Certain things happen when you’re a Wisconsin guy who marries a Minnesotan; namely, you get to be bombarded from all directions about your Wisconsin teams at every single family function. While I’m used to the treatment- I did, after all, go to college in Minnesota from 1995-1999, which means I was there to get attacked by everyone during the Vikings’ 1998 season (and gloat during the Packers’ 1995-1997 seasons)- it had gone to a whole new level this year with the introduction of Voldemort himself playing quarterback for the Purple. Everything came to a head at Thanksgiving where the Vikings were flying at their highest point of the season and where the Packers loss to Tampa was still somewhat fresh. I was called “Bitterman” by the family since I still held total contempt for F**re…the Vikings were on TV, kicking the crap out of the Bears…every time they scored, I’d get the mocking “boy, that old guy can still throw the ball pretty well, huh?” from everyone…really, it wasn’t that much fun. Thankfully, my wife managed to win the numbers board to take a bit of the sting out of it, but still…a Vikings team, led by a former Packers icon, looking Super? No numbers board can soothe that pain.
Fast-forward to Christmas…with the Vikings coming off a couple horrible losses on the road, Voldemort in a power struggle with Childress (what’s the Harry Potter analogy there…Peter Pettigrew?), rumblings of “he’s had a great season, but we saw F**re break down at the end of the season last year too”…yeah, I was looking forward to seeing everyone, especially with the Packers playing pretty good football. After fighting our way through snow and ice to make it to the party, I was greeted with a half-hearted, “oh look, Bitterman made it!” With a grin on my face, I just said, “my, how things have changed since I saw you last.” Everyone knew it too- there were a few half-hearted attempts to knock me down by mentioning the last-second Pittsburgh loss, but deep down, they’re realizing this season could be going the exact way Packers fans warned it would. While the Vikings certainly are still a major threat to make it to the Super Bowl, it doesn’t seem as preordained as it was just five weeks ago.
That got me to thinking…there are a lot of things out there that are just stunningly different now than they were in the not-so-distant past. Case in point…
- Just a few weeks ago, the Saints had gotten done annihilating the Patriots on Monday Night Football, causing most people to think Saints + home field advantage = lock for the Super Bowl. Then they lost to the Cowboys at home, which I’d say is somewhat forgivable since a) they’d won 13 in a row, getting more than a few breaks along the way and b) they were playing a desperate Cowboys team who’d heard nothing but things like “this team is awful in December” and “they have no heart” for the last two weeks. But the home loss to an awful Tampa team after they were up 17-0? Unbelievable. Who would’ve thought the Vikings could drop two out of three yet still not be eliminated from top-seed contention? A few weeks ago, people were talking about the Saints in the Super Bowl…now, it’s how they’re fatally flawed and prime for a big-time upset. My, how things have changed.
- On the flip side, a couple months ago Philadelphia went out to Oakland and got whipped by the Raiders, prompting me to say that any team that loses to Oakland cannot be taken seriously as a playoff contender. And while it’s still possible they can come up with a crucial loss just as the bandwagon reaches critical mass, it’s inconceivable to think that we’re heading toward a phenomenal second-round matchup between the Eagles and the Vikings after they stunk out the joint in Oakland. My, how things have changed.
(Side note- are we heading for the “All-Tortured Fan Base” NFC playoffs”? While Philly fans will claim their team’s killed them more often than any other, Vikings fans don’t take a back seat to anyone. Remember, they were the first 15-1 team to not make the Super Bowl- kneeldown, anyone- and two years later they were pasted 41-0 in the NFC Championship by the Giants. They’re the masters of pulling the fans in and then ripping out their hearts. To a lesser degree, the Saints are like that…they don’t have the quantity of stomach-punch losses, but they’re on their way. And those three teams are going to be the top three seeds? It’s wide-open for Arizona to repeat.) - On the other side of the NFL, a few weeks into the season everyone was writing the Chargers off as the biggest disappointment in the NFL after losing to Denver and falling three games back in the division. I’m not 100% sure on this, but I don’t think the Bolts have lost since that game, and it seems like they’re getting better with each game. Everyone knew the Colts would be one of the teams to beat, but to see the Chargers emerge as the other (potentially getting us to one hell of a great AFC title game)? My, how things have changed.
- Finally, back in August I spent the entire week out at Hazeltine for the PGA Championship, getting there at about 6:20am just to watch Tiger hit balls on the range. I was in awe of the crowds for a freaking practice round just to watch him and him only. On Sunday, I was standing by the path leading from the clubhouse to the practice green and Tiger, in his best Sunday red shirt, walked about three feet away from me with that famous laser-like focus. A friend of mine got pulled from his work shift to get inside the ropes to take amazing pictures of him warming up. Another friend of mine and I discussed whether he was in the top 10 for most recognizable people (not just athletes- all people) on the planet. It was, in a word, amazing to see that guy up close.
My, how things have changed.
