Monday November 14th, 2011 - Chicago, IL/Kenosha, WI Now THAT’S a football game! The Green Bay Packers stomped the purple stuffing out of the nefarious Minnesota Vikings 45-7, in one of the most enjoyable ass whippings I’ve seen since Buster Douglas flattened Mike Tyson. Humiliation! Embarrassment! I love it!! This one goes all the way back to childhood. Year after year, the Vikings who were lead by that little slippery bastard Fran Tarkenton would completely emasculate the Packers on their way to losing four Super Bowls, but even losing those Super Bowls didn’t take away the sting of having to watch my Packers get pummeled - twice a year, every year. Brutal. Fran Tarkenton was the devil. I realize how great he was now, but then I would flip out at the TV watching him scramble around in the backfield while the entire Packer defense looked like the Keystone Cops trying to tackle him. Packer fans over 40 remember it too. Those purple pukes were the one team the Packers just couldn’t beat. I remember them tying in 1978, and that was extra frustrating because they were so close but couldn’t get it done. I remember screaming at the TV and just how stupid that was, but I did it anyway. The Packers and Bears had some pretty heated battles back then, but once in a while the Packers would win so at least I’d have some hope. The Vikings ran roughshod over every team in the division back then, and they were in an elite class as much as I hated to admit it. Even though they kept losing those Super Bowls, they were good enough to get there. I guess that’s why it was so sweet to savor this game tonight. Fran Tarkenton isn’t there anymore, and none of the same players or coaches are around, but the fact that they took a beating that bad, on Monday Night Football no less, made my inner child leap with glee. I don’t care that none of this should matter in the big scheme of life. It certainly doesn’t. Not in the big scheme anyway. But, I won’t deny there is an obscure little place inside us all that loves every minute of stuff like this, and that’s where I am right now. It’s heaven! The truth is, the Packers are on a winning streak for the ages. I know it will end at some point, but until then I’m going to relish every single minute. I would have sold my soul, a kidney and all my Mad magazines and baseball cards to get to experience this as a kid. It took decades to finally get it, but I did. I guess that kid is still alive, because I‘m loving it. What made it even more fun was watching it at my friend Mark Gumbinger’s man cave in Kenosha, WI. I had a comedy class to teach at Zanies in Chicago, but that was finished at 7:30 so I got in my car and made it to Mark’s house in time for the second half kickoff. There were a bunch of fun people there, and we were all around the same age. All of us remembered the torture of watching those Minnesota maulings, and I could feel the exact same vibe of sweet revenge coming from them to. I’m not alone, and even though none of this should mean anything - it totally does. I for one am choosing to enjoy it all. Go Pack!
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