YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!

I AM SO HAPPY!

Green Bay -- Fans in the National Football League's smallest city aren't easily fooled. They know a Super Bowl contender when they see one.

They saw one on a snowy Saturday at Lambeau Field.

Bursting into the Super Bowl conversation with their finest performance of the season, the Green Bay Packers destroyed the Seattle Seahawks, 42-20, in the NFC divisional playoffs.

"We've been feeling like we can go to the Super Bowl," cornerback Al Harris said. "Not to sound cocky, not at all. But we work hard, we really do. And we're very well-coached."

I'm feeling like we can go to the Super Bowl.

You gotta believe!

Green Bay -- Brett Favre somehow spun free from the Seahawks' clutches and stumbled ahead in the snow. Ever the gambler, he flipped a wobbly, underhanded pass that he had no business trying, let alone completing. "That's right!" he shouted. Sure was, for Favre and the NFC championship-bound Green Bay Packers.

With Lambeau Field looking like a snow globe, Favre frolicked in the flurries, throwing three touchdown passes as the Packers beat Seattle 42-20 Saturday, the highest-scoring postseason game in Green Bay history.

This must have been the scene the 38-year-old three-time NFL MVP imagined when he decided to postpone retirement and try for another Super Bowl ring.

"It does make you appreciate it," Favre said. "We could be 3-13 next year. Who knows? So enjoy it and try to get the most out of it."

Ryan Grant made history, too, recovering from two fumbles that put the Packers down 14-0 after only four minutes. He set a team postseason record by running for 201 yards, and scored three times. After its early slips, Green Bay scored touchdowns on six straight possessions.

"I appreciate everyone sticking with it, staying with me," Grant said.

...The Packers reached the NFC title game for the first time since the 1997 season, and the largest crowd ever at Lambeau partied. Favre and favorite receiver Donald Driver started the celebration early, tossing snowballs at each other.

Favre tied his personal best for TD strikes in a postseason game, twice hitting Greg Jennings.

Favre extended his own record by throwing a touchdown pass in his 17th straight postseason game. But his most memorable effort was the crazy toss to Donald Lee that set up another score right before halftime.

"I'm not quite as nimble as I once was," Favre said.

..."When we were down 14-0, I have to admit I was not very optimistic," Favre said.

"I thought, 'Oh boy, this ain't too good,'" he said. "This is the exact game I didn't want to be in."

At that point, it seemed as if only a Lambeau leap of faith would bring back Green Bay. But when the snow started to pile up, so did the points for the Packers.

It was 14-all after the first quarter, and Green Bay led 28-17 at halftime.

Favre joined Joe Montana as the lone players to pass for more than 5,000 yards in the postseason. Earlier this week, Favre admitted he was disappointed that he hadn't performed better in some playoff games — in fact, he had lost four of his previous five, throwing 13 interceptions in that span.

This time, he was the Favre of old. And once he started to connect, there was no stopping him.

...Coach Mike McCarthy won in his first postseason game, leading the NFL's youngest team to the next round.

It remains to be seen whether coach Mike Holmgren will return to the Seahawks next season. At 59, the coach who once guided Favre and the Packers to the Super Bowl title has recently dropped hints he might retire.


If he does, his final game will have come just a block or two from Holmgren Way, the street the city named in his honor.

The Packers will be in the NFC Championship Game!

It's a Cinderella story.

It's a dream.

It's destiny.

It's a miracle.

Whatever you want to call it, it's good.

IT IS SO GOOD!


Packers 42
Seahawks 20