There Ya Go
If you’re a longtime Vikings fan and are a member of the 50-and-over club like I am, the name Rick Danmeier might ring a bell.
The St. Paul native and graduate of the University of Sioux Falls, Danmeier was one of the last of the straight-on place kickers in the NFL. He played for the Vikes from 1977-1982, which meant he kicked in that important final game of the season that determines the champion of the NFL (I can’t remember what they call it as it’s been so long since our team has played in it).
Anyway, Danmeier kicked in the Vikes’ final appearance in whatever that big game is called. But that’s not the game I remember him for. That contest was a regular-season game against Miami, if memory serves.
The game was on the proverbial line and the Vikes lined up for a potential game-winning kick. My late brother, Eric, was so convinced “Rick the Kick” would choke, the doubting Thomas huffed his way out of the living room, shaking his bowed head and leaving just my father and me to sweat it out. He couldn’t watch.
Danmeier nailed a 30-yarder, which in the 1980s was considered a long field goal. My dad and I celebrated, and I proceeded to mock my brother for losing hope because that’s what little brothers do. Then he tapped into a dark place and beat me up.
Still, totally worth it. That’s how far back my loyalty to The Purple goes. I, like so many of you, for some reason choose to live and die by the Vikes every fall and winter. When I was younger, a Vikings loss would ruin the first part of the new week ahead, but I’ve matured to the point where I can now fully recover by the time Monday Night Football rolls around.
Yes, being a Vikings fan has never really been a walk in the park for us. However, I’ve found a loophole in our lament.
As the losses have piled up the season and we find ourselves uttering, “Wait ’til next year” more and more, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s never been more easy to watch this team.
Oh sure, I still care and still want them to win like they did Sunday, but nowadays, my expectations are as low as the slush that builds up on your shoes in the winter, so it really doesn’t bother me when whatever quarterback is playing throws a pick. Or when we fumble. Or when the coach decides, what the hell, let’s kick it short so the return man from a division rival has a chance to return it, and said return man brings it back 56 yards to set up a gamewinning field goal that pretty much removes us off the playoff reservation list. But I digress.
With no expectations, I can now sit back and enjoy just watching my favorite NFL team while my blood pressure holds at a steady 120 over 88. Before — when we used to actually be favored to win games — I was on the edge of my seat literally making up swear words. Then, after we blow a 13-point lead but somehow pull it out, I can utter my famous, ‘I knew we’d win it’ mantra.
Am I on the road to being a bandwagon fan? Not sure, really. And it doesn’t matter, because I no longer am under the “live-and-die” spell. If we’re 4-andwhatever and lose, so what? Matter of fact, I know enough about the NFL to know that losing the rest of our games this year would actually be a blessing in disguise, because the more we lose, the higher the draft pick we can screw up in April.
So, thank you, Vikings, for relieving me of some of my seasonal stress. I guess there’s always next year, right?
