The Agony of Defeat

Agh!  The Vikings, why must they torment us! 

When I was seven, they lost a playoff game to the Dallas Cowboys in the final seconds of the game ... the legendary "Hail Mary" play.  I vividly remember storming off to the bathroom, locking the door and yelling "I'm never going to watch the Vikings again!"  Well, here we are again just over 34 years later, and I'm thinking it would have been wise to have kept that promise.

I watched them lose in Super Bowl XI, but I was spared of seeing the two defeats in the 80's to the Redskins and I think the 49'ers.  Of course, I remember the defeat in 1999 to the Falcons.  I wised up in 2001 and did not watch a minute of the 41 doughnut game against the Giants.  And then this year ...

I'm generally skeptical of sports teams, especially the purple.  It breaks my heart when they lose the close ones.  Time passes, memories fade and then my heart breaks again.  So, I cope by being skeptical.  I did not predict them to win today.  I usually do not predict they will win.  But today, it didn't matter.  I'm just feeling blue, well maybe purple (which is beyond blue). 

With less than a minute left in regulation and the ball close to field goal range, I was starting to feel hopeful.  I was doing fist bumps with Sheri, and my heart was racing.  In my mind I was calculating how long the FG would be.  With Favre rolling to his right with daylight ahead of him, I'm thinking "hmm... maybe he runs up about five  yards.   Get the  ball to around what, the 35?"  See if Longwell can win it.  Yeah... no. 

I'll take consolation in that it was an exciting, if not painful, game to watch.  My heart was racing pretty much the entire second half - no doubt due to the four turnovers.  Time will pass, memories will once again fade, and in say another 10 years maybe they will have another opportunity.  I suppose I'll be skeptical then too.   Will I become hopeful?  Hard to tell.  I know someone who is already learning how to cope with being a Vikings fan: my son, James.  What jersey did he wear today?  #18 of the Baltimore Colts!