Beware non-sports fans— I am going to talk about the Vikings. Not our wonderful Cook County High School student-athlete Vikings, but the Minnesota Vikings. Don’t worry; I won’t make this a habit. But sports columnist Mitch Dorr sometimes strays from sports into politics or family follies in his Coach’s Corner, so I think it should be acceptable to vent my frustration about last Monday’s football game.
Plus, talking about football might earn me some bonus points with my friend Jimmy. He gets sick of my “warm fuzzy” family columns. So this one is for you, Sporto. Although since he is a Bears fan, he is much happier with the outcome of Monday’s game than I am.
Yes, I watched the Vikings play the Bears. I didn’t mean to. I had work to do. I was sitting on the couch, working on an article on my laptop. Chuck was watching the game. I glanced at the score now and then in the first half and saw that the Chicago lead continued to grow. “Another loss for the Vikings,” I thought to myself.
But then—Minnesota appeared to be making a comeback. The score was tied 23-23! This was exciting. It was amazing that Brett Favre, Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson and teammates were able to pull themselves out of the hole.
But then they let the Bears score. Chuck cursed. I groaned. Where was powerhouse defenseman Jared Allen? Was he even in the game? Disgusted, I went back to work, trying not to watch.
But it was too enticing. I had to see if the Vikings could fire back. And they did, with an awesome throw by number 4 Favre to Sidney Rice, making the score 30-30 with just 16 seconds left in the regular game. Overtime!
The Vikings had another chance. I was sucked in. No more work on the article as I watched the coin toss in anticipation. It was like starting over. Maybe the Vikings had a chance.
It was not to be. There were some exciting moments like when Adrian Peterson launched into a back flip over the pile of players blocking his way. But then the cute young Chicago quarterback, Jay Cutler, threw an amazing 39 yards to Devin Aromashodu and clinched the win. With nine minutes left of overtime, it was over. Minnesota had lost for the third time in four games and lost home field advantage for the playoffs.
I should have never gotten my hopes up. I shouldn’t have started rooting for the Vikings again. It has happened to me more times than I can count. Actually, I know exactly how many times—four. That’s how many times the Minnesota Vikings have made it to the Super Bowl—and lost.
After the first few losses, when they went on a Super Bowl run, I refused to watch. Well, I vowed not to watch. But of course, I would get caught up in Purple Fever every time—and I would get my hopes crushed. I started to think that I was the Vikings jinx. Theyseemed to play quite well until I became interested.
So I have tried to stay aloof during the whole Brett Favre hoopla. I tried not to get excited over the idea that Minnesota had an exceptional quarterback. But then Brett shone in his first few games and once again I became a Viking fanatic. I should have known better.
I think I’ll quit watching just in case I am the jinx. I’ll have Chuck record the games for the rest of the season— and the Super Bowl?—and I’ll watch it when it’s all over.
When I went out on the field to warm up, I would manufacture things to make me mad. If someone on the other team was laughing, I’d pretend he was laughing at me or the Bears. It always worked for me.
Dick Butkus
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