January 21st, Part II

WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND

While it doesn't quite seem like it was nine years ago the Vikings rolled through the regular season with just one blemish to Tampa Bay to go 15-1, and suffer that painful loss in overtime to Atlanta in the NFC Championship game, on the other hand it seems like it was just yesterday that another 'purple wound' was inflicted that has yet to heal.

We all know the story of how Gary Anderson missed his first field goal of the season, from 38 yards with 2:07 left in the game, that would have put Minnesota up 30-20 and sent the Vikes to their 5th Super Bowl. The Falcons then drove down and scored a touchdown to tie it at 27-27, and lets not forget Denny Green's decision to take a knee with about :45 left rather then let Randall Cunningham lead the offense down the field for a possible game winning score in the final seconds. Instead Cunningham had several chances but was unable to mount any sort of drive in overtime, and Chris Chandler completed two passes of 15 and 26 yards and drove Atlanta to the Minnesota 21 yard line where Morten Anderson's 38-yard field goal with 3:22 left in overtime propelled the Falcons to a 30-27 win and Super Bowl trip to Miami.

It didn't take long for the Green Bay Packer fans to rub it in to Viking fans how they came up short once again and blew it.

I happened to be working in North Dakota at the time, and while there are a hugh number of Vikings fans up there, there also were some Green Bay fans, including the sports director from the other station in town (who unlike many of the other Packer fans in town, was from Wisconsin) and we always had a friendly Minnesota/Wisconsin sports rivalry relationship. He called me Goldy Gopher and I called him Bucky Badger, and depending on who won what, would always give the other crap about their teams loss. (On a side note, 'Bucky' would always wear either a Wisconsin hat and shirt or Packer hat and shirt for every game he broadcasted, and for basketball games would show up wearing warmups, and after he set up all his equipment would take his warmups off and call the game in shorts). After the Vikes loss, I do remember how respectful he was, but I couldn't say the same about the other Packer fans in town and how rude and obnoxious they were not just during the offseason but well into the next season and even into the season after.

Several of my friends and Viking fans I knew back in Minneapolis ran into the same obnoxious type of Green Bay fans, and had several of the same 'incidents' with them that I did, and it's safe to say that not only every Viking fan has experienced the obnoxious Packer fan, but also several Minnesotan's who aren't NFL fans.

While I'd rather not go into details about the incidents, it was more then just "did you watch the NFC championship game" or "saw the Falcons beat your Vikings".

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that every Packer fan is obnoxious and that there aren't respectful one's wearing number 4's, as there are plenty of Viking fans that do the same, but it seems like the majority of the one's that live in Minnesota act as though there either in Green Bay or Wisconsin.

Every one that knows me, knows that I'm not the obnoxious sports fan who'll take any opportunity I can to rub in the fact that my team beat your team.

For those Green Bay Packer fan's who rejoiced in Atlanta's overtime win over the Vikings in the 1998 NFC Championship game, I would direct your attention to the scoreboard for Sunday's NFC Championship at a frozen below zero Lambeau Field which read, New York Giants 23 Green Bay Packers 20 OT.