Well, it’s been about a week since we saw the Vikings go down in a burst of flames at the NFC Championship Game in New Orleans. That was a game in which Minnesota statistically dominated the Saints (counterparts by way of the Mississippi), but wound up choking away a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter via a boneheaded penalty (12 men in the huddle) and an even more boneheaded play—Brett Favre tossing an unnecessary interception with his team in field goal range. The pundits have written, the fans have shouted, and the dust has settled. Two teams remain, but before we get to them, it’s important to do a sober postmortem on the fallen. A Viking funeral, if you will. Thus, given my familiarity with Favre, the Vikings, and their fans, please allow me to put division rivalry aside and offer the following words of condolence to followers of the Purple and Gold:

BWWWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ha. Haha. Heh.

Sorry, it’s only been a week.

I know I’m rubbing it in, but you have to understand something here. All season long, I’ve been enduring the sports fan equivalent of my next door neighbor sleeping with my ex-wife… with the lights on and the curtains open. And then having to read about it online the next day. So you’ll excuse me if I take some small, immature pleasure from the ex-wife setting fire to his house.

Now, Favre and the Vikings decisively beat the Packers twice in 2009, fair and square. That wasn’t easy to get over, but don’t think I didn’t try! I told myself that Green Bay made the right decision when they traded Favre. But with every inch Minnesota moved closer to the Super Bowl, with every great game Favre played, and with every reminder that he might be hoisting the Lombardi trophy with another team, it became harder and harder to believe that the Packers had not made a colossal mistake. When Arizona eliminated the Packers, and the Vikings moved to the NFC title game, I began to wonder if watching football wasn’t really just a fool’s errand, to say nothing of writing about it. The Vikings were going to win their first championship with OUR guy, I thought, and Packer Nation will never hear the end of it. This, after Favre had almost single-handedly sabotaged Green Bay’s shot at a Super Bowl four times since 2001, by my count. And trust me, the trash talking fallout after such a scenario as described above would last ten millennia in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

There were two articles of faith that kept me not only living, but watching:

1. These were the Minnesota Vikings; and
2. This was Brett Favre.