I am going to go out on a limb and say the gentleman with the Tony Romo jersey was not born in Texas, and has probably never been there. He is simply a Bandwagon Jumper. There are truly only a few teams that a person should be forbidden to cheer for unless they were born in the vicinity of the state in which they play in. The Dallas Cowboys head this list. They are evil incarnate. Jerry Jones. Jimmy Johnson. Michael Irvin. The mythical "America's Team." Pac-Man Jones. Barry Switzer. Jessica Simpson. The $1.2 billion-dollar spaceship stadium.
And if you are a Viking fan, there is a history with the Dallas Cowboys. The Drew Pearson Push-Off. The Herschel Walker trade. The Tony Dorsett 99-yard touchdown run. And no team has eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs more times than the Cowboys.
The rivalry, of course, will be renewed this Sunday in the Dome, er - Mall of America Field. Needless to say, there is major paranoia in the minds of Vikings fans as the game approaches. This may come as a shock but I, for one, am actually happy that the national brainwizards are all predicting the Cowboys to win. I am happy that the Vikings are looked at as underdogs even though they are at home. There is a nationwide love fest taking place with the Cowboys, especially since they have dismantled the Eagles twice in two weeks.
I will go as far as to say that this is a positive development. The Vikings play better when they are criticized and when they are told by the national pundits that they are going to lose. They do not do so well, however, when they are nationally praised and predicted to massacre an opponent (see January 17th, 1999, Vikings-Falcons NFC Championship Game...for starters). The Vikings basically need to be told that they suck and have no chance. So in that spirit (along with the spirit of George Costanza) here are my predictions for this weekend :
NFC:
COWBOYS over Vikings. The Vikings suck. They have no chance (see above).
CARDINALS over Saints. Arizona 85, New Orleans 78.
AFC:
COLTS over Ravens. Not that it matters.
CHARGERS over Jets. Not that it matters, but a Colts - Chargers AFC Championship would be a pretty good game.
I hope I am 3 for 4 when all is said and done. Last week I was 0-4, you know.
Jeff
9 comments:
jan 17th, 1988...darrin nelson drops the ball...jan 17th, 1999....gary anderson...this date is not good. I was ten years old watching this game in owatonna at my grandparents. before they went to their final commercial break, they showed a small xmas tree in the entrance of the vikings locker room. one of the announcers said "it will be a merry xmas for one of these teams. which one? stay tuned". when pearson caught the ball, I cried. I am still fascinated by that play and its implications on its fans. for old school fans,it was our 1998 well before the younger folks tasted the bitterness of viking letdowns. the 72,74,77 superbowls. 4th and 17 against the giants. the redskin game. everyone says if the vikings would have went to the superbowl in 75 they would have won because it was their best team. chances are they would have lost, perhaps saving the organization the embarrassment of being 0-5 in the superbowl. oh, and for the record? still to this day it is pretty hard for me to see a blatant "push off". where the vikes really got jobbed was the play before when the officials ruled pearson caught the ball on 4th and 17 (4th and 17 again) as he was pushed out. replay clearly shows he made the catch out of bounds. what a weird turn of history for this team, and its fans
tony - I didn't realize that the 17th was also the day that Darrin dropped the ball. The game this year? January 17th. It will be a chance to either end this run of bad luck to add another chapter to the book.
I work with a guy who was at the game in 1975. He will also be in attendance at Sunday's game. I don't know what that means Karma-wise. By the way - did you know they played the original broadcast of that 1975 game on the NFL network yesterday?
no way! what did he say about that game? I have never met anyone who was at that game! I wonder if it was like the falcons game, where the people just sat after the game, stunned. did you watch the game on the NFL network? do you agree with me about the 4th and 17 and the push?
I was a few days from my 13th birthday when this game occurred. Scared me for life.
We all praise Bud Grant as a great coach but what was he thinking that last play? Dallas had only two receivers out, everyone else was in to block. It's the last play of the game, it's got to go to the endzone and you have Drew Pearson in single coverage? Today, Pearson would have two guys on him, plus there would be another guy at the end zone to tackle him before he scored.
All I know is that I'm getting my whiskey and beer bottles at the ready to throw at someone in stripes if this happens again!
Free - I agree. I don't know why they weren't in more of a "prevent" defense. But then again, we all know how "prevent" defenses work sometimes.
Gilby - have fun "getting those whiskey and beer bottles ready!" I heard Chuck Foreman on KFAN yesterday and they asked him about the ref getting hit with the bottle. He said "they should have made that guy a quarterback." Good old Chuck. By the way - where are you watching the game?
Possibly down at Dooleys?
Good luck to all my "Viking" friends this weekend!
Thanks Jase - if there is one thing that Packer and Viking fans share, it's hatred for the Cowboys!
As of 6:04 PM, I think I am officially 0-5 on playoff games. The Saints look pretty good and the Cardinals look terrible.
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