The Contingency Plan

The first football game I remember watching was on September 16, 1996 when the Minnesota Vikings played a Week 3 game at Solider Field against the Chicago Bears. Don't ask me why I remember a rather meaningless regular season game in which Scott Sisson made a pair of fourth-quarter field goals to win a 20-14 NFC Central division game, but I do. (I remembered the gist of the game and then looked it up online.)

This could be me. But I'll never tell.

The point is that I was five-years-old and I have been a Minnesota Vikings fan ever since. I have the hat with the horns and braids to prove it. When I was in the second grade, I argued with my teacher who tried telling me that Jeff George's name was spelled "Geoff." I think she won that day but I knew I was right.

I feel like I've lived through the fandom of a normal person a few times over already. A pair of painful NFC title losses, a bunch of awful quarterbacks, 3 Deep, Denny, Tice and Chilly and the roof honestly caving in on Farve and the Vikings.

To me, the sign of a true Vikings fan is when you can sense the outcome of the game before it is over. Early this season, I was getting good at sensing when the collapse was coming against the Lions and Bucs in Weeks 2 and 3. Despite that ability, every time I see Farve throw across his body to a waiting Tracy Porter, it hits me like a sack of bricks.

Now even though I watch every game on television, I still had never been to an official game until this September. Despite all of that and the losses, I visit nearby training camp once a season and keep close tabs on the team and its terrible defensive backs.

I've now come to the realization that those things might not last forever.

I never wanted to accept the fact that it was a real possibility that the Minnesota Vikings would leave the state. But Minnesota is not immune to it. (See: Lakers and North Stars) And part of me will always be bitter if it does happen. But in the end, I'm a sports fan and I'm a football fan and as both of those, I know that there is a chance. So earlier this year, I was asked if I would still be a fan of the team if they moved.

I said no.

I just can't do it. I root for the Minnesota teams, regardless of pretty much anything. If they aren't here, I won't pull for them. I only like a handful of the players on the Vikings right now anyway and by the time that Minnesota would have their Mayflower trucks loaded up, those guys will probably be off of the team anyway. (No, Benny Sapp, I don't like you now or ever. Go pound sand.) (Sorry for the personal rant.)

Those players don't have any association with any of the fans that live in Minnesota. They play here for four or five months of the year and they make their home somewhere else. That's fine (and I know that's the case with most professional sports) but that allows me to pull my ties if they leave for Mexico City or wherever the next team could be.

If Zygi Wilf moves the team, I'll hate him forever. If he sells the team to someone else and they move the team, I'll hate them too. He'll do what he needs to and so will I.

But I need to have a plan. I've narrowed down my options to a few:

1. Adopt a regional team - I won't just pick the Seahawks or the Falcons or just any team just because I can. It has to be somewhat local. The Packers are out even though many Minnesotans were fans of the Cheeseheads before the Vikings arrival in 1961. I'm leaning towards the Chiefs because they have great fans, a great stadium, and that Midwest vibe that I sub-consciously feel that my allegiances need to be tied to. No Bears, probably no Broncos, Lions or Rams either. 
2. Be a fan of NFL RedZone - While somewhat leery of the channel because I like focusing on one game and checking the others on my own, I will love the option if I don't have a team to root for. Might as well let someone else cruise me around to the best games in the league for six hours.
3. Cheer against multiple teams - This is the most likely of everything that I have listed here. My cheering against the Packers, Bears, New Vikings, Cowboys, Patriots, etc., will probably end up being more passionate than my support for any one team could ever be, so why not just make this the focal point. I've always had the habit of rooting against the front-runners, so this should be a pretty good plan.

Of course, this will be moot if the team just builds the damn stadium. 

As always, if I don't know what I'm talking about, let me know. Thanks for reading.