**Quick note - today is the official 3rd Anniversary of What Jeff Thinks. I wasn't sure it would last 3 weeks, but we made it through 3 years! Thank you, that is all.
So the Vikings are 10-1. Everyone is feeling good. Brett Favre is an MVP candidate. Jerod Allen is the funniest guy in football and making people forget about the Purple People Eaters. Adrian Peterson fumbles but who cares because the Vikings are so far in the lead it doesn't matter. Percy Harvin is the Steal Of the Draft (SOD) and could be rookie of the year. Sidney is new Jerry Rice. Everything is peachy, right? The only question left to answer is whether the Vikings will wear home purple or road white in the Super Bowl.
Well, I wouldn't be doing my job on What Jeff Thinks if I didn't throw a little water on this fire. I have a Nightmare Scenario that I conjured up. I also had a phone conversation with tony8489 and he had the same nightmare scenario. You see, tony and I have been watching the Vikings since the 1970's, and have witnessed first-hand The Hammer drop at some time every year. You know, the proverbial Other Shoe. Every year. If you are a true Vikings fan, the Hammer (i.e. Other Shoe) is always in the back of your mind.
I am not going recount all of the Other Shoes that have occurred over the years because I have to be to church on Sunday. The one that really did it for me, however, was Gary Anderson "Wide Left" in 1998. You know what I'm talking about. Enough said. After that, I felt that if the 1998 Vikings did not win the Super Bowl, it ain't going to happen.
And then came 2009.
I have to admit that I have drank the purple kool-aid. I bought a Jared Allen shirt. I now arrange my Sunday's around the game again. Good thing church is in the morning. Could this be the year? Things seem "different." The Vikings seem "competent" on both sides of the ball and on special teams. They have good guys on the team instead of criminals. They have Brett frickin' Favre at Quarterback which suggests that we are squarely placed in a parallel universe right now (which is exactly what it might take for the Vikes to win in all!).
This brings up the aforementioned "Nightmare Scenario." It does not involve Brett Favre getting injured - too easy. We'd have an excuse, then. It does not even involve losing the New Orleans Saints - too easy. The Saints may go undefeated and losing to them wouldn't even be embarrassing. This "Nightmare Scenario" involves the Green Bay Packers.
Right now, the NFL is divided between a few great teams (Saints, Colts, Vikings) and too many horrible teams to even mention. There are, however, a few "good" teams that will qualify as Wild-Cards in the playoffs. I believe Green Bay is one of these teams. Folks, I believe in my heart that the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers will meet, once again, at the Metrodome in the playoffs. These teams have played twice this year, and the Vikes have won both games. We all know the old adage that it's nearly impossible to beat a team three times in one year. My nightmare scenario involves the Wild-Card Packers ending the Vikings and Brett Favre's season in the playoffs at the Metrodome. This would even be revenge for the Randy Moss "Moon Game" in the playoffs at Lambeau a few years back.
Now, a big reason that I am putting this out there in print is that my sports predictions and "visions" usually do not come true (i.e. the Cleveland Indians winning the AL Central in '09). Nobody is talking about this, however. Everybody is talking about a Minnesota-New Orleans NFC Championship game and whether or not it would be at the Metrodome or Superdome. That is the cart before the horse.
A Vikings loss, with Favre at QB, to the Packers would be the perfect blend of humiliation, horror and disbelief for Viking fans. It would fit perfectly into Viking "lore." It could possibly be even worse than "Gary Anderson Wide Left." I hope this doesn't happen, but I just had to put it out there. Kind of makes you think, doesn't it?
The question left to be answered is this: What is stronger - the crush of Viking "lore" or Brett Favre's "parallel universe?" We'll see.
Jeff
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4 comments:
does karma exist? if it does, which weighs heavier on the scale? The vikes continued bad luck in the quest to win the super bowl, or the packers parting ways with the old gunslinger? I must admit, since our conversation, I have been rethinking this whole karma thing. is blaming something on "karma" just a poor excuse for a bad break? does the current viking roster remember anything from the teams troubles in the past? do they even care? I don't know. here are town possible outcomes. one karma related, the other from a more boring, pragmatic way of looking at reality. scenario one: vikings go all the way into the nfc championship game and get smoked by new orleans. scenario two: favre and the vikings win the super bowl. when favre gets inducted into canton, he wants to go as a viking. current rules prohibit that, based on the many years he spent with previous team. favre sues, and wins. goes in as viking. karma? you decide which scenario you want to believe in.
tony - I tend to believe in karma. For instance, if a young thug rips off an old lady's purse, I think karma gets him a nice week-long bout with "the runs."
Your question is a good one - does this Favre-led team even apply? I would think that as long as they play in the purple uniforms with the horn, in the state of MN, karma applies. Let's hope I am wrong.
By the way, there is a good Jim Souhan article this very morning in the Strib about paranoid Viking fans. Unfortunately, you have to sign up for some premium service to read it online, but we have "the paper" delivered. It talks about how fans are already paranoid about a Vikes - Saints NFC Championship game. He overlooks the "Nighmare Scenario," however....
JDT - as your brother-in-law residing in the Fox Valley area, nothing would bring more joy to the area than what you are predicting actually coming true. It would be almost too much to bear for my Viking loving sons, good thing they aren't quite at the stage of REALLY caring. I'm worried about you though - can your soul take another drubbing like this.......
Hey John - thanks for the note. I was actually thinking of of purchasing Viking Brett Favre jerseys for the nephews and neice but the repurcussions within the Fox Valley might be too much (i.e. family ostracized, house burned down by mob).
Regarding your question about whether or not my soul can take a loss like the one described - it's all about expectations. You see, 40 years of mind-blowing losses goes a long way in preparing one's soul for crushing let-downs. It's The Youth in Minnesota that I am worried about. The Youth is already talking Super Bowl victory because they have not experienced the soul-numbing defeats first hand. They have only read about them - which is like reading about war. The words just don't do it justice.
I feel for them.
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