Sunday, January 17, 2010

The Purple Quandary


Question: if you are not a Vikings fan, should you support the Vikings now?


I know that Packer Nation is divided on the issue, especially given the role of Lord FavreMort in this season. I guess I take my cue from my Dad, a lifelong Packers fan who always cheered for the Vikings in Super Bowls. Then again, he always cheered for the Cowboys in Super Bowls, too.


Dad's theory was to support your fellow rivals, either by division or by conference, as a sign of respect for the rivalry. Thus, he always supported the NFC team in the Super Bowl and whatever Big Ten team showed up in the Rose Bowl. I'd wager he even cheered for the Bears in 1985. And man, that's gotta hurt.


This sort of thing mattered more when I was growing up in the 1970s. All my friends had what we called our "second team," which was the team we'd support once the Packers were eliminated from contention, which was usually about October 10 in those days. There were a lot of kids who cheered for the Dolphins, or the Cowboys, or the Raiders. My second team was always the Redskins in those days, mostly because my best friend was an avid Redskins fan. I also supported the Steelers because of Rocky Bleier, who is still the most famous graduate of my high school. It was a smart way to enjoy the NFL, especially when you would otherwise have to cheer for Eric Torkelson or Estus Hood, which was a pretty futile undertaking.


So congratulations, Vikings. And have fun, Vikings fans. At least in this corner, we wish you well.

16 comments:

Gino said...

ya know, D...
my first instinct is the same as your dad's...

and then i get to thinkin... #2:
do really need cheeseheads waving 4 trophies in my face?
and isnt life kinda fun when team purple has none, and then you get to remind them of that fact from time to time?

and then comes thought #3:
it would make me happy to see my tundra friends happy...

at which point i revert back to thought #2...

and then back to #1...
then #2 again...

i'm torn, i guess.

but at least i dont have any such struggles concerning the cowboys.

and my second team is whoever hasnt won the big game yet.

unless its team purple...

then we start back at the top of this this response.

Brad Carlson said...

I already told my Wisconsin relatives that I'll root hard for the Brewers to finally get a World Series trophy if they stand in solidarity with me and the Vikings!

Mr. D said...

I already told my Wisconsin relatives that I'll root hard for the Brewers to finally get a World Series trophy if they stand in solidarity with me and the Vikings!

Go-Go is taking the Brew Crew all the way, baby! ;)

Night Writer said...

Go-Go is taking the Brew Crew all the way, baby! ;)

As long as he doesn't make a right turn at third base, and the Brewers don't let him bat after the 7th inning.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Class tacked on an extra meaningless touchdown (through an audible???) to rub salt in the wounds of the Cowboys. That's all you need to know about him.

As a Packer Fan, I can honestly say that I'd be more supportive of the Vikings if they didn't have Farve. As it is, I see them as a desparate group who will resort to anything to get to the promised. This includes the signing of the ultimate version of selfishness and narcissism. If it works, good for them, but if it doesn't, and history shows that it more than likely won't, I'll be smiling and rooting for whomever plays the Vikings.

my name is Amanda said...

Mr. D, I'm impressed with your magnanimity!

For the most part, Packer fans make up at least 30% of the reason I bother to follow the Vikings. The drama! The passion!

Mr. Class tacked on an extra meaningless touchdown (through an audible???) to rub salt in the wounds of the Cowboys. That's all you need to know about him.

PLEEZ! This isn't different from any other team kicking the crap out of their opponent. Blame this on my naivete if you want, but why would they stop trying to score touchdowns?

Mr. D said...

Amanda,

I strongly dislike schadenfreude and it's usually the better course in most human endeavors to be magnanimous. Even to Vikings fans.

I do take anon's point about Favre, though. The last touchdown wasn't cool, even though you rightly point out that it was on the Cowboys to stop it. I suspect Favre did that because of an event in the distant past, when the Cowboys kicked a completely unnecessary field goal at the very end of a game in 1996. Favre never forgets a slight.

Gino said...

i think favre mentioned that slight as a justification.

if that is the case, i'm with favre.

Anonymous said...

There is a big difference between winning with class and winning as an ass!

Points about it being the opponents job to stop scores are well taken, but it sure seems that we have lost civility in this society. The Vikings last score, and the explanations/justifications for it seem to serve as another example of this breakdown.

We are a long way from the days when Ward Cleaver took his sons to sporting events while wearing their best suits. Are we better off? I think not!

Farve gets to enjoy his shadenfreud, but what comes around goes around, and one would think that, after 20+ years in the league, he'd remember that....

Mr. D said...

We are a long way from the days when Ward Cleaver took his sons to sporting events while wearing their best suits. Are we better off? I think not!

We aren't, but the people who do the licensing for NFL Properties certainly are. ;)

Farve gets to enjoy his shadenfreud, but what comes around goes around, and one would think that, after 20+ years in the league, he'd remember that....

Yeah, you would think that. He could get his comeuppance as soon as Sunday.

Mike said...

Actually, I can verify that our father cheered for the Bears in Super Bowl XX. I announced that I wasn't going to, then he told me that we need to root for the Bears out of respect for the rivalry. That ended my rooting for the Pats right there.

As for the Vikings, I am just going to say Geaux Saints!! Beyond that, I'll have to get back to you, although I am going to really have a tough time with the idea of rooting for a team like the Vikings.

K-Rod said...

Tacking on extra points at the end of the game was soooooo bad, eh Anon?

Oh please, quit yer crying.

How much time was left on the clock?
Did the Cowboys start taking a knee in order to quickly end the game? If they did, then the Vikes would have followed their lead. Heh heh heh

Anonymous said...

K Rod, it's not crying, just not necessary. How would you or the other Viking fans feel if Farve, Rice or some other key component of the Vikings Machine had become injured during that play. It's not about winning or whining, it's about pragmatism and class. Alas, if you don't understand my point, you and others who don't get it either never will.

All I can say is that Farve in the Vikings should enjoy their time in the sun. In the world of sports, it never lasts.

Anonymous said...

K Rod, it's not crying, just not necessary. How would you or the other Viking fans feel if Farve, Rice or some other key component of the Vikings Machine had become injured during that play. It's not about winning or whining, it's about pragmatism and class. Alas, if you don't understand my point, you and others who don't get it either never will.

All I can say is that Farve in the Vikings should enjoy their time in the sun. In the world of sports, it never lasts.

K-Rod said...

Was there any reason to believe the Cowboys would have also taken a knee to run out the clock and end the game? The cowboys might have looked like they gave up, but they hadn't taken a knee yet.

Also, Anon, injuries are just as likely to happen when playing at half effort, if not more likely to happen.

Gino said...

ok, how about if i wish well to my viking friends, but still cheer for the saints?