikings 28 @ (N1) Saints 31 (OT)

Review: Well, what became maybe the 2nd most famous Championship Game of this era, has now become easily the most infamous. Truthfully, my opinion of this classic is skewed a little because of the events of 'BountyGate', but for this, I will try to forget what I now know. The game itself was a case of the Vikings doing everything in their power to both win and lose the game at the same time. It was a study in drama, with both teams having many moments where their fans must have felt it was all doomed. The 1st half was mostly normal, with the teams trading touchdowns, as the Vikings opened the game with back-to-back TD drives capped off by a 18-yard run by Peterson and a touchdown toss to Sidney Rice. The Saints got their two with a screen pass for 38-yards to Pierre Thomas and another TD pass to Devery Henderson. Then, on a seemingly innocous punt right before the half, the game became a greek tragedy. Reggie Bush muffed a punt. That set off a string of unlikely, and for most Minnesotans, harrowing events. Set up at the 5-yard line, the Vikings gave the ball right back as Favre and Peterson screwed up a handoff. The 2nd half was more of the same, with the Vikings thoroughly dominating play, outgaining the Saints 235-48 in the 2nd half. Yes, you read those numbers right. The more shocking side was the Vikings defense just swallowing up the Saints, forcing four three-and-outs in the Saints 6 possessions in the 2nd half. The Vikings themselves moved the ball right down the field on all but one of their six 2nd half drives, but other than two touchdowns on angry Peterson runs, they ended in infamy. Four 2nd half turnovers, including a fumble by Bernard Berrian at the Saints 5 yard line, and a fumble by Percy Harvin at the Vikings 10, and a interception by Brett Favre (on a play that should've been called roughing the passer) all played a part in the Vikings inability to win a game they absolutely deserved to. They still had a chance, though. After giving their win away, they had a chance to still win, despite losing the turnover battle four to one. On their last drive, the Vikings drove down to the Saints 33 with over a minute to go, when their true meltdown occurred. First, came a 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty, and then, on 3rd and 15 and the prospect of a 56-yard field goal, Favre rolled out and tried to make a play, but Tracy Porter undercut the route and picked it off. To OT it went, and a Saints drive that could've ended twice, but after a bad pass interference call gave the Saints a 1st and 10 at the Vikings 29, it was all over. Garrett Hartley nailed the 40-yarder to give the Saints a win they didn't really deserve, but considering the Vikings gave it away, it wasn't as if the Vikings deserved it any more.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Why did the Saints OT drive have controversy? First, on a 4th and 1 jump rush by Pierre Thomas, the ball appeared to be dislodged for Thomas's arm. He did 'recover' the ball, but by then he was back behind the yard line that he needed to get to. A case could be made it should've been a turnover on downs. Two plays before that, Brees (who was only 17-31 on the day - again, just a bad game for the Saitns offense) overshot Colston, but Ben Leber knocked the ball out of Asher Allen's hands. Even in OT, the Vikings had their chances.

Interesting/Memorable Play 2: That Favre interception resulted in over-criticism for Favre, because had he just thrown it away, it was still a 56-yard field goal, but I can understand why Favre didn't try to run the ball. He had been battered all day. BountyGate or not, it was a beating that elicited a response of "how mean the Saints are" from my Mom. Favre's ankle resembled a misshapen plum after the game. They beat him down, yet he still went 28-46 for 310 yards. It was, in all honesty, the last great game of Favre's career.

Tier VI - The Games that Defined the Decade

2.) 2007 NFC Championship – (N5) Giants 23 @ (N2) Packers 20 (OT)

Review: For one night, it seemed like nowhere in the world mattered as much as Green Bay, Wisconsin. During a asininely cold night in Green Bay (the temperature stayed steady between -1 and -3 degree, with the wind chill between -20 and -23) the Giants and Packers played out a true epic. The Giants set the tone early, with a field goal march to open the game, highlighted with Brandon Jacobs running over Charles Woodson, a pointed statement to the Packers that this would still be a highly physical fight despite the frozen conditions. The Giants added another field goal on a drive that, much like the rest of the game, featured a lot of Plaxico Burress. Matched up against bump-and-run extraordinaire Al Harris, Burress abused the pro-bowler, with 9 catches and 110 yards in the first half alone. The Packers offense was largely stagnant, but scored a dramatic 90-yard touchdown from Favre to Donal Driver: the longest touchdown in Packers playoff history. Then, despite the temperature still being low enough to make it the 3rd coldest NFL playoff game ever (behind the Ice Bowl and Freezer Bowl), the game itself heated up. The Giants and Packers and Giants again drove for touchdowns in a tightly played third quarter. The Giants first TD drive was the most memorable, as they got two straight 3rd Down conversions via penalties, as Harris was called for Pass Interference, and then Nick Collins called for roughing the passer. All this set up a 4th Quarter with the Giants leading 20-17. The Packers quickly tied the game with a field goal set up by a crazy play where Favre, after eluding a sack, blindly tossed one deep and was picked off by McQuarters, only for LT Mark Tauscher to force a fumble which was recovered by the Packers. From that moment on, the Giants dominated the game, but just couldn't put the Packers away. They stoned the Packers run game (Grant 11-19 on the day), and force Packers punt after punt, but the Giants couldn't capitalize. First, midway through the quarter, Tynes pushed a 43-yarder. They traded punts before the Giants forced another Packers 3-and-out, where the craziness reached its apex. On the punt return, McQuarters was stripped, and three Packers had a good chance to recover the ball around the 50. The Packers were that close to potentially stealing the game (they were outgained on the day 377-264), but Dominik Hixon jumped on the ball. After gaining two first downs, the Giants were in position to win the game, but on the last play of regulation Tynes shanked a 38-yarder giving the Packers one more chance. The Packers did win the toss, but on Favre's final throw as a Packer, he threw behind Donal Driver and Corey Webster picked him off. Three plays later, with the Giants now facing a field goal longer than either of the two 4th Quarter misses, Coughlin called on Tynes one more time. The third time really was the charm, and Tynes just nailed the 47-yarder. The Lambeau crowd that was loud throughout fell into an eery silence. They must all have felt that they waited out four hours of an epic football game in epic weather just to see the Giants come in and end Favre's dream season, and in the end, his Packer career.

Interesting/Memorable Play: Plaxico Burress was just insane. He caught every type of pass against  Harris. Quick posts, fade routes, fade stops, crossing routes, deep throws, quick outs. It was just masterful. During the game, after making his 8th catch, he went over the the Packers sideline and shouted "You Can't Cover Me! This Fucker Can't Cover Me!". And the Packers switched Woodson on him for a play, and Burress caught another one. Just an exceptional game.

Interesting/Memorable Moment: Lawrence Tynes would get his 15 minutes of fame, appearing on Dave Letterman the next week. He was, surprisingly, a good guest, quipping that after he missed the 2nd field goal he was "thinking what it would be like to live in Green Bay" in fear of what the NYC crowd would do to him.

Interesting/Memorable Moments: The cold did wreak havoc on the game, and it led to some great moments. First, was Michael Strahan's perfect speech before the game, where he stated "the past is the fucking past. This is the present. Cold is temporary, a Championship is Forever." The cold is probably best remembered, though, for what it did to Tom Coughlin's face, as he became as red and frozen as a strawberry popsicle.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: Something that really helps this game was just how aesthetically beautiful. The Packers green jersey is quite brilliant, and the Giants road uniforms (despite, oddly, not featuring blue) are the better of the two. Either way, with the uniforms, the almost white field and the  dark, isolating feel of Green Bay, the game itself just looked like you were watching an epic film more than a football game.

1.) 2006 AFC Championship – (A4) Patriots 34 @ (A3) Colts 38

Review: This might just go down as the most famous non-Super Bowl in the modern NFL. It was the game that best personified the Manning/Brady rivalry, as it was the first time both really played well in the same game, and that combined with a little comeback, some crazy scores and a great finish equated two the best Championship Game maybe ever. It all started out so normal for Colts fans, as the Patriots looked like the Patriots from their dynasty days, and the Colts looked like little sheep. After trading punts, the Patriots sandwiched a Colts field goal with two TDs that both featured 4th down conversions during the drive. Then, already up 14-3 midway through the 2nd, Asante Samuel picked off Manning and raced back for what looked to be a game-stopper. The Patriots compounded this dominance by sacking Manning twice on the next drive (although they nearly allowed a 97-yard TD to Marvin Harrison), and driving on their next possession inside the 20, until a little offensive-pass interference pushed that drive back. The Patriots had to punt, and the Colts put together their first real fluid drive of the game right before the half. They had to settle for a field goal, but the game was back to normal pace, and, as many Patriots would later attest, Manning had figured it out. 32 points in the 2nd Half later, that much was obvious. The Colts first scored TDs on back-to-back possessions to start the 3rd quarter, erasing the 15 point deficit in 11 minutes. The Patriots answered with a crazy scrambling TD toss after a long kick-off return by Hobbs. The Colts answered that with a TD drive that included a beautiful sideline post route to Dallas Clark. That score happened early in the 4th Quarter, which would prove to be among the most dramatic quarters in NFL history. First, the teams traded punts and then they traded field goals. The Patriots were aided by good special teams returns, but also didn't get what looked like a pass interference call which forced them to kick a field goal to make it 34-31. Then, looking at 80 yards to potentially change his whole career, with just 3:43 on teh clock, Manning threw three straight incompletions. It was Manning fulfilling so many's worst impressions, as he "failed in the clutch." Luckily for Manning, Brady and the Pats, for what would be the first time late in a close playoff game, choked harder. Needing just one first down to essentially wrap up the game, the Pats were first called for a 12-man in the huddle penalty (something completely forgotten about the game), then after two quick completions, the Pats had a 3rd and 4. Four yards away from another win against the Colts. Four yards away from beating the Colts in their own building, and a date with an eminently beatable Chicago team. The Pats went for the kill, as they spread the field and tried to hit Troy Brown on a route that he's run hundreds of times, but Sanders read it and nearly picked off Brady. Manning got one more chance to perform big in the clutch, and that he did. Against a furious pass rush, Manning completed a quick 11-yarder to Wayne, a deep post for 32 to Fletcher off his back foot and a 21-yarder to Wayne. Then, with 1st and 10 at the 11, the Colts did the most un-Colts-like thing: run three straight times, pounding it down the "physical" Pats. Addai scored on 3rd and 3, finally giving the Colts the lead. The Patriots would go as far as midfield on the next drive, but Brady finally threw a pick at a 'clutch' moment, as Marlin Jackson caught it and slid to the ground, hugging the ball. The RCA Dome exploded like never before, and the rivalry, and league in general (I'll get to this) was never the same.

Interesting/Memorable Plays: Three lineman scored touchdowns in this game. One was the Colts pulling a Belichick on the Pats, with Manning tossing a 1-yard pass to Dan Klecko, but the other two made for an eery coincidence, as both Logan Mankins and Jeff Saturday recovered fumbles by their running back in the end zone for touchdowns.

Interesting/Memorable Player: Reche Caldwell had a notoriously awful game. He had just two catches, and two infamous drops. One was a wide-open drop in the end zone. The other was more infamous, as the play started with teh Colts having only 10 guys on defense, and leaving Caldwell wide open. Caldwell furiously waved his arms trying to get Brady's attention, but never could. By the time the ball was snapped the Colts were racing over the Caldwell, but he dropped a simple catch. Of course, nothing is more memorable from Caldwell than his deer eyes.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: This was the largest comeback ever in a conference championship game, with the Colts coming down from 21-3. The Colts also set a record for most points in the 2nd Half of a Title Game, with 32. From the 2:00 Warning of the 1st to the end of the game, the Colts outscored the Pats 35-13, and outgained them 289-115.

Interesting/Memorable Fact: I'll write more about this later, but this game was arguably the game that started the NFL's paradigm shift to offense-first teams. The previous six teams to win teh Super Bowl before 2006 (Ravens, Pats, Bucs, Steelers) were all defense first teams that allowed under 300 points. Including the '06 Colts, the last six (Colts, Giants twice, Steelers, Saints, Packers) have been more mixed, with four allowing more than 300 points, including the three of the four highest totals for  Super Bowl winning teams. The game also signalled the end of the defense-first Patriots that won Super Bowls. Fuming over the offenses inability to put up more points in teh 2nd half, the Pats went out and traded for Stallworth, Welker and Moss and turned into an offensive juggernaut. The modern pass-happy NFL started that night, and all because Brady couldn't complete a simple 4-yard pass to Troy Brown.