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Remembrace of Vikes Past
Jamal Lewis' record-setting, 295 yard rushing performance on Sunday got me thinking.
It was remarkable, obviously, in many ways. It was remarkable because it smashed the old record by such a large margin; Corey Dillon ran for 278 yards in 2000, breaking Walter Payton's record by three "only" three. It was remarkable because it came from a player who had recently sat out a season with an injury. It was also remarkable, to me, because it didn't happen against the Vikings.
Being a Vikings fan, as I have been as long as I can remember, one is cursed to remember more great performances against the team than great performances by it. Sure, there are a few moments, even in the relatively recent past: Herschel Walker's shoe flying off in his huge debut game, Randy Moss lighting up the Packers his first game at Lambeau, the Hail Mary to Ahmad Rashad, the comeback win against the Giants in the '97 playoffs. Ah, but even that is soured by the knowledge (or, at the very least, the conventional wisdom) that it saved Dennis Green's job, allowing him to stick around and not win the Super Bowl with a 15-1 team (making him the only coach ever to do so).
Now, obviously every great performance doesn't come against the Vikings. Derrick Thomas' seven-sack game came in a loss to the Seahawks. The biggest playoff loss in the Super Bowl era was handed to the Dolphins by Jacksonville. The Vikings aren't the only team to be humiliated on a grand scale, they've just perfected the art form.
The list is long and glorious, even in my lifetime (which doesn't include the four Super Bowl losses or the infamous Drew Pearson "offensive pass interference" play in the 1975 divisional playoffs, unquestionably the greatest officiating injustice in the history of the NFL -- read about it at http://vikings.theinsiders.com/2/11650.html):
- Bears running back Walter Payton breaks the single-game rushing record in 1977 (technically, this happened within my lifetime, as I was almost three weeks old)
- Dallas running back Tony Dorsett runs 99 yards from scrimmage in 1983 on a play during which the Cowboys had only ten men on the field
- San Francisco's Steve Young weaves, dodges and runs over about 94 Vikings defenders during a 49-yard touchdown run in 1988 that's often called the greatest in history by a quarterback, that is until...
- The Falcons' Michael Vick dashes 46 yards for an overtime touchdown last season.
And let's not forget the three NFC Championship games I've gotten to watch the Vikings lose, one of which was the biggest playoff upset since Super Bowl III (Falcons 30, Vikings 27, OT, 1/17/99) and one of which was only slightly less heart-rending because the Vikings were out of it before most fans had found their seats (Giants 41, Vikings 0, 1/14/01).
And the thing is: no one cares. Vikings fans care, of course. But Vikings fans aren't generally thought of as the kind of devoted, long-suffering paragons of sports fan loyalty that people seem to think of when Cubs fans, say, or Red Sox fans come to mind. Or even Bills fans, for that matter.
Why?
Probably because the Vikings are a bunch of jerks. Maybe not the Carl Eller, Allan Page, Fran Tarkenton Vikings. But those guys are old.
Now, people think of the Vikings, they think of Dennis Green, whose sparkling .597 regular season winning percentage tarnishes a bit when contrasted with his insufferable, condescending whininess and his .333 mark in the playoffs (three of his four wins coming at home against the Cowboys, Cardinals and Saints, respectively; and the other, aforementioned Giants win being saved by the fact that there was no instant replay at the time, so there was nothing the referees could do after seeing that Jake Reed's second foot was clearly out of bounds in the back of the end zone).
They think of Randy Moss. 'Nuff said.
They think of Cris Carter, whose jersey retirement ceremony at the Metrodome Sunday had the feeling of Lumbergh's birthday party in "Office Space;" yeah, stat-wise, Carter was a great receiver. His on-the-field accomplishments deserve respect, and they have mine. But he was a jerk. It was almost like you felt dirty rooting for him, but you had to, because he played for the Vikings. That's when I got from the Metrodome crowd Sunday night.
(By the by, I'm now convinced that former Vikings coach Jerry Burns, who they dug up and brought out for Carter's fete, is the long-lost brother of Mr. Burns from "The Simpsons." Just look at him. It's uncanny)
They think of Red McCombs, who bought the team in 1998 and has been grumbling about moving it ever since.
Wow. What a bitchy piece I've written, now that I'm looking it over.
But, I guess that's the way it goes when you're a Vikings fan. You cheer and cheer and cheer, even though there's nobody and nothing to root for.
I know they're 2-0 so far this year.
Won't matter. Never does.
But they'll keep on being my team, because they've always been my team. And, of course, that's how being a sports fan works.
Could be worse, though. I could root for any of the teams from Cleveland.
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