Last week I received a great treasure. The past. From a fellow Vikings fan I received a box of Minnesota Vikings game DVDs. Amazing stuff. Good timing as this disappointing 2011 Vikings season is a great springboard for thoughts of better days. For Minnesota fans the '70s were very happy times. A certain trophy was still missing but those years of incredible success sure were fun. Its beautiful to see old Metropolitan Stadium again. I believe that stadium looked old even when it was new. The Met is where my passion began. The Mall of America now stands where the old stadium did. I've walked through that mall imagining Alan Page rushes. Chuck Foreman touchdowns. Paul Krause interceptions. Lonnie Warwick tackles. Good times. Those DVDs brought those days back.
The Super Bowl years of 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1976 are highlighted on one disc. I received the game DVDs of Super Bowl IV, Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl XI. The Chiefs, Steelers and Raiders somehow scored more points on those day. Its a mystery as to what funk fell upon the Vikings in Super Bowls. I have the saddest game of all. The 1975 playoff game against the thieving Dallas Cowboys. The Hail Mary game. Some consider the '75 team the best Vikings team of them all. The officials took the game and the season from the better team that day. I remember it well. I have the 1976 playoff games against the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams. Those games are fantastic because, unlike the Super Bowls, the Vikings win. I have the 1980 regular season game against the Cleveland Browns. The Joe Senser to Ted Brown hook and ladder. The Tommy Kramer to Ahmad Rashad hail mary pass that followed. A good hail mary this time. An iconic game for Vikings fans. The retirement of Bud Grant and the demolition of Metropolitan Stadium brought some sad Vikings years. In the late '80s a little magic returned. In my DVD treasure chest I have highlights of the 1987,1988 and 1989 seasons. These were very talented teams led by a defense that sparked memories of the Purple People Eaters. The highlight of those years was an incredible run in the 1987 playoffs. I have the Wildcard demolition of the New Orleans Saints. That was topped the next week by one of the great upsets in NFL history. The Vikings rocked Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. Keith Millard and Chris Doleman chased Montana from the game. Montana benched! That's inconceivable! The mere mention of Anthony Carter sends 49ers fans running.
My last two DVDs are much more recent. They hold a great hope for the future. In this season of too many losses I see hope in quarterback Christian Ponder. Maybe, like Joe Kapp and Fran Tarkenton before him, Ponder can lead the Vikings to Super Bowls. His career started against the defending champion Green Bay Packers. The next week he earned his first win against the Carolina Panthers. Both games are in this Vikings treasure.
Its always nice to look back at successful days in Minnesota Vikings history. Especially those days in frozen Metropolitan Stadium. These DVDs provide the window. Those games are still thrilling. Unfortunately, even the best seasons ended short of the goal. It'll get done. Perhaps with Christian Ponder and much of this current team. When those joys become memories I'll have them on whatever media is used at the time.
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