Strangely enough, Viking fans that frequent Viking sites seem to like videos of the Vikings that don't involve the roof of their stadium collapsing and things of that nature. God bless research, huh?

So, why not go back to the game that could very well. . .and, unfortunately. . .signify the peak of our excitement over the last couple of seasons. . .the 2009 Divisional Playoffs against the Dallas Cowboys.

I have not yet received word as to whether or not Cowboys' linebacker Keith Brooking is still crying about that last touchdown pass to Visanthe Shiancoe.

I never understood all the asinine arguments about the Vikings "running up the score" in this one, either. On the drive prior to the last Vikings' TD pass, the Cowboys were down by 24 points, and were still running to the line after each play and spiking the ball and calling time outs like they still had a chance to win the football game.

Apparently a lot of people were, as the kids today like to say, "butthurt" because they didn't want the Dallas Cowboys to stop playing hard and stop trying to win the football game. . .they simply wanted the Minnesota Vikings to stop playing hard and stop trying to win the football game. Whatever.

In any case, enjoy the Paul Allen-narrated highlights, ladies and gentlemen.

The Vikings committed five turnovers and had two other fumbles against the Saints in the NFC Championship Game.  This we know.  However, if you take the word of the NFL's Vice President of officiating, at least one of those turnovers shouldn't have happened.

Per Pro Football Talk, during the "Official Review" segment of last night's airing of Total Access on the NFL Network, Mike Pereira told viewers that Brett Favre's first interception of the game should have been wiped out by a flag for a cheap shot courtesy of Saints' defensive end Bobby McCray.  On the play, Saints' defensive tackle Remi Ayodele hit Favre high just after he released the pass that was intercepted by Jonathan Vilma, while McCray dove and hit Favre below the knee.

Granted, the officiating wasn't the reason the Vikings lost on Sunday. . .turning the ball over on four five different occasions was.  Still, it's always a bit frustrating to hear stuff like this three or four days after the fact, particularly knowing that despite those four five turnovers, the Vikings were still in a position to win the game late.

If the interview that Saints' defensive coordinator Gregg Williams gave ESPN 104.5 in Nashville on Sunday is any indicator, the Saints have a definite strategy in mind when it comes to defending the league's elite quarterbacks.

Asked if after a game that included a couple of controversial hits on Brett Favre he would talk to his defense about the potential for calls protecting Manning, he said:

"Here’s the deal. When you put too much of that type of worry on a warrior’s mind, he doesn’t play all out. If it happens, it happens. And the only thing you’d like for me to say is that if it happens you hope he doesn’t get back up and play again."

Translation:  We're willing to risk a couple of 15 yard penalties if it means making the other team have to go to their backup quarterback.

Translation #2:  Against the Vikings, our defensive strategy wasn't "hit Favre."  Our defensive strategy was "hurt Favre."

Good luck trying to get away with that crap against Peyton Manning, Gregg, considering that a) the Saints' defense actually has to get to Manning first and b) call me crazy, but I'm guessing that so much as looking at #18 sideways in two weeks will be enough to draw a flag, never mind trying to go all Shawn Eckardt on his lower legs.

Oh, and the Saints and Vikings meet again next season, too.  I'm guessing that Bobby McCray will have his head on a swivel from the second he jogs out of the tunnel in pre-game.

At least, he should.

What a game. And what a shame.

We just witnessed four hours of constant suspense. It just...kept...going. And just...wouldn't...end. The Vikings had their chances. The Saints gave them plenty of room to steal the win. But it wasn't meant to be.

Another heartbreak. We've been through our share as fans of this team, but this one stings. Really, really stings. Reminds me of that feeling just over a decade ago when a perfect field goal kicker missed a field goal.

Tough to know where to start. Adrian Peterson's fumbles, including a game-changing one deep in Saints territory. Brett Favre getting absolutely pummeled throughout the night, and capping off the game, the season, and perhaps his career with an interception. Poor kickoff coverage on special teams. The endless fumbles and turnovers that killed momentum. A complete lack of pressure on Drew Brees. A Saints team that threatened to take control but gave the Vikings an outstanding opportunity to win the game late in the fourth quarter. An inexplicable, inexcusable 12 men in the huddle penalty when the Vikings had just barely pushed into field goal range -- which was a shocking turn of events that quite arguably cost this team a Super Bowl bid. A mundane penalty that may have ruined it all.

It's a lot to process. With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, I thought this was their year. I thought it was finally their year. I thought they were going to Miami. But after the 12-men penalty pushed the Vikings back to their 38 yardline, Favre tossed a pick. The Saints take over possession and, in the process, take the game to overtime. They win the toss (someone forgot to tell the Vikings that "tails never fails"), and after several key plays -- including a questionable pass interference penalty on Brian Robison and a bobbled reception that was reviewed and ruled a catch -- a field goal gives the Saints a win.

And then it was over. An exhausting, exhilarating year had ended in an instant.

Congratulations to the city of New Orleans -- a city that's always been dear to me since I visited it shortly after Hurricane Katrina. It could certainly be argued that the Vikings were the better of these two teams. But make no mistake about it -- that doesn't mean they were the most deserving team. Not by a long shot. Of these two teams, the Saints were clearly the most deserving of a trip to Miami. With a complete inability to take care of the football at key moments, particularly in the fourth quarter, the Vikings weren't the deserving club.

Despite the fourth quarter interception, it was an absolute pleasure to watch Brett Favre this season. Despite the fumbles, it's always enjoyable to watch Adrian Peterson do his thing. Despite allowing the Saints to push into field goal range in overtime, this defense deserves credit for keeping the Vikings in the game.

But ultimately, the Vikings are heading to the golf course while the Saints are moving on. It was a thrilling game -- one of the most thrilling ones I've ever seen. It was also one of the most devastating. No, the Vikings didn't do enough to say they deserved to win. But take away a few of their mistakes, and they're Miami-bound.

None of that matters, though. Shoulda, coulda, woulda. That stuff is irrelevant. What we're left with is unquestionably one of the most crushing Vikings losses of all time. And we've been through plenty of those.

I cannot believe
That they roped me in again.
The f*cking Vikings.

That's all I can manage at the moment. This is going to take a very long time to get over.

They're a great team, and they deserved to win this evening.  Can't expect to win any game where you turn the ball over five times, and the fact that the Vikings even got it to overtime is a testament to the sort of team they are as well.

More on this game tomorrow, I think.  I simply don't have the energy to do it right now.

I'm not sure how much stock to put into history when it comes to the National Football League.  Maybe I'm reaching, maybe I'm just looking for something to keep me from losing my mind for the next. . .SIX AND A HALF HOURS!?  Are you kidding me?  Come on, stupid clock, be faster!

But, be that as it may, the Vikings would appear to have history on their side on this one.  How can I make such a declaration?  Well, let me see here. . .

-Including playoff games, the Vikings have beaten the Saints in eight of their last nine meetings.  That includes last year's contest in the Big Easy, where the Saints got an early touchdown and then saw their offense held out of the end zone for the final 56+ minutes of the contest.  (By the defense. . .yes, Reggie Bush, punt returns, yadda yadda. . .I'm talking strictly about the New Orleans offense.)  That was with Gus Frerotte at quarterback and a receiving corps that isn't as good as what we have right now.  It also includes two playoff games, a 44-10 blowout at the Superdome in 1987, and a 34-16 Minnesota victory in 2000.  Overall, the Vikings have an 18-7 record against New Orleans.

-No team that has lost their last three regular season game has ever advanced to the Super Bowl.  The Saints dropped their last three games of 2009 against the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Carolina Panthers.

-To add on to that one. . .and I find this stat to be pretty amazing, to be honest. . .no team that has lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the regular season has ever advanced to the Super Bowl.  Now, granted, that's only something that's been in effect since 1976, but I think it's still pretty impressive.  The "Tampa Bay Curse" has even affected the Vikings. . .just think back to 1998, when the Vikings went 15-1 in the regular season.  Who wants to take a stab at who that one regular season loss was to?  That's right. . .it was a 27-24 loss. . .at Tampa Bay.

-According to Kevin Seifert, teams that play in domed stadiums are 1-11 in 12 games when they've gone on the road for a conference championship game.  That doesn't sound like it bodes well for the Vikings.  However, 11 of those 12 games have been played outdoors.

The one that was played indoors?  Atlanta at Minnesota in 1998.  Yeah. . .we don't need to remind everyone how that turned out, short of confirming that that game comprises the "1" side of the "1-11" figure above.

Like I said, I don't know how much it means.  It might not mean one single, solitary thing.  But it's something to think about as we get closer to game time.

As I begin typing this, it's about 9:30 AM on Saturday morning.  According to the countdown clock in the left-hand margin, we're still approximately 32 hours away from the kickoff of the 2009 NFC Championship Game between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings.  If you thought time stood still between the regular season finale and the Dallas game, the time between now and kickoff is going to seem infinitely longer.

We're still awaiting word as to whether or not 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year Percy Harvin is going to be on the team flight to New Orleans today.  The flight is scheduled to leave Minneapolis sometime today, and Harvin's physical condition will determine whether he's on the flight or not.  Harvin is once again battling the migraine headaches that have hit him off and on over the course of this season.  The headaches have only caused him to miss one game (Minnesota's 30-10 defeat of the Bengals in Week 14), and he made the trip to Carolina despite not feeling 100% as well.

I know that the Cowboys took Harvin out of the game last week with their kickoff specialist blasting the ball deep into the end zone every. . .er, both. . .times the Cowboys had to kick off.  (That's what happens when you only score three points.)  But it sure would be nice to have the kid out there for this one, whether it's returning kickoffs or lining up in the slot or the backfield or all of the other things that Percy brings to this team.  It's clearly a different offense when #12 is out on the field. . .while Darius Reynaud and Jaymar Johnson both have some talent, neither of them are on Percy Harvin's level.

After the jump, I'll take a look at the Saints' two losses this year.  (Yeah, I know, they actually lost three games, but their finale at Carolina doesn't count, as they were completely playing backups for that contest.)

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The snake-bitten Superdome vs. the malaise of the Metrodome.

42 years of nothing vs. 41-nothing.

Bags that cover your head vs. Trades that kill a franchise dead.

Archie Manning never getting a chance vs. Fran Tarkenton just missing out on his.

And now, a battle of religious proportions to see which tortured franchise might finally break through: Voodoo witch doctors vs. Purple Jesus.

It's no secret that the fan bases of New Orleans and Minnesota have endured more than their share of heartbreak throughout the years. While the media is touting this game as the NFC's best two teams squaring off, Vikings and Saints fans both know better. We know what it really means. It's like an anorexic and a cutter both going to rehab and knowing only one is going to get better.

As a Vikings fan, we've been to the clinic a lot more than our Cajun brethren. While the Saints have reached this point only once before three years ago (last week's win over Arizona was only the ninth playoff game in New Orleans franchise history), this is the fourth time in my life that the Vikings have been here. The first three didn't go so well. Take a trip down memory lane with me, won't you?

1. 1987: After a mediocre 8-7 season, the Vikes snuck into the playoffs and upset the Saints and 49ers on the road before facing mighty Washington in the NFC Championship. (For all you youngsters out there: yes, the Redskins were actually really good before Daniel Snyder screwed it all up.) I was only six at the time and my football fanaticism was in its infancy. Mostly I just remember watching the game on our new Curtis Mathes TV (with its wooden casing that made it weigh roughly 2.6 tons) and my dad sandwiching every expletive he knew around Darrin Nelson's name after he dropped a touchdown that would have tied the game. I was a little bummed, but I was six--it probably lasted about 15 minutes and then I went back to playing with my He-Man toys. (Castle Greyskull what!)
2. 1998: Ugh. I still consider that day to be one of the worst of my entire life. Seriously. (Yeah I know--it speaks volumes to the tough life of a middle-class Midwestern white kid. I HAVE EVERY ADVANTAGE IN LIFE, IT'S SO HARD!) I was a senior in high school and the Vikings meant pretty much everything to me at the time. I couldn't think of a better way to go out with a bang than with cheesy senior pictures and a Super Bowl title. A group of about 15 friends gathered at my friend John's place to watch the Purple punch their ticket to Miami. (Yes boys and girls, we're all aware of the symmetry between that season and this one.) We were loud and excited to say the least--you could thrown a pile of Victoria's Secret models in the room and we wouldn't have noticed. But after Gary Anderson missed that field goal, the house was silent for the entire commercial break. Not a peep, even from the couple of Packer fans that were there just to heckle in case the Vikings lost. Then the Dirty Bird happened. Then Denny made Randall take a knee at the end of regulation. I never saw Morten Andersen's field goal go through because I was already leaving John's house. You could have told our group that we weren't going to have sex until well into our 30's and you would have got a better reaction than how we took that Vikings loss. OK let's move on before I pull a Bo Jackson with my keyboard.
3. 2000: I already alluded to this one: good ol' 41-0. Believe it or not, the Vikings were favored in this game. Just an embarrassment all around. But this loss was about 8,000 times easier to take than '98. Probably because most of us were still mostly dead inside only two years after that Falcons loss. HWGAS (Here We Go Again Syndrome) was at pandemic levels during this game for Vikings fans.

But hey, look at the bright side! We're 2-0 all-time against the Saints in the playoffs! So what do the Vikings need to do to avoid writing the fourth chapter of this depressing story?

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