Yeah, I'm going here.
I know that Thanksgiving only has about 2 hours and change left (here in the Central time zone, at least), so I'm a little late to the party here. But, I'm going ahead with it anyway. So, here's a list of things that I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving.
-I'm thankful for the fact that, in 1960, the National Football League saw fit to grant the great state of Minnesota with the 14th franchise in their burgeoning league. That team, of course, became the team we all know and love today. . .the Minnesota Vikings.
-I'm thankful that I cheer for a team with a history as rich as that of the Minnesota Vikings. Yeah, they've lost four Super Bowls. Yeah, they've never won a championship. You know what I say to that? Big fucking deal. They've consistently been contenders (only 12 seasons out of 45 below .500), they've consistently played into January (only the Dallas Cowboys have more post-season appearances than the Vikings since Minnesota joined the NFL), and they've consistently given me more good memories than bad.
One of these days, the Vikings will give us the championship that we've all been waiting for, and all the bad things we've had to endure in the past will disappear. In the meantime, the Vikings are still, for my money, the greatest sports franchise on the planet.
-I'm thankful for DirecTV, because they give me the opportunity to see my favorite team every single Sunday. I know that I do a lot of griping about my team, but that's only because I'm impatient. . .we all are, on some level. I'm glad that, after years of having to rely on internet audio feeds, I finally have a means to watch the Vikings every weekend. . .ugly though it may be at times.
-I'm thankful for every day that I wake up and realize that I'm not in Wisconsin.
-I'm thankful every day for the fact that I've never cheered for a team based in Wisconsin for anything. If the Green Bay Packers or the Wisconsin Badgers or the Milwaukee Brewers or Bucks were to line up against Al-Qaeda. . .well, I'd be pulling for the guys in the turbans.
-I'm thankful that Justin Morneau won the AL MVP award for this season. Screw Derek Jeter.
-I'm thankful to Markos and the rest of the folks that run SBNation for giving a guy that's never been much of a professional writer a shot to talk about his favorite team all the time. I'm simply a fan, just like so many of you are.
-And finally, I'm thankful for each and every person that's ever come to this website to experience the joy, the happiness, and the frustration that our favorite team brings us each and every week. Without all of you, this site wouldn't be here. It's growing every day, and I hope that it continues to grow in the future.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. . .and don't do anything stupid on Black Friday. There's a game Sunday afternoon, you know.