RandBall commenter, and closest friend, Rocket, came to visit last week. We had dinner at his favorite restaurant, and talked Purple Jesus. It's pretty well understood that I'm not a sports fan. However, I admitted to getting choked up at Santana's shut out game last season, and Rocket exclaimed, "See, that's why we become sports fans." We get glimpses of pure physical genius- we get to watch players who are in the zone- who are playing their best game ever... a game that will never be matched.It's so dramatic- I swear sports fans are the most romantic of us all. They are believers- they are superstitious, they root for a team against all odds. And finally one day their team wins.
After this visit, I started to have faith in the Vikings. Though they suffer terrible losses, and there are times where it's a true embarrassment to be a fan, there is still a point in "rooting for the loser" as I ranted against in my last post. I started to sympathize with the fans. I started to understand their plight- and began to validate it.
And then the Vikings blew it against the Packers. To top it off, Adrian Peterson was injured- the team's one asset. Is this a team that begs it's viewers to root for them against all odds? Are they even able to consider the fans, when they can barely scrape together a defense?
*Sigh* Who am I to complain? I don't have season tickets- and I didn't watch the majority of the Vikings vs. Packers game. The players make millions of dollars, and we fans are the lowly proletariat. Maybe we expect too much of the athletes which our society have put on a pedestal. Perhaps, like leap year, we must wait patiently for those glimpses of genius. Leave the Vikings hat in the closet, and step away from the television. Maybe in seven years we'll have the team you're ready to root for.
Picture courtesy of www.istockphoto.com
1 comment:
Oh Julie - I sense a glimmer of romance still in you. The Vikes won't do it. Not in seven years or seventeen. You better tell Randball to keep his fingers crossed in the grave. But - there's still hope for you, where your fantasy can become a reality (and has, twice). Can you hear it? Go Pack Go. Go Pack Go. Cross the border - come where the beer flows freely and cheese is curded to delicious perfection. We will accept you, hell, we'll even call you a fan.
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