So, how long will this win streak last?

I’ll admit it right away. Before the 2020 NFL season even started, I had already lost interest. Because of the C-word, we would not see any fans in the stands and the players could be in and out of quarantine all the time. Sounds like fun.

Still, I was yearning for a distraction in the lead-up to a highly divisive presidential election. So, as always, I got ready to cheer on my Minnesota Vikings. And, as always, they were really bumming me out. This time, though, they didn’t wait until the end of the season to disappoint me. They stumbled out into an 0-3 start, losing their home opener to the Packers (of course), and then they barely nabbed their first over an equally terrible Houston Texans team.

After losing two more — a lastminute stinker to the Seattle Seahawks followed by a blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons — it looked like we were going to reclaim the basement of the NFC North from the lowly Lions.

But then, somehow, we marched into Lambeau Field with a 1-5 record and beat the Packers on their vaunted home field. For teams with such a horrible start to their seasons, this type of unexpected win over a heavily favored rival is what often called “our Superbowl.” The fans know it’s just a fluke win in the regular season, but when you’re looking for any possible reason to celebrate, a win like that will do just fine.

But, then, what’s this? The Purple Pie-Eaters go on to win two more games in a row — and both divisional games at that. Suddenly we’re at 4-5, and it looks like a winning record may even be possible at some point. I’m not longer turning off games midway through the second half, and my buddies back in Minnesota are starting to actually talk about games in our Facebook Messenger group.

Looking ahead, it seems like the Cowboys, Panthers and Jaguars might all be beatable, though we still have to play Tom Brady’s Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints. According to one website, the Vikes have a 37 percent chance of actually making the playoffs, which still seems like a stretch to me. The 7-2 Pack are all guaranteed to win the division, and I’m not going to start looking at the wild card scenarios at this point.

Still, it’s been nice to see a bit of a midseason spunk from a team that started the year like they were still in quarantine. I continue to have my doubts about our highly (over) paid quarterback, Kirk Cousins, who seems to be at his personal best when he’s handing the ball off to Dalvin Cook. Kirky has made some nice throws to Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, but he’s also really good at throwing passes to the other team.

However the season ends, at least I can say I feel “encouraged” in mid-November. That’s something, right?

OUT FOR A WALK

KEVIN O’BRIEN

EDITOR