What can i say about the Vikings' 31-28 overtime loss to New Orleans in the NFC championship? The sour loss lingers in my mouth like the reprehensible Euro-salsa I bought for the game. I'm devastated, I'm exhausted, it's 5:00 am, I sat alone in front of a computer for several hours in the middle of the night, and my team lost a game it unquestionably should have won. Yeah, and I'm quite certain I woke up a fair number of my neighbors on at least one occasion.
Two general announcements before I get to the game:
First, a huge thank you to the Australian who set up the live online feed I used to watch most of the second half. The commercials were quite different, I must admit: lots of vacation packages to interesting places like Hong Kong and Indonesia. And apparently over 400,000 Aussies are diagnosed each year with skin cancer. But thanks to your feed I was finally able to watch without interruption, and was done frantically searching for websites streaming the game, as throughout the first half when my feeds died.
Secondly, to the European makers of "Pancho Dip Hot Salsa": what in heaven's name is in that awful jar? It tastes like some sort of rotten, thick vinegar-ketchup. Have you ever even tasted salsa? Do you realize that you always start with tomatoes, onions and jalepenos, and then go from there? It's not terribly complicated, but apparently in Europe, it is. Regardless, please stop making this repulsive product. You're obviously horrible at it, as your product isn't even close to as good as a poorly made salsa. Instead, you've created some reprehensible pseudo-condiment that would spoil the taste of anything it touches. I was raised never, ever to throw food away, and I'm not a picky eater. But this "salsa" I simply cannot put in my mouth. Nor would I wish the remaining contents of that jar on my worst enemy. It's going in the garbage, and it's your fault. I hope you're happy with what you've done.
Now, as for football, first you should understand that to be a Vikings fan asks a lot of any person.
*Aside: For some insight into the pain of the loyal sports fan, I highly recommend Nick Hornby's novel Fever Pitch, a must-read for anyone passionate about any team. It highlights the true sports fan's addiction to suffering, by example of the author's growing up as a supporter of Arsenal London. (NB - Significantly less amusing, I find, are both the uninspiring British film adaptation, and the even worse American adaption featuring Jimmy Fallon as a Red Sox fan).
Somehow I knew coming in to this game, that if we lost, it would probably be dramatic and we'd have been deserving of a win, only to lose it on our own mistakes. Sadly, I was right on all counts. Again.
My first year following the Vikings was as a young child in 1987: they made the playoffs at 8-7 and played in the Superdome in the wild-card game against the 12-3 Saints, owners of the second best record in the NFL (only 13-2 San Francisco was better). It was New Orleans' first-ever playoff game in 21 years of existence. The Vikes did everything right and won by the embarrassing score of 44-10. WR Anthony Carter even caught a hail mary pass for a touchdown before the half. The Vikes then throttled Montana, Rice and the high-powered 49ers in Candlestick Park the next week, 36-24, and the game wasn't even as close as the score. Yet their run fell short on 4th and goal in the NFC championship, losing to the Redskins 17-10. It's been a difficult -though entertaining - 22 seasons since then. Lots of division crowns, all-pros, and playoff teams (even a fair amount of playoff wins). But no Super Bowl berths.
In 1998 the team was 15-1 with Randall Cunningham, Cris Carter and Randy Moss, as they set most NFL offensive scoring marks. The Super Bowl berth came down to a Gary Anderson field goal of 38 yards, which would have put them up 10 with a couple minutes to go. Anderson, a perfect 35/35 on the year, missed wide, the Falcons scored the tying touchdown and went on to win in overtime.
In 2001 the team was back in the NFC championship game, but laid a 41-0 egg in front of the New York Giants. I won't go into that game at this point, for reasons I feel are fairly obvious.
Here to end the 2009 season, we're the victims of five total turnovers, an ill-timed interception, and the worst game-winning overtime drive in professional football history.
This was certainly not the first time a late Favre interception has left fans stinging, though it was certainly the first time this season for the Vikings. This interception was bad. But drawing up a bootleg on that play is asking for the pass, asking to get something back from the 5 yards just lost on a needless penalty, and the coaches knew there was certainly some risk. To pin it all on Favre wouldn't be right, even though that's how it'll go down. Which is unfortunate after the remarkable season he's had, and the fact that his performance in this game was both courageous and at times extremely good. The part that makes this a poor play on his end is that he had some space and a blocker in front of him. I understand he was bruised, battered and beaten, but he could've run a few yards and fallen over without risking any contact.
But I think the previous penalty for 12-men in the huddle added to "what was asked of him on that play" - and I think that blame falls on Childress. On 3rd down you have plenty of time, a time out, and a long but makeable FG, and then you get a penalty trying to mask your offensive set from the other team. And this coming out of a timeout! Call your play and go get a few yards. Or run for no gain. Either way you would have had a 45-50 yard field goal attempt for a chance to go to the Super Bowl. (Insert loud, off-colored word here). But instead lose five yards on a terrible penalty, and ask your limping, interception-prone quarterback to get those yards back on a bootleg? No, even though the throw was awful, I can't pin that play all on Favre.
And then the overtime. Aside from the fact this huge game was on the line, that was probably the least exciting overtime I've ever seen in my life. All the reviews, and then it seemed like the replay official didn't have the competency to do his job and overturn a call, even when replays suggest otherwise. I thought the first down on 4th and inches may have been short, given the ball staying with the helmet, but I understand that's probably a tough thing to overturn. But that they ruled Meacham's 12-yd trap a catch is a complete joke, especially after reviewing it. If you're not going to use video evidence to get the call right, why have instant replay at all? The overtime was incredibly slow, given three reviews that changed nothing. The Vikings' defense gave nothing in overtime - the only yardage the Saints gained was on a pass-interference where their receiver fell over, and a pass that a receiver trapped against the ground.
But finally, the Vikings had plenty of opportunities to take the lead or go in front in this game, and to have that many turnovers is really unacceptable. I thought the defense was outstanding after the first quarter, with the exception of Asher Allen, who looked like he doesn't belong in the NFL. Losing Griffin on the overtime kickoff was a killer. And the kickoff itself hurt, giving that kind of field position when our defense was playing so well.
What makes it sting most is that we were clearly the better team. We outplayed the Saints in their own building. We outgained them in total yardage, 475-257. We shut down their high-powered offense in the second half. We took their crowd out of the game. But we failed to take advantage. Five turnovers - two inside the 10-yard line.
At least in Poland, it will hopefully be easier to forget about. Hopefully.
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