HERE'S TO THE OLD GUYS

In Iowa, growing up, we didn't have any professional teams to root for, period. So, I chose teams based on who I saw every week on television, and who gained my attention at that impressionable age. In baseball, it began with the Cincinnati Reds, whose "Big Red Machine" was rolling right along in those days. Eventually, the more local Chicago Cubs (whose AAA team is located in Des Moines) became my "second best" team. In basketball, those were the days the Boston Celtics were winning championship after championship. And when I was entering high school, some midwestern guy, who couldn't jump or run, named Larry Bird, captured my imagination. My dad liked the Kansas City Chiefs, in football. They were the closest to us (about 3.5 hours away) and I actually went to a game with my dad and grandfather one snowy Sunday. But, in those days, at 12 noon every Sunday, I was introduced to the Purple People Eaters defense of the Minnesota Vikings, and the amazing offensive skills of Fran Tarkenton (The Scrambler), Chuck Foreman, Ahmad Rashad and Sammy White. The Vikings were good in those days, going to 4 super bowls (although they lost each of them).


In more recent years, the Vikings "broke my heart", as they made it the NFC championship game, only to get beat and not make the superbowl. In one of those years (1997 I believe), they were 15-1, and could have won with NFC championship if their kicker (who will remain nameless), who had not missed a field goal ALL SEASON (that's right!) missed one near the end of the game, and the Falcons beat "us". In both cases, with these games, I "had tickets" (atleast had the promise of tickets)to the superbowl games if they had won. I was not happy.


Since the early days, I have kept all of "my" teams, including the Vikings. And now that I am old and gray, I especially appreciated and related to the old guy (turning 40 this October) who became the quarterback for MY team this year: Brett Favre. Of course, I "hated" him as a Green Bay Packer, but of course, I LOVE him in purple with horns on his helmet! And after this past Sunday, he is already becoming more of a legend, with the Vikings, if that is possible, after his incredible career with the Packers. He did have the season with the Jets last year, but had a terrible end of the season and retired, again, for the 5th time (or so it seems). I don't like when guys do that. If you retire, then just walk away, right?


But, my loyalties are colored purple, and when I heard he became a Viking, my opinions changed - go figure! This last Sunday, although it wasn't on TV here, I saw that they were down 4, with less than 2 minutes to go and the 49er's had the ball around mid-field. It was "over". So, I got ready for life group at our home and just knew they had lost the game (my typical "glass is half empty" mode I take with my teams). At the end of life group, my friend told me they had won, and I couldn't believe it. And then I saw the replays...


With 12 seconds left, around the 40 yard line, Brett Favre scrambled and fired the ball into the end zone (surprised his arm doesn't fall off at this age). A backup wide receiver, with a great first name, was relieving our star rookie receiver (Percy Harvin), who was a little winded from running 7 long routes in a row. Greg Lewis found the end zone and surrounded by 2 defenders, grabbed the ball, with 2 seconds left, barely getting his left foot in bounds and dragging his right toe, for the legal catch. Unbelievable!


For those of us who like sports and are now old, we relate to these kind of moments. At least, this particular old guy did. Way to go Brett. Can I please have some super bowl tickets? I can always hope!