Polarization

Nothings brings in the e-mail like a little football talk.

Dan from Glen Lake kicks off:

Judging your post about resisting the Pack. I'm starting to think you may be getting nervous about having anyone to watch the Vikings with next year. The masses can not resist the great field, supportive fans, winning (not bitching and whining) attitude, and last but not least, possibly the best player to ever pick up the pig skin. Even when they lose they are more fun to watch than the pathetic purple.

God man, how many times are you going to be let down in your life? I know you lead a fairly healthy lifestyle but best case you only have fifty years left of watching this team. What are the odds of them straightening and winning a super bowl in the next five decades?

Cheering for a team is not about calculating the odds and going with the winners. It's about loyalty and eternal hope in the face of constant disappointment.

Wright piles on:

It must be fun to be a Vikings fan and have so much to look forward to.

"If my sorry bunch of losers isn't going anywhere, why, I'll, I'll - I'll hold my breath and hope the team that kicked their butts loses! That'll make us better!"

Sheesh

I said it was a different type of joy. And yes, it does make me feel better.

Mitch makes a pitch:

First of all, great site and great radio show. I listen as much as I'm able.

But regarding the Vikings.

What is the point of being a "real fan?" I was from 1978 to 1998. I gave them 20 years and they couldn't do it. I emotionally disconnected after the "Take a Knee" game against Atlanta and now I'm just a spectator. For every team.

But about the Vikings, none of them are from here anymore. None of them care about you. Not owners, not front-office, not coaches, not players. All the shouting in your living room or praying helps them not a single bit. Loyalty means nothing to these guys, although they try to talk a good game. Add to that the fact that the simplest of your blog entries is likely beyond their reading comprehension, and what is there to cheer for? What, if a bunch of coddled, steroid-pumped, half-literate monsters wins more games, that makes Minnesota somehow a better place than Wisconsin, or Chicago, or Detroit? Maybe it makes you feel better. I think the only thing worse than a Vikings loss is a Vikings win. "Nobody gave us a chance, nobody believed in us, nobody showed us any respect, etc." God, these dinks need our allegiance and constant adulation for haphazard, uninspired play? Screw that!

Unfortunately, he chooses one of the least effective comparisons in history:

I've become a citizen of the world, a la Al Gore when it comes to football. Totally bandwagon. I love the frontrunner. Damn me if you will, but I love what Brett Favre does on a football field. I love Bill Belichick's "up yours" attitude. Cheating? We live in a society that demands winning at all costs, doing what you have to do. He filmed plays. Stealing signs in baseball is lauded. This is cheating?

You can have Al Gore, I'll take Al Davis and his "just win baby" philosophy which is reflected in Belichick's approach. I too love Bellichick's attitude toward the game. There is no such thing as "running up the score" in professional sports. Mitch continues:

I want a Packers/Patriots Super Bowl and I want the Packers to win, because I embrace Chaos in politics and football. I want the Packers to stand in the way of Destiny.

"Real fans." Let's remind the world how provincial we are in the Flyover Zone.

See you on the Dark Side.

No, my anarchistic friend, you most certainly will not.

Adam turns the Packers over and changes the momentum:

After skipping through channels and finding the Super Bowl XXXII replay on NFL Network tonight it was funny to read your post on the limited joy we Viking fans have. You might have forgotten that those Broncos were 13 point underdogs and only the second Wild Card team to win it all. Even if the Pack would have come back in that game my several hundreds of dollars in bets were already secured by the end of the third quarter thanks to that generous line run up by over confident Pack fans. Anyway, I am happy to report that the Denver Broncos are still Super Bowl XXXII Champions! Keep up the good work online and on the Internet.

PS - Brett Favre and Trent Dilfer are tied at 1 in Super Bowl titles and it ain't going to change this year.

I, and all real Viking fans, most certainly hope not.

Finally, Tim heps to a reminder than no matter how much you may disagree with some of Rudy Giuliani's social positions, you can't question his judgment:

Punta Gorda, FL--Rudy Giuliani refused to sign a potential voter's Green Bay Packers hat after a campaign stop Monday afternoon, saying it would be "bad luck."

The loyal New York Giants fan denied the request as he was signing autographs and posing for photos after a meet and greet at the Village Fish Market and Restaurant on day two of his bus tour through the Sunshine State. While Florida has become the campaign's must-win state, Giuliani is apparently drawing a line as to how far he will go to woo voters.

"I won't sign that," he said after campaign chairman Pat Oxford handed him the hat. "No, no, no. That would be bad luck right now."

The Giants are set to play the Packers in the NFC Championship game on Sunday and Giuliani is a life-long fan of his hometown team.

"I'll sign it after (the game)," Giuliani told the man as he instead signed another supporters' Giants visor. But the Packers fan was relentless, again demanding Giuliani "sign it now!" Giuliani refused the request after which the man could be heard grunting.

For a Packer fan, that's actually a pretty witty and restrained rebuttal.