Did I watch the Super Bowl last night?

I did see Jacoby Jones run for 108 and a score last night though. 

Late last week, I wrote for another blog I like to contribute to that I was tuning out the pregame coverage of the Super Bowl. I did until Sunday, when I had CBS' Super Bowl coverage on to serve as background noise. Pass out all of the pizza you want, Boomer Esiason, I don't care.

As I watched, I felt the same feelings I feel after every Super Bowl, no matter the teams, the location, the broadcasting network or the champion.

It's over already?

And even more than in a regular year: What the hell did I just watch?

The Game, as it likes to be called, always feels fragmented. Maybe it's just me but I can't process the Super Bowl like I can Lions vs. Vikings in Week 6 or even Patriots vs. Ravens in the AFC title game. It is the longest game of the year but each possession feels disconnected. There's a reason why the the 32 minutes felt so different from the final 28 minutes and that wasn't just because of a freak power outage. We've seen it before where the game's pace changes at any moment. (Super Bowl XXXVIII comes to mind.)

Watching the game, you focus on the action and the television much more differently than you do for any other game or sporting event in the year. I'm watching the commercials a lot closer than I would for a regular game because they're supposed to be funny or heartfelt and there were a few of both in Super Bowl XLVII. At the same time, there's people at the party to talk to, snacks to munch on, beer to drink. Everyone is making jokes on Twitter and I'll be damned if I'm not going to keep pace. Plus, Beyonce. How am I supposed to keep enough attention on the game?

The answer is you can't. The Super Bowl is about distracted football.

I would consider myself as a avid follower of football and an average fan. Unless my favorite team is playing in the championship (in which case I would be an absolute train wreck to be around), I'm not going to catch every play and most of them don't matter. If you see the touchdowns, that's good enough.

The Super Bowl feels different because it is different. Alicia Keys doesn't do a three-minute rendition of the National Anthem for a regular season game between the Bengals and Raiders. A massive party  doesn't gather for every single Sunday Night Football game unless you're a big Al Michaels fan. I would be foolish to think that the Super Bowl would be watched in the same way as the regular season.

It's Super Sunday, remember?

Now, it's not like the game is now gone forever. The highlights are playing on a 24-hour loop on numerous networks and the coverage is breathless. If I missed the commercial of the night, I can go to one of the many online platforms that has them all waiting.

I didn't really have a rooting interest in the game. Ravens, Niners ... either way, I would have lived with the outcome (And I have because I'm writing this post, see?). But, we can all basically agree that the game itself is a spectacle and one that draws all sorts of football followers, fanatical or not.

While I may have missed some of the game, I didn't miss the Super Bowl.

Vikings and Fandom

I tried.

I tried to treat Sunday's Vikings game as just another Sunday.

My stomach, churning like a drum full of lottery balls, was telling me otherwise. Of course, my mind knew this was different. "Come on Marcus, you dummy. This is for the playoffs."

Admittedly, I try to play it down the middle and unbiased. I aspire to be an objective source for a career. That didn't end up happening Sunday. I like the Vikings and fanhood reigned as Minnesota punched a ticket to the NFL playoffs, defeating the awful, mouth-breathing Green Bay Packers and extinguishing the dreams of the Chicago Bears and the playoffs.

Sometimes I kid myself and put myself in the shoes of a Timberwolves fan or a Wild fan. I really do like the Gophers (for no logical reason) and the Twins are it for the bulk of summer.

None compare to the Vikings.

Adrian Peterson is doing amazing things and he's an MVP. Christian Ponder is good enough for me and for this team right now. He made the plays when it mattered and his critics can kick rocks. Blair Walsh cashes every kick.

That's not to say I'm not critical. The defensive backs (without Antoine Winfield, as it appears they will be) continue to suck and can't tackle. Bill Musgrave does a good job as offensive coordinator but he might as well be calling plays off a credit card. Phil Loadholt could be an idiot.

I tried not to say bad things on Twitter. Maybe I wouldn't even be on Twitter during the game, I thought. Nope. I fired off a "Green Bay Whiners" tweet in the first quarter and I was off and running. My phone was attached to my fingers for three-and-a-half hours. (BTW, I thought The Sports Lounge account was mocking me during the game. I liked it and hated it at the same time.)

I laughed. I yelled. I scowled. I cheered. I cringed. Football as we know it. Cheeseburger soup waited between bites and I followed a few superstitions Sunday afternoon. I said more bad things about Troy Aikman than Joe Buck. (Which is by the way, the way that works. Buck > Aikman.) I don't think I breathed regularly until the Walsh field goal squeaked by the upright with ":00" on the clock.

Before I get too far, that was a terrific game. It would have been regardless of result. The ebb and flow was with good and bad and I was writhing with it all the way. Even fans with purple-soaked perspectives knew Discount Double Check & Co. were going to rally from a 10-0 deficit and I'm willing to wager the paint thinner-drinking, Jermichael Finley worshiping Packa fans knew that final kick would deliver Wayne Larrivee's "Dagger."

That's a rivalry, folks.

In the end, I would have lived either way. I lived through the "Take A Knee in '98," "41-0," "Nate Poole," and "12 Men in the Huddle." In most occassions, it's not a matter of if they'll let you down but when, and more importantly, how the Vikings will turn the knife.

Truly, I would have been happy with any result Sunday. They had a six win turnaround from the year ago and their best draft in ages. There was progress from 2011 to 2012 and winning four in a row down the stretch builds confidence for 2013.

I know good things come to an end. After all, I'm a Vikings fan. But I'm enjoying every retching turn for now.

To the terrible Packa fans: Bring it.

Kriens: Will The Vikings' Success Last?

Publisher's Note: The blog has been admittedly stale for a while and for that, I do apologize. Fortunately, Sports Lounge empire creator and Tennessee State guru Travis Kriens has volunteered his knowledge to these dormant pages. Today, Kriens picks apart the first five games of the 2012 Vikings and what it could mean for the rest of the season. 

Many are surprised at the Minnesota Vikings’ 4-1 start. They have already won more games than the three they won last season with many of the key players from the 2011 team back. But will their success last?



Minnesota has been favored in three of their first five games, which they are 2-1. They pulled the upset a home against San Francisco in Week 3 and another Vegas upset at Detroit in Week 4, even though the Lions left the field that day losers in 10 of their last 16 games overall. The 49ers are the only team that the Vikings have played that has a better than .500 record. They have beaten the teams that they should beat thus far. Take into account they lost a game to the Colts that could have easily been a win and won a game versus San Francisco that most thought would be a loss, it’s not too much of a stretch to picture this team at the current 4-1 record.



Minnesota has benefited from fast starts by scoring first in every game except the opener versus Jacksonville and only trailing by more than nine points on one occasion.

The question then becomes, “Who gets the credit?”



Christian Ponder: Not bad

A lot of the praise has gone on second year quarterback Christian Ponder. Like usual, the quarterback gets more credit when the team wins (especially when you are named Tim Tebow) and more blame than he deserves when the team loses (especially when you are named Tim Tebow) and this is no different.

Christian Ponder has an average depth of target of 5.9 yards, which is nearly a yard less than any other starting NFL quarterback. His first interception of the season came in the second quarter of game five, which is impressive. However, it’s like being impressed that a contact hitter in baseball doesn’t strikeout that often. 

It should be no surprise that with the short passing game the Vikings have implemented, they are tied for first in the NFL with only five dropped passes on the season.

 I would be more apt to focus on other areas of the team that have improved from last season, as well as a player that is among the leagues elite.

The defense has allowed only 79 points, an average of 15.8 per game and good for sixth best in the league. Only twice since 1978 has a Minnesota defense given up fewer points in its first five games. (The Vikings gave up 60 points in 1986 and 71 points in 1988)



Part of the defensive resurgence has been rookie safety Harrison Smith. He has been one of the best pass coverage safeties in the league thus far. Add a healthy Antoine Winfield to the mix and the Vikings secondary is in rare form through the first third of the season.



One of the many weak points on the 2011 Vikings was the offensive line. You haven’t heard much about them this season, which usually means they are doing their job. Minnesota has found a gem in John Sullivan. The 6th round pick from Notre Dame in 2008 has developed into one of the best centers in the game and is showing why he deserved the 5-year, $25 million contract extension that he signed late last season. Sullivan is the only starting center in the NFL to have not given up a QB pressure this season. He’s had only one penalty called against him since the 2010 season, a stretch of 36 games. The Vikings know that Sullivan can also get it done in the run game, evident with a third of their rushing attempts coming to the right or left of Sullivan, by far the most on the team.



Rookie kicker Blair Walsh has one of the strongest legs in the NFL. No one has a longer average distance on their kickoffs, which has resulted in only 10 kick returns in 27 chances. Walsh’s leg is a far cry from the 19 touchbacks from Ryan Longwell last year. Only 23 percent of Walsh’s kickoffs have been returned compared to over 70 percent for Longwell in 2011. For someone who had accuracy trouble during his college days with Georgia, the rookie has connected on 12 of his first 13 field goals, including all three attempts from over 50 yards.



Given all the improvements and first year guys making an impact, the player that I feel has had the most impact on the Vikings 4-1 start is Percy Harvin.

 The way that the Vikings offense has been constructed this season (short passing game), should somewhat be because of Harvin. Nearly 80 percent of his 407 receiving yards have come after he catches the ball, which is a perfect complement for a quarterback that rarely throws the ball down the field more than five yards.

 Most receivers not named Troy Williamson should be able to catch the short passes that Harvin is accustomed to, but it takes a special player to turn an ordinary play into a game breaking one. The fourth-year wide receiver out of Florida has caused 14 missed tackles on the season. No other receiver in the league has more than nine and only four wideouts have more than five.

It’s usual for a receiver to be in the MVP discussion, but the way that Harvin affects the game in the backfield running the ball, as well as a returner, makes him the most versatile player in the NFL.

Barring a collapse, the Vikings could be in contention for the playoffs.

The Vikings only plays two games outdoors (at Washington and Seattle) besides their annual visits to Chicago and Green Bay. It’s the fewest outdoor games in a full season in team history. Whenever Minnesota plays without a roof, it usually spells doom.

Minnesota broke a five game losing streak in outdoor games with their 33-26 win at Washington late last season, which cost them the chance to draft QB Robert Griffin III or trade the pick for numerous first round selections for years to come. They will get chance to see the defending Heisman Trophy winner on Sunday and wonder what could have been.

Early season success has fans hopeful, while other veteran observers of the purple are thinking, “Here we go again.” For this Vikings fan, I won’t be disappointed this time when they fall short.

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.