NOW PLAYING: Go Vikes! 11 January, 1999 The NBA? I was rooting for a cancelled season, and am glad that Michael Jordan has the good sense to bow out now. If I want to see a hoops contest, I'll watch an ACC game -- Carolina, Duke, Maryland, etc. And nothing beats college tourney time. Baseball? Yeah, it maybe the American past-time, but seriously... it's a snoozer. Even with the Braves doing so well, I can't sit through an entire ball game. I'm good for an inning or three and that's it. Now, when I was a photographer for the Herald-Sun in Durham, NC, I spent many a summer night snapping pics of the Durham Bulls, and that was a blast. An intimate little ballpark, excited fans, and great food from the Flying Burrito. THAT's baseball. And football? Well, we recently moved to Atlanta, and until this year the Falcons weren't exactly anything to write home about. Before the move, we lived in North Carolina, and there was no pro football there (some would argue that with the Panthers, there is STILL no pro football there...). But before that I was a wee tot growing up in the hinterlands of northern Minnesota, and I was a Vikings fan, yah-youbetcha! I even got down to the Big City a few times and watched the Vikes play in the old, open-to-the-elements Metropolitan Stadium. Ahh, those were the days: Fran Tarkenton, Chuck Foreman, the Purple People Eaters (Carl Eller, Alan Page, Jim Marshall and Gary Larson) and of course, the coach, "Old Stoneface" Bud Grant. I remember watching the games on TV, sitting by the fireplace (it was winter in Minnesota, you know), Dad on the couch munching popcorn. Although I wasn't old enough to care about the Vikings' first Superbowl appearance (they lost to underdog Kansas City in 1969), I remember the next three they were in. The loss in 1973 to the Miami Dolphins -- Larry Csonka ran roughshod over the poor Vikes. Then getting shut down by the Steeler defense in Superbowl IX the next year -- only 17 yards rushing, 119 yards total offense. The last time the Vikings played in the Superbowl was 1976, when they were beaten by John Madden's Oakland Raiders. They were flat out mean back then, and Minnesota lost 32-14. Tarkenton threw two interceptions in the 4th quarter that sealed the deal. So next weekend the Vikes are playing the Falcons for a possible fifth trip to the Superbowl. My folks called me up and asked me if I was going to be cheering for Atlanta against Minnesota this year. "Nope," I answered. "Never was a Falcons fan, and though they're awesome this year, I can't just 'hop on the bandwagon' at this point. When I was a football fan, I was a Vikings fan, and I'd love for the Vikes to finally win the Superbowl after losing four of them. If the Falcons manage to win, then, yeah, I'll root for them to win it all, but the Vikings are the team I'm backing." It's too bad they aren't playing in the old Met stadium -- it was 38(F) degrees below zero on Sunday in Minneapolis, and although it has been a bit nippy in Atlanta the past couple of weeks, that kind of cold would turn the "Dirty Birds" into Frozen Dinners. Though the Green Bay Packers are mortal enemies to any Vikings fan, you've gotta love the fact that they still play on the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. Having the home crowd in the Metrodome will still give the Vikes an advantage, and they're 11-point favorites in the game. They've been strong all year, and have as good a shot of winning the whole thing as they've ever had. I hope they do. Go Vikes!
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