I was listening to an interview of Credence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty. He spoke of the passion that kid's develop early for music, particular bands, sports teams, athletes, etc. As a kid, the object of that passion is everything. It becomes so much a part of who you are. Sometimes that passion fades as you get older. As other responsibilities distract and priorities change. The things that we value as a kid don't always hold that same value as an adult. Fogerty spoke of the instances when those passions stick. When your passion as a kid remains a passion as an adult, you have something special. I couldn't help but think of my life as a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings meant everything to me in the '70s. I thought that I was going to die when they were robbed by the Dallas Cowboys on Roger Staubach's "illegal" "Hail Mary" pass in the 1975 playoffs. Even regular season games struck me as life or death events. Fortunately, the Vikings won a bunch of games in those days. But, never that final game. While my view of the Vikings became a little more rational as I got older, my passion never faded. The geographical distance between Minnesota and me was always an issue. I often felt that I fought that distance better as a kid of the '70s than I did as a supposed adult of the '80s and '90s. I think that not being truly aware of the actual distance helped in handling it. Minnesota was right next door for all this naive little kid knew. The internet and it's sites and message boards brought Minnesota right next door as the '90s closed. Directv's "Sunday Ticket" brought the Vikings into my home every week of the season. Being a fan of any team is easy today.
Being a fan is never easy. Vikings fans are a woeful, "why me?," bunch. Being close, so close, a lot will do that to any fan base. Four Super Bowl losses. Four of their greatest teams didn't even make the Super Bowl. The Vikings suffered that heartbreaking loss in the 1975 playoff game against the Cowboys. NFC Championship game losses in 1987 to the Washington Redskins, 1998 to the Atlanta Flacons, and 2009 to the New Orleans Saints were brutal. All three came down to singular plays at the end of the games. All four are plays that will be spoken of, through tears, by Vikings fans forever. All fans of sports teams have similar stories. Most also have seasons that end right. I'm surrounded by fans of the San Francisco 49ers. Fans of the Oakland Raiders too. Those teams have a combined eight titles. I'm reminded of each, often. One of the Raiders Super Bowl wins came at the Vikings expense. I watched that game with Raiders fans. Painful. Still is.
I don't regret a second of my time as a Minnesota Vikings fan. I've enjoyed the ride. All the painful losses. All the beautiful wins. The ugly wins too. I'll enjoy this ride for the rest of my days. The Vikings will win that final game one day. I'm sure of it. That one win won't validate all my days as a Vikings fan. It's the entire journey that made it all worth the wait. John Fogerty was right. When the passion for something follows you from that bright-eyed kid to the adult that you've become, it's something special.
No comments:
Post a Comment