One Holiday Season Down

Last weekend was a weekend of weekends ... if I can use that word "weekend" one more time.

We celebrated Christmas with my Dad's side of the family last Saturday near the Twin Cities. Sure, it was your typical Christmas dinner and presents for the younger cousins, but the weekend was heightened in anticpation of the Vikings/NY Giants football game that Sunday. Luckily for us, my uncle from Iowa picked up tickets (upper deck end-zone, 21 rows up ... still not a bad view) and what really made the Vikings fans nervous, they had to win this game to make the playoffs (or if the Vikings lost, the Bears had to lose vs. the Texans).

The game was one for the ages, probably one of the best games I've seen in person at the Metrodome. It was back and forth, and despite Adrian Peterson's constant ball-handling problems, the Giants' running attack, and David Carr's impressive off-the-bench performance, the game came down to a 51-yard field goal attempt from Vikings' kicker, Ryan Longwell.

But before all that went down, it was probably the worst clock management I've ever seen. I'm sure Vikings' head coach Brad Childress had his reasons for playing the clock (and time outs as well), but the 63,000+ crowd at the Metrodome sure didn't like it, as the boo-birds reigned down. It even looked like Vikings' quarterback Tavaris Jackson couldn't figure out what was going on, either.

It was just mass confusion, but in the end, Longwell sailed the 51-yarder through, giving the Vikings' their first NFC North division title since 2000. The place was bedlam, and it see the Vikings win over the Super Bowl-defending Giants, it was pure sweetness.

Sure, the critics can say that the Giants let up (pulling quarterback Eli Manning after the 1st half), but nobody can deny that the Giants defense wanted to lose that game.

As for me, being a Minnesota Viking fan, I can be critical of the play calling, Tavaris' play at quarterback, and Childress himself ... but they pulled one off to make the playoffs. Next week, they've got Philadelphia at the Dome and I can rightfully say that they have a legitamate shot of winning that game!