Well this past weekend the Vikings advanced to the NFC Championship for just the fourth time in my life. Never have they made it passed this round while I have been alive, so if I say my expectations are tempered you could probably understand why. This upcoming weekend the Vikings play the Saints with the winner going to Miami to play against the Colts (sorry Jets, there's no way you win again this weekend). So to say I'm nervous about the game is a bit of an understatement. Given that I've been an outspoken critic of many of the personnel and coaching decisions made by the Vikings in the past few years; even to the point, that I've sworn them off a few different times, seeing them get this close again makes me forget all of their past transgressions (although how do you not get ANYTHING for Randy Moss? I'll never figure that one out). To prove that superstitions are nothing to be worried about I'm going to offer up a prediction for this weekend's Vikings score.
Ready?? Here goes...
Minnesota 34
New Orleans 20
The difference being an interception late in the game by Drew Brees. Why am I so confident that the Vikings will win this game? Because if they don't they won't be in Minnesota by the end of the 2011 season. This game isn't just about this season, its about the franchise. If the Vikings somehow end up in the Superbowl against the Colts then Zygi Wilf can make a push in the Minnesota Senate for a publicly funded stadium for the Vikings. If they lose this weekend, they lose any of that "homerish" momentum needed to get a half-billion dollar stadium paid for by people struggling to make their mortgage payments in Hennepin County and then the Vikings move to Los Angeles and play here (notice the color scheme?). There's much more on the line this weekend than a simple game, at risk is 49 years of tradition in Minnesota, at risk is disenfranchising one of the more vocal NFL markets, at risk is Ragnar wearing skinny jeans and Kanye style sunglasses rather then chaps and Wranglers, and most of all at risk is an economic engine in the heart of Minneapolis. This weekend means much more than a trip to the Super Bowl, its also a critical moment for one of the most beloved franchises in the sport along with what could be a crucial blow to the Minneapolis sports culture and economy.
My question to Zygi Wilf is: Why not just buy the surrounding buildings, renegotiate the terms of the Metrodome Lease agreement, and renovate the interior to accommodate more luxury boxes while playing the 2011 season at TCF Bank Field (which is just three miles down Washington)? Why does the State of Minnesota have to pick up the tab for a privately funded company?
So maybe if the Vikings do manage two more wins this season, then that fervent fanaticism that's sure to accompany the fanbase will translate into taking a more realistic look at what it takes to keep the Purple Curtain in Minnesota. If not, well then I'll be the first in line to get my Los Angeles Vikings of Minnesota tickets for the start of the 2012 season. But here's hoping that we never see this.
