Which Hearbreak Is Worse? Packers Losing Big Game Or Getting Dumped?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers fans know what it’s like to have their hearts broken.

There was this year’s wild-card playoff loss to the Bears. Home playoff losses to San Francisco as the No. 1 seed in 2021 and in the NFC Championship Game against Tampa Bay in 2020. Brandon Bostick and Fourth-and-26. John Elway and Terrell Owens.

The sting from those losses remains strong, so the results from this survey probably are not a surprise.

The Lines commissioned its NFL Heartbreak Survey in January. It consisted of 2,000 NFL fans in the United States

Respondents were asked which NFL team they support, which type of heartbreak they think about most often (a big-game loss, such as the Super Bowl, or a past breakup), and whether they would rather be dumped on Valentine’s Day or watch their favorite team lose in the Super Bowl. They were also asked which type of heartbreak they find more painful – a lost love or a big-game loss – and how many days they estimate it takes to get over each.

According to the survey, 35 percent of NFL fans think about their team losing a big game more than they think about a past breakup. That includes almost half of Packers fans – 47 percent – which is the fourth-highest behind the Lions (52 percent), Ravens (51 percent) and Bills (50 percent).

Next are the Seahawks and Rams at 44 percent and 43 percent, respectively. They will play in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. The Bears and Vikings, Green Bay’s NFC North rivals, are next at 40 percent.

The Colts are the other extreme at 17 percent.

Also according to the survey, 29 percent of respondents said they would rather get dumped on Valentine’s Day than see their team lose in the Super Bowl.

The Packers haven’t lost the Super Bowl in three decades. Still, 37 percent of their fans said they’d prefer the Valentine’s Day dumping to enduring a repeat of Super Bowl XXXII. That was the fourth-highest percentage. Ravens fans led the way at 42 percent, followed by the Bills at 41 percent and the Saints at 40 percent.

On average, fans said it takes 21 days to get over a heartbreaking loss in a big NFL game compared to 102 days to get over the heartbreak of being spurned by a significant other. Titans fans take the longest at 61 days. That’s two months! The Packers are closer to the other extreme at 12 days. The Vikings and Colts, at six days apiece, are the fastest to turn the page.

Hearts will be broken on Sunday during the conference championship games, as two teams fall one game short of the Super Bowl. It’s a pain Packers fans know all too well. Since winning Super Bowl XLV in 2010, Green Bay lost NFC Championship Games in 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2020.

The Packers have not reached the Super Bowl under coach Matt LaFleur and have not played in a conference title game since losing to Tom Brady and the Bucs in a nearly empty Lambeau Field during the pandemic.

Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson reacts after losing to the Chicago Bears. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think you’re always trying to evaluate and making sure that you’re putting your players in position to make plays,” LaFleur said a day after the season-ending loss. “And, ultimately, it’s going to come down to that.

“These games are tight, the margins are small, and when you have those opportunities, you’ve got to take advantage of them. And, unfortunately for us, you know, you always look and see when it gets tight, if a guy makes a mistake, why are we making a mistake? And so those are constantly at the forefront of our of our mind.”

At FanDuel Sportsbook, the New England Patriots are 4.5-point favorites at the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. The Broncos will be playing without starting quarterback Bo Nix.

In the NFC Championship Game, the Seattle Seahawks are 2.5-point favorites at home against the Los Angeles Rams. Former Packers receiver Davante Adams of the Rams is among the betting favorites to score a touchdown.

The Seahawks are the favorites to win the Super Bowl at FanDuel, followed by the Rams, Patriots and Broncos.

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