2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

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Vikes Guy
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Vikes Guy »

Good year all in all but to get beat down and look sunk that early on after that pick six was horrible. That close to being in and hosting the Super Bowl and to come up that lame hurts like hell. They had no fight or answer in the most important game of the year. Tough to think about. Time to play with our new puppy. haha

Still haven't seen my wife's co-worker who moved to Canada from Wisconsin as a teen and she's a massive Packer fan. I got my friendly shots in all year and now it's payback. I especially liked, What's Green and Yellow and goes crunch? Rogers shoulder. That friggin Karma.
Nothing better then having your team win a Championship like my Toronto Argonauts so please Vikings get it together. 48 years as a fan is way too long to wait. Win or lose I'm a Viking fan for LIFE.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Raptorman »

From the Thread, "Will the Vikings win 9 Games or More?"

I felt good about the season at the beginning. And while not happy with the way it ended, still happy for a good year.

Raptorman wrote:I can see 11-5 or 12-4. Yes, I am that optimistic.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Cliff »

I dunno ... I guess I'm just not one of the guys who gets a million dollars when the Vikings win the super bowl.

Seriously though, as much as I want the Vikings to win the big one it won't change my life. It's just not a devastating thing if they don't win.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

I would never tell anybody who thinks this season is a failure that they're wrong. I would never say that to anyone who thinks 13-3 is not good enough without the trophy. To each their own.

But I gotta say, I feel sorry for you if all the fun of this season is wiped out by one game.

Recently, I got a chance to play on the golf course in Tubac, Arizona where they shot several scenes from the movie Tin Cup. On one of the holes, there was a plaque where Tin Cup was caddying for Don Johnson's character and dared him to knock it on the green in two. Johnson's character refused, and Tin Cup said, "I could make that shot." Others in the gallery started placing side bets that he could make the shot, and Johnson said if he hit the shot, he was fired. You guys remember the scene. He hit the shot and knocked it on the green.

At the course, they encourage you to try the shot, so I did. It was a 240-yard carry over a small pond that fronted a tiny green. A tough shot. I grabbed my 3-wood and absolutely nutted it. I was sure it was going to make it. Everybody in my group was sure it was going to make it. I even said, "We're home," like Tin Cup did.

The ball hit the far bank of the pond and fell back into the water.

Am I disappointed I didn't make the shot? I suppose so. Those would have been some sweet bragging rights. But the fun was in the trying. The fun was in the journey. I was having a terrible round, but that shot changed everything. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day. It was fun!

I enjoy the journey in life. I appreciate moments. The Vikings gave us a LOT of moments this season. I can appreciate that and enjoy it. Next season will be my 50th as a fan, and I guarantee you ... nobody wants the Vikings to win the Super Bowl more than I do. But I'm not going to declare this incredibly fun season a failure simply because it ended up the way the previous 48 had ended. It was fun!

But again, I would never tell anyone else their own truth. Just sharing my perspective.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Lash Man »

Being a fan since the 76 season and seeing many many great players and teams over the years . I will always love the Vikings but I can never be satisfied until we win ONE SB I have witnessed every other kind of win and none means much after the season is over if you lose the last game .
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Texas Vike »

Nice write up, Kapp!

Good stuff.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Mothman »

J. Kapp 11 wrote:I would never tell anybody who thinks this season is a failure that they're wrong. I would never say that to anyone who thinks 13-3 is not good enough without the trophy. To each their own.

But I gotta say, I feel sorry for you if all the fun of this season is wiped out by one game.

Recently, I got a chance to play on the golf course in Tubac, Arizona where they shot several scenes from the movie Tin Cup. On one of the holes, there was a plaque where Tin Cup was caddying for Don Johnson's character and dared him to knock it on the green in two. Johnson's character refused, and Tin Cup said, "I could make that shot." Others in the gallery started placing side bets that he could make the shot, and Johnson said if he hit the shot, he was fired. You guys remember the scene. He hit the shot and knocked it on the green.

At the course, they encourage you to try the shot, so I did. It was a 240-yard carry over a small pond that fronted a tiny green. A tough shot. I grabbed my 3-wood and absolutely nutted it. I was sure it was going to make it. Everybody in my group was sure it was going to make it. I even said, "We're home," like Tin Cup did.

The ball hit the far bank of the pond and fell back into the water.

Am I disappointed I didn't make the shot? I suppose so. Those would have been some sweet bragging rights. But the fun was in the trying. The fun was in the journey. I was having a terrible round, but that shot changed everything. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the day. It was fun!

I enjoy the journey in life. I appreciate moments. The Vikings gave us a LOT of moments this season. I can appreciate that and enjoy it. Next season will be my 50th as a fan, and I guarantee you ... nobody wants the Vikings to win the Super Bowl more than I do. But I'm not going to declare this incredibly fun season a failure simply because it ended up the way the previous 48 had ended. It was fun!

But again, I would never tell anyone else their own truth. Just sharing my perspective.
Very well said.

Enjoying the journey is important. The joy in almost any experience is in the journey, not just the conclusion. Most of us wouldn't care about the Vikings winning a Super Bowl if we hadn't chosen to go on a journey with them in the first place and fans like you and I have been on this journey a long time. I stick with it because it's fun and I know you do too.

I can't speak for anybody else but I don't think this season needs to be seen in just one way or defined by a single term like success or failure. It can be both and more. It can exceed expectations many of us had before the season and still fall short of expectations formed by the time the Vikings reached the conference championship. Those altered expectations existed because of the journey you're talking about. The 2017 Vikings succeeded by winning their division and advancing in the playoffs and they failed by finishing the season on the lowest note they had all year. We can be grateful and disappointed all at once. The emotions associated with being a fan of a team like the Vikings are complex and that's also part of the journey.

I do hope they get to the destination soon though. :)
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Cliff »

I completely agree, Kapp.

My apologies if it came off as if I was telling anyone how they should feel. Everything was just all so ... Fear and Loathing on VikingsMessageBoard.Com. I thought it might be good to remind people of how they felt going into the season about the team.

It won't be long at all that Vikings fans are using the fact that we went 13-3 and made it to the NFCC to justify why this team is better than team X when they're chatting with their friends.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

Completely agree Kapp. This is part of the reason I have a lot of support in Zimmer and Spielman. He's continuing to make this team better and better and they are becoming much more fun to watch
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by S197 »

(This is going to be a bit long and depressing. Sorry in advance. I think I need to vent so feel free to skip over this post)

After reflecting on it for a few days, I think I've come to grips why this particular outcome sucks. The story.

We've seen in recent years, particularly in the NBA and MLB, where teams more or less buy championships. Sorry if you're a LeBron or Steph Curry or Yankees/Sox fan but that's the way I view it. Curry is great but when you have Thompson and Durant (and Green and Iguodala...), it lessens the accomplishment some. And to a degree, had the Vikings won the SB with Favre it would be in a similar vein. You have these teams with a superstar that more or less carries the team. Green Bay is nothing without Rodgers, NE is nothing without Brady, Dallas is nothing without Elliott, etc. Okay they aren't nothing but I hope you catch my drift. AD more or less carried the Vikings for years on his back.

Even as good as the defense is, there's no one standout. Amazing players? Absolutely. Don't believe me? Who is the best player on this defense? Harrison? Everson? Linval? Rhodes? That'd be quite a debate. Who's the best player on the Patriots? Tom Brady. End of story.

So year after year we see and hear the same #### from the media. Talk about one guy and how amazing he is with the team a distant second. You don't talk about the Patriots, you talk about Tom Brady and his hand. You don't talk about the Saints, you talk about Brees and how he was screwed out of a championship.

But all of a sudden you have this TEAM that's doing amazing things. A team the media barely cares about because Aaron Rodgers coming back to save the season is more important than a blue collar team working together to get it done. Starting QB go down? No problem. Starting RB? No problem. Case Keenum was doubted his whole life and suddenly it felt like redemption. A guy that was too short with not the strongest arm that couldn't make it in the NFL. Throwing to an UDFA from Mankato that spent his whole life as a Viking fan. Coached by a guy was passed over so many times he nearly gave up hope. Playing for a fan base that after decades of suffering could not only see it end, but end in their stadium. Something never accomplished before. That is a story. A story about a team and fans doing something extraordinary together.

Not the Patriots winning again. But that's what will happen as this truly Cinderella season turns into a pumpkin. I want to see the silver lining, I really do, but I'm having a real hard time getting past what could have been. It sucks. It really #### sucks. And I'm pissed, really #### pissed off. And I don't know how to not feel that way because even though it is about the journey and only 1 team ends the season happy each year, this really felt like our one season.

To you long timers who can get past this, kudos. I don't know how you do it. Maybe in a few months I'll be somewhere near there but right now "there's always next year" and "we exceeded expectations" is like a slap in the face. I don't want it to feel that way because I know that isn't the intent, but that's how it feels.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Cliff »

I can definitely see that story getting crushed causing you to be pissed off. As for this question;
To you long timers who can get past this, kudos. I don't know how you do it. Maybe in a few months I'll be somewhere near there but right now "there's always next year" and "we exceeded expectations" is like a slap in the face. I don't want it to feel that way because I know that isn't the intent, but that's how it feels.
It's definitely not meant as a slap in the face for sure.

I think for me personally it's just that I'm not that invested in football in the first place. I'm a Vikings fan and that's part of who I am. However, there is just so much more that defines me.

The team I cheer for lost a big game. I've been through worse ;)
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by J. Kapp 11 »

S197 wrote:(This is going to be a bit long and depressing. Sorry in advance. I think I need to vent so feel free to skip over this post)

After reflecting on it for a few days, I think I've come to grips why this particular outcome sucks. The story.

We've seen in recent years, particularly in the NBA and MLB, where teams more or less buy championships. Sorry if you're a LeBron or Steph Curry or Yankees/Sox fan but that's the way I view it. Curry is great but when you have Thompson and Durant (and Green and Iguodala...), it lessens the accomplishment some. And to a degree, had the Vikings won the SB with Favre it would be in a similar vein. You have these teams with a superstar that more or less carries the team. Green Bay is nothing without Rodgers, NE is nothing without Brady, Dallas is nothing without Elliott, etc. Okay they aren't nothing but I hope you catch my drift. AD more or less carried the Vikings for years on his back.

Even as good as the defense is, there's no one standout. Amazing players? Absolutely. Don't believe me? Who is the best player on this defense? Harrison? Everson? Linval? Rhodes? That'd be quite a debate. Who's the best player on the Patriots? Tom Brady. End of story.

So year after year we see and hear the same #### from the media. Talk about one guy and how amazing he is with the team a distant second. You don't talk about the Patriots, you talk about Tom Brady and his hand. You don't talk about the Saints, you talk about Brees and how he was screwed out of a championship.

But all of a sudden you have this TEAM that's doing amazing things. A team the media barely cares about because Aaron Rodgers coming back to save the season is more important than a blue collar team working together to get it done. Starting QB go down? No problem. Starting RB? No problem. Case Keenum was doubted his whole life and suddenly it felt like redemption. A guy that was too short with not the strongest arm that couldn't make it in the NFL. Throwing to an UDFA from Mankato that spent his whole life as a Viking fan. Coached by a guy was passed over so many times he nearly gave up hope. Playing for a fan base that after decades of suffering could not only see it end, but end in their stadium. Something never accomplished before. That is a story. A story about a team and fans doing something extraordinary together.

Not the Patriots winning again. But that's what will happen as this truly Cinderella season turns into a pumpkin. I want to see the silver lining, I really do, but I'm having a real hard time getting past what could have been. It sucks. It really #### sucks. And I'm pissed, really #### pissed off. And I don't know how to not feel that way because even though it is about the journey and only 1 team ends the season happy each year, this really felt like our one season.

To you long timers who can get past this, kudos. I don't know how you do it. Maybe in a few months I'll be somewhere near there but right now "there's always next year" and "we exceeded expectations" is like a slap in the face. I don't want it to feel that way because I know that isn't the intent, but that's how it feels.
I'm one of those long-timers, and I don't see this as a slap in the face at all. It's your reality, and it's perfectly legitimate.

And I must say, you bring up some great points. Everything you said about this year's version of the Vikings is why I love them so much. I love the story, man. It's the best in football this year. But all the media are going to talk about now is how Brady won his 6th at age 40 with his perfect fitness regimen and his perfect diet and his perfect wife and his perfect toothy smile. It's enough to make a non-Patriots fan hurl. The Vikings finally winning -- and on their home field, no less -- would have been the best story in the NFL, maybe ever.

It sucks. For me, it's just forcing myself to focus on all the great moments this team provided us. I'll never forget how I felt when Adam Thielen broke into the clear against the Rams on that long TD. One of the best memories I'll ever have as a Vikings fan. Maybe it's just going to a "happy place." I don't know. But I'd certainly never tell you what your own truth should be.

Hang in there, man. September isn't THAT far away.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by PurpleMustReign »

Good post Landon. I am still so mad at the team. It is such a disgusting ending. Idk. I will be mad for a while on this one.

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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by S197 »

Cliff wrote:I can definitely see that story getting crushed causing you to be pissed off. As for this question;
To you long timers who can get past this, kudos. I don't know how you do it. Maybe in a few months I'll be somewhere near there but right now "there's always next year" and "we exceeded expectations" is like a slap in the face. I don't want it to feel that way because I know that isn't the intent, but that's how it feels.
It's definitely not meant as a slap in the face for sure.

I think for me personally it's just that I'm not that invested in football in the first place. I'm a Vikings fan and that's part of who I am. However, there is just so much more that defines me.

The team I cheer for lost a big game. I've been through worse ;)
Yeah I think I got way too emotionally invested this year. Hopefully down the road the pill gets easier to swallow.
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Re: 2017 Vikings Exceeded Expectations

Post by Barry »

Absolutely they exceeded expectations. How can they not have with a 13-3 record?
That's the Vikes' 2nd best regular season ever, naturally behind the 15-1 season. Remember, they've only won 12 games 5 times, and only once since '75. 13-3 was a hell of a season, and lots of fun. And we didn't go one and done in the playoffs.

Sure, the ending sucked. 0-6 in NFC Championship Games since '77 really hurts. But, it was a great season.
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