Season in the sun
The battle for the 2013 Gehlke Bros. Football championship was a roller coaster thrill ride from start to finish, so it was only fitting that the final week of the season offer up a few last twists and turns before a victor was crowned. Down three games in the standings, the Junior Bro wasn't quite ready for a Hail Mary pass to the end zone, but he was willing to go for it on fourth and long. On its surface, the strategy appeared to have a chance.
The Bros came up with five splits in Week 17, and Sean would have to win four of them just to achieve an elusive tie that would send the contest into the postseason for the first time in two decades. An unspeakable five-game sweep would give him an improbable come-from-behind victory — unspeakable, because memories of a six-game comeback in the final week years ago still haunt the Senior Bro to this day. With all of Sunday's matchups set between division rivals and several of those games carrying playoff implications, he would rest no easier this year.
Three of the five split games came in the morning, and all were close. Through three quarters, any of them could have gone either way. But in the end it was Sean's recent history of tough breaks that proved his downfall. The Panthers held on to beat the Falcons, 21-20, and then the Bengals pulled away late to douse the playoff hopes of the defending champion Ravens, 34-17 — simultaneously toppling Sean from the Gehlke Bros. title he'd held for two straight years. The Giants assured that Glenn would close out the year with a winning week, as they beat the Redskins, 20-6.
Clinching the Surfy Trophy in the day's early games proved fortunate for the Senior Bro, who saw both his afternoon picks go south when the Cardinals lost at home to the 49ers, 23-20, and Da Bears were De-throned for the NFC North title, 33-28, by the visiting Packers in QB Aaron Rodgers' return from the injured list. As Sean later commented on Twitter, it was a moral victory to have won those two battles if not the war.
It was the Senior Bro's sixth weekly gain over the season's final seven weeks, completing a turnaround that began when he was 5 games behind after Week 10. He still isn't quite sure what caused the reversal of fortune, but he thinks it might have to do with a personal promise he made to himself to listen to Terry Jacks' 1974 hit "Seasons in the Sun" — a song he despises so much that he banished it from his music playlist — if he managed to win. On Sunday night, the victorious prognosticator was celebrating with a glass of chocolate wine and an earful of the infamous song.
But back to the games... Glenn went out in style with a 13-3 finish to win the week. Sean gave him a helluva fight to finish second at 12-4. The Chaos Kid wound up third, although his 10-6 mark could have been a winner in some recent weeks. We all correctly predicted the wins of Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, New Orleans and Denver. There were no teams that we all picked incorrectly.
And now for the ever popular... FINAL STATS:
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Glenn notched an overall record of 159-96-1 (that pesky tie game!) en route to his first championship since 2010. That's a ratio of 62.3% correct predictions vs. 2012's mark of 156-99-1 (that pesky tie game!) and 61.1%, a 3-game improvement. Sean went 155-100-1 (60.7%) to finish second at 4 games behind, or a 9-game decline from his 2012 mark of 164-91-1 (64.3%). Ben was 4 games to the negative side in his 150-105-1 finish (58.8%) vs. last year's 154-101-1 (60.4%)
DOING THE SPLITS: The season saw 54 splits between Bros Junior and Senior, 4 fewer than the 58 in 2012. Glenn won 29 of them, while Sean took the other 25. There were nine weeks with an even number of splits and eight with an odd number. The season standings remained unchanged in five of the even-split weeks, proving how difficult it is to gain ground in even-split weeks. Every week featured at least one split, with the high of 6 coming in Week 4 (Sean picked up two games in the standings then.) There were 5 splits on three other occasions. Sean had the season's largest lead — 5 games — after Week 10. Glenn's largest lead was 4, at the end of Week 17.
TURNING TO THE DARK SIDE: We don't keep exact stats (currently) for games played under the lights, but there's just something about Sunday evening. Sean might well change his nickname to "Mr. Sandman" for all the Sunday night splits he's won over the years, including this one in which we went 4-1. But surprisingly, his legendary Monday night success didn't show its hand this season, as there was just one Monday split and it was one by the Senior Bro. Glenn also won the only two Thursday split games.
YOU'RE HOT THEN YOU'RE NOT: Few seasons in Gehlke Bros. Football history have been as polarized as this one, which saw Sean dominate weeks 1-10 and then Glenn capitalize on weeks 11-17. Between the two Bros, Glenn won 7 weeks, Sean won 5, and there were 5 ties. Overall, Glenn won 6 weeks and tied 4 times, with his best effort (13-3) coming in weeks 13 and 17; his worst performance (5-9) came in Week 10. Sean was 3-4 overall, with his best mark (13-3) coming in Week 14; his low point (6-10) came in Week 3. For Ben, who was 4-4, his best week (12-4) came in weeks 2 and 14; his worst showing (4-9-1) was in Week 12 and basically derailed his season.
2013 MEMORABLE MOMENTS: The Junior Bro appeared to have everything going his way after building a 5-game lead by the end of Week 10, and for Glenn the low point came in a 5-9 week capped by a game in which San Diego got roughed up early at home by Denver on the way to a 28-20 defeat. It was the point at which the Senior Bro decided to stop using stat sheets and logic to determine his picks and go with what was in his gut instead.
The improbable comeback began the following week, when the Steelers took the field in their "bumblebee" throwback uniforms to turn back the Lions. Glenn picked up two more games in Week 12, highlighted by New England's second-half rally to stun the visiting Broncos.
Glenn gained a total of nine games over the final seven weeks, and following a 3-game sweep in Week 13, his one misstep came in Week 14 when he had the misfortune of taking Detroit in the exciting "snow bowl" matchup in Philadelphia. It was the last time the Bros. would be tied this season.
For a team that failed to make the playoffs, the Lions provided plenty of fodder for the highlight reel, and in no bigger way than the lone Monday night split in Week 15 when the Ravens went into Detroit and Justin Tucker booted all 18 of Baltimore's points to give the Senior Bro a lead he never relinquished. It is the third time in five years that Glenn has won the Surfy Trophy.
That wraps it up for the 2013 season. We can't wait to gear up again for the 2014 season next September and hope you'll follow the action next year.
