A Game Away from the Super Bowl

You don't need a game preview from me. There are only two games this weekend, so there are all sorts of sportswriters that can offer you game previews (I can fit it all in a parentheses: again rush the passer, again tackle well, and against the Saints' vulnerable run defense, this can be Adrian Peterson's playoff game to finally take over).

And you don't need me to tell you what this means, though I'll remind you. In their 49th season, the Vikings have never won a championship. They are 0-4 in the Super Bowl. They haven't even been to the Super Bowl since the 1976 season. Since the Minneapolis Lakers moved, Minnesota pro sports teams have won just two championships (the '87 and '91 Twins), and Minnesota's pro teams haven't even reached the championship round since the '91 World Series.

And you don't need me to tell you that the window to win a championship might not extend beyond this season, for a whole host of reasons. This is the Vikings' last best shot to win it all. You probably don't need me to tell you that I'm experiencing physical anxiety, that if I spend too much time dwelling on it I'll get nauseous, and that I'm fluctuating between the same emotions of hope and fear that you probably are, too.

Our beloved Minnesota Vikings are a game away from the Super Bowl. We've been here before. We can hope that this time things will be different. We can hope that this is the year that changes everything.