When the Minnesota Vikings take to the field at U.S. Bank Stadium to start their playoff odyssey against the New York Giants on Sunday, becoming the Super Bowl champions is the goal in players’ minds.
“It’s really not that much to me,” Justin Jefferson said Thursday. “I’ll feel it once I get to the Super Bowl. I’m just trying to get there. At this moment, it’s just people standing in the way of that goal. I’m just trying to get there any way possible.”
For players with the supreme confidence of Jefferson this attitude is not surprising, but for long-suffering Vikings fans who have experienced decades of disappointment when it comes to football’s greatest prize, the Super Bowl seems an elusive, fantastical target.
Who can blame them. A likely route to the Super Bowl of the Giants, 49ers, and Eagles – the latter two on the road – presents a formidable challenge for Kevin O’Connell’s men, regardless of a regular season in which the Vikings somehow produced victories from nowhere.
Some Vikings fans are known to say “Super Bowl before I die,” a hope of seeing the Vikings reach the pinnacle of the NFL before they shuffle off this mortal coil.
I would argue that the salary cap and the one-and-done nature of NFL playoff football means there is more chance of a team becoming champions than in the other major leagues.
But let’s be real: it might never happen for the Vikings in your lifetime.
We all know that Vikings are more defeatist than most NFL fans, a byproduct of 60 years of professional league heartbreak, but underneath the pessimism remains a passionate desire for a title.
Ignore that. Don’t be hungry for the Super Bowl. Be hungry for the moments that make it worth being a fan, because these happen all the time.
Take a look at this year. If the Vikings don’t win the Super Bowl, it won’t negate the fact the team has produced several huge moments in 2022/23: The win at Buffalo, Jefferson’s insane 4-and-18 catch, the comeback against the Colts, Greg Joseph’s 61-yard field goal, a double-doink win in London – oh, and we got to see the Packers fail to make the playoffs.
That’s not forgetting within the not-too-distant past we had the Minneapolis freaking Miracle.
Will any of those feel as good as a Super Bowl? Probably not, but focusing on the moments is far better than dealing with a deep, unfulfilled longing for a Vince Lombardi Trophy that may never be delivered.
The moments don’t have to be on the pitch either; it can be the joy you find in the stands with your friends, in front of the TV with your family and a bowl of wings, connecting with fellow fans on the internet, getting over your team’s loss by tending to your fantasy team.
In a state of sporting pessimism, be an optimist. Enjoy the playoffs, enjoy seeing your team compete, enjoy watching and talking about the game with loved ones.
Is winning important in sports? Of course it is, but remember it’s but one of many reasons that we watch.
