Captain Relax Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 In this time before the Super Bowl, Free Agency, Draft and OTA's, we have some time to think about our relationship with the Purple and Gold. My fandom goes back to 1968 and I have never looked seriously at another team. I've been true through thick and thin. The Vikings have provided me with exhilaration, joy and heartbreak. Thankfully, the moments when I have been absolutely embarrassed by the team have been few. I think that bringing these moments up is a way to exorcise some demons! At least for me. One might think that losing four Super Bowls would be my greatest embarrassment. But not so. I am proud of those teams. As we all know, it's difficult to even get to the big game. Those losses broke my heart, but did not embarrass me. If you turn the emotion down and look at those games objectively, the Vikings were overmatched in the trenches by larger, stronger players. As great as our offensive and defensive lines were those years, their Achilles heel was handling bigger opponents. They weren't really going to win those games. Jim Marshall running the wrong way against the 49ers? Nope. First, this happened before I became a fan. Secondly, it's an individual player embarrassment. Same with Gary Anderson missing the field goal in the NFCCG that would have sent the Vikings back to the Super Bowl. The 1984 season? Les Steckel was a horrible head coach, but the Vikings were a team in transition and rebuild. Gone were most of the players from the Super Bowl years. The great miracle was that Bud came back in 1985 and guided a horrible roster of talent to a 7-9 record. The 1989 Walker trade? Yes, it was a terrible decision in hindsight. It basically gave the Cowboys ammunition to win three Super Bowls in the 90's. However, Walker played well, if not great. It was a huge risk that, at the time, was thought to be needed to get the Vikings over the hump and back to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the front office and coaching staff did not recognize the fact that the roster was deficient in more areas than just running back. For me, the most embarrassing moment for me as a Vikings fan, occurred on December 10, 2023...in a Vikings victory no less. The Vikings beat the Raiders 3-0. While the defense was pretty decent, the Vikings played horribly on offense. I mean it was a disaster of epic proportions. In this day in age, it's embarrassing for a professional offense to only gain 230 total yards against a middling to poor defense. Mullens passed for 83. Hockenson was the leading receiver gaining 56 yards. Mattison, somehow gained 66 yards to lead the running backs. It was a complete offensive melt down and set the tone for the remainder of the rather forgettable season. It made me question O'Connell's reputation as an offensive mastermind. He has a lot of growing to do this offseason, in my opinion. December 10, 2023, I was embarrassed to be a Vikings fan. What's your most embarrassing moment as a Vikings fan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 4 minutes ago, Captain Relax said: What's your most embarrassing moment as a Vikings fan? Love Boat. a failing of personal and team ethics. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 Mike Priefer. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 19 minutes ago, vike daddy said: Love Boat. a failing of personal and team ethics. I'm in that camp, but as far as on the field, there was nothing more embarrassing than 41-donut. I turned off that game 15 minutes in. It was embarrassing that the team didn't even bother to show up in their most important game that season. They didn't even try. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 (edited) 33 minutes ago, swede700 said: I'm in that camp, but as far as on the field, there was nothing more embarrassing than 41-donut. I turned off that game 15 minutes in. It was embarrassing that the team didn't even bother to show up in their most important game that season. They didn't even try. yeah, that was my most disappointing loss to witness as a fan. I watched the game at a friend's house and was a little late getting there, with the score 14-0 by the time I arrived. Edited February 6 by vike daddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 and while this year's 3-0 "victory" over the Raiders could be seen as embarrassing, at least it was a win. had we lost 0-3, then it would be right up there on the list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Relax Posted February 6 Author Share Posted February 6 Keep'em coming...exercise those demons!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkolMasterMN Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 (edited) Some may say this is recency bias, but I honestly think the most embarrassing moment is the home playoff loss to the Giants last season. January 15, 2023. Us fans had defended this 13-4 record, defended the team's success all year, and were ready for a playoff run after what had been a magical regular season. A QB with a huge contract at age 34, the top WR in the league in the midst of a breakout season, and we choke at home against Daniel Jones and a very over-performing New York Giants team, IN THE WILD CARD ROUND. That loss made us look like frauds. All of the haters were proven right, and this loss certainly seemed to carry on to the next season, where we went 7-10. That loss was a turning point for the franchise, and extremely embarrassing. Edited February 6 by SkolMasterMN 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Captain Relax said: Keep'em coming...exercise those demons!! and 1-2-3-4...and 1-2-3-4... Edited February 6 by vike daddy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 38 minutes ago, Captain Relax said: Keep'em coming...exercise those demons!! Exorcise...I don't want those demons in good shape. 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripline Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 This! The reason I have developed the opinion that cousins aint elite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted February 6 Share Posted February 6 22 minutes ago, Ripline said: This! The reason I have developed the opinion that cousins aint elite! 🙄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Core11 Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 That '03 season is up there. Starting 6-0 and losing to McCown to miss the playoffs. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb_K Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1. The Les Steckel season 2. The 41-0 playoff loss to The Giants 3. The Love Boat Scandal 4. The 2022 playoff loss at home to The Giants 5. The 38-7 playoff loss to The Eagles 6. Vikings ownership allowing Fran Tarkington to be traded to The Giants, rather than ownership firing coach, Norm Van Brocklin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GermanVike Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 4 hours ago, Core11 said: That '03 season is up there. Starting 6-0 and losing to McCown to miss the playoffs. That was my first season as a Vikings fan, back when I was an exchange student in rural SW Minnesota. Just gave me the right introduction into being a Vikings fan. The most embarassing moment? Everytime the team HAD to win one to get into the playoffs, played a lesser opponent and got absolutely trounced. Happened more times than I'd like to remember. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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