This is getting comical.
Or sad, depending on how you want to look at things.
Despite my reputation for hard-bitten negativity, there’s not much you can do but laugh about the state of sports in this burg. With the Twins limping their way to the finish line of a 100-loss season and the Gophers getting throttled at home by another “lesser” opponent, it was once again the Vikings who put an emphatic stamp on a weekend in Loserville.
Shakespeare authored both comedies and tragedies, much like the Minnesota Vikings have throughout their history. The tragedies come in big games, when you stupidly start to believe that success is attainable. They rip your guts out and sting for days. The comedies happen in games like yesterday’s, when the team does something so inexplicable, all you can do is throw your hands up and laugh. Heck, that game didn’t even crack the top 100 Vikings disappointments of my lifetime, and was a distant 2nd on the 2011 list behind drafting Christian Ponder.
Reading through the game story, laughter really is the only appropriate reaction. Double-digit halftime leads in every game? Have only trailed a combined 6:51 all season? These are the stats that amount to 0-3? I was convinced that we were in for a fairly pedestrian season, so far it has been anything but. A small part of me hoped they would hold on and beat the Lions, but it was overruled by the fascination of watching the debacle unfold. Having a good team is obviously the most fun thing in sports, but having a historically bad team? Well that’s a close second!
Hanging out at the bar yesterday, the 20-point lead did little to soothe the nerves of the crowd. After watching the first two games, who could blame them? At our table, you could've offered 5-to-1 odds, asked for no points and been turned down without hesitation. Angst turned to dread on the first Detroit TD 6 minutes into the second half, and by the time they cut the Vikings lead to 3 on the first play of the 4th quarter, even the biggest Purple homer out there had to know it was over. The whole thing was like watching a glass roll off a counter in slow motion, you see it coming, but just can’t get there in time. Everything is serene and lovely on the way down, then comes the floor, and it’s smashed into smithereens.
People are calling for the coach’s head, which can’t happen, and shouldn’t. They’re calling for the rookie QB, which might happen, but probably shouldn’t until a home game against a marginal opponent (Week 5 vs. Arizona?). You have to tip your cap to this particular Vikings team, because there were very few ways they could’ve stirred up such a hornet’s nest so quickly. The new coach had some of the honeymoon period left over from last season, expectations weren’t too high, the early schedule was tough; basically the only way to piss so many people off so fast was blowing big leads in winnable games. It really is impressive, in a twisted sort of way.
Now it’s on to Kansas City and, at least as far as this fan is concerned, hoping they find new ways to up the ante. Could they lose 4 double-digit leads in a row? Is the number going to continue getting higher? Will we be discussing a 27-24 Chiefs victory this time next week, further cementing the 2011 Vikings spot in the Hall of Shame? Hope so, because that’s the sort of thing that gets people’s attention. It’s better to spontaneously combust into a towering inferno of failure than it is to fade away, at least that’s what the song said.
If you want to look for a silver lining (I know what you're thinking, but no, I’m not going to talk about the Lynx, not now, not ever. Their existence already compromised one of the TVs in my favorite football watering hole, totally reversing the good will I was feeling after convincing a bartender last week that the lack of a Lynx beer special was sexist. Lest you level the same charge against me, I’d feel the same way if it was MMA, men’s basketball or a meaningless Twins game on instead of football. Now wind up whatever best-of-3 series you’re playing quickly and stop messing with Sunday afternoon.) look no further than the city of Buffalo and Cleveland, long our rivals to the title of “Loserville”. The Browns are 2-1 after a win yesterday, and the Bills 3-0 following their vanquishing of the hated Patriots.
Watching the Bills fans finally getting to celebrate a big win over their long-time tormentors was not only entertaining, but inspiring. It was a nice reminder that nothing lasts forever, and eventually everything turns in time.
Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait as long as the folks in Buffalo.
No comments:
Post a Comment