Allow this writer to hearken back to the days of yore -- 1998, to be precise -- when the football gods came down and manifested themselves as the Minnesota Vikings offense.
That was the year that Minnesota, led by Randall Cunningham, rookie sensation Randy Moss, Cris Carter, John Randle and many others, went 15-1, shattering the single season team point total while surrendering the fifth fewest points in the league.
At the same time, Gary Anderson established a league record by making every single field goal in the regular season, logging 40 in a row in the 1997-8 season.
They should have easily made it to the Super Bowl that year, where I guarantee that they would have dispatched the Denver Broncos handily. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted.
Gary Anderson picked the NFC Championship Game against the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons to miss his first field goal of the year, a field goal that would have won the game in overtime. Of course, Falcons kicker Morten Andersen connected on the very next drive as the Falcons advanced to Super Bowl XXXIII. They proceeded to get thoroughly dominated by the newly heartened Broncos.
The football gods, disgusted that their chosen had managed to fall apart in a way that only the Vikings could, departed for sunnier climes, like St. Louis and New England. Anyway, the joke's on you, because the stars are in alignment once again, and this year's Vikings, despite losing seven of their last 10 games (another Viking specialty), are destined to win it all, whatever Sean Salisbury, John Clayton or any other ESPN analyst says. Here's why:
Reason One
Let me tell you a story, a story about the New York Jets playing the San Diego Chargers on Jan. 8, 2004. San Diego forced overtime and had a chance to win, but their kicker missed a field goal wide right from about two feet away. Sound familiar?
Now, the Chargers have supplanted the Vikings with the most pathetic playoff disaster and, as a result, have symbolically cleansed Minnesota. Freed of the 1998 team's legacy, Minnesota will clearly pick up where they left off six years ago.
Reason Two
The kicker for the 2004 Minnesota Vikings? Former Atlanta Falcon Morten Andersen. As a matter of fact, he managed to miss an easy, 29-yard field goal in the wild card round against the Green Bay Packers. Walt Disney could not make this stuff up.
Reason Three
The 1998 Vikings were only the third team in history to go 15-1. This year, Minnesota was 8-8. They limped into the playoffs and, on Sunday, became just the second 8-8 team in history to win a playoff game.
The implication is that no 8-8 team has ever even made it to the Super Bowl, much less actually won it. There will be a perverse irony if this admittedly flawed team manages to succeed where a juggernaut squad failed. Some would call it poetic justice.
Reason Four
There happens to be another 15-1 team, a 15-1 team that blew away the rest of the league, a 15-1 team with a sensational rookie star from a small MAC school that no one thought would make much of an impact.
No, I'm not talking about Moss and the '98 Vikings, but Ben Roethlisberger and the 2004 Pittsburgh Steelers.
Is this a case of history repeating itself? I think so. All that is left is for Pittsburgh to lose to the 14-2 New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, and the cycle will be complete.
So there you have it, Minnesota will win the Super Bowl this year. I guarantee it. Go ahead, put your life savings on it. I know I will.
