The Morning After Pill - Week # 17

2008 NFC North Division Champions.

I'm not sure why this seems so damn satisfying to me. I didn't take a single snap, or record a single carry, or catch a single pass or make a single tackle. But as a fan, for some reason, I can't remember the last time I had this level of satisfaction and downright peacefulness as a Viking fan. Maybe because I spent a good five minutes or so laughing at this quote I read from a guy from the Chicago Tribune that was highlighted in the NFC North Blog on ESPN the day before the game.

"You just know the Vikings are going to lose. I can't stress that enough. It is what the Vikings do. Question is, can the Bears get and hold a lead -- emphasis on the "and hold" part -- before it gets dire?"

Yeah. . . good call, sparky. I guess even I wrote the "letter" because after last weekend I was convinced this was going to end the same as it always does for our Beloved Purple. Glad I was proven wrong, that's for sure!

But most importantly, I think my sense of satisfaction comes from the fact that when the Vikings HAD to win a game, they did so. . . for the first time in a long time. And you know something? I don't care who the Giants had on the field at the end of the game. Tom Coughlin had the right to play whoever he wanted at that point. The Vikings had also earned the right to play what was a meaningful game for them against an opponent that had nothing to play for. I'm sure lots of Bear fans were ecstatic that we were playing the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 17 while they "only" had to worry about the Houston Texans.

The bottom line is that, despite what anybody will want to say to dispute it, the Vikings did not "back in" to the post-season. Nobody said that Green Bay "backed in" back in 2003 when the Broncos played their JV team at Lambeau Field, even though that's a far better example of "backing in" to the post-season than what Minnesota did this season. The Vikings controlled their own destiny. . . they earned the right to control their own destiny based on what happened over the first fifteen games of 2008. And they fulfilled that destiny on Sunday.

And you know something? I don't give a damn about what Bear fans think about how we got into the post-season. I don't give a damn about what Giant fans think about how we got into the post-season. I don't give a damn about what fans of any other team think about how we got into the post-season.

The important thing is that next Sunday afternoon at 4:30 PM Eastern time, all of us are going to gather at Barry Dyngle's, just like we have on 16 other occasions this season, and we're going to watch Vikings' football.

Bear fans can't say that.
Packer fans can't say that.
Cowboy fans can't say that.
Buccaneer fans can't say that.

But we can!