Eight years ago, I endured the worst sports heartbreak of my life. It was the Vikings vs. Saints NFC Championship Game from the 2009-2010 season. Many people remember it as an exhilarating overtime thriller where the Saints prevailed on a game-winning field goal by Garrett Hartley. The Saints would later go on to win the Super Bowl that year against the Colts.
I’m going to warn you now – if this post sounds like it’s being written by a bitter Vikings fan who has been holding onto his frustration since that game, that’s because it is. Feel free to choose a different article if this does not sound like something you’ll enjoy…
Vikings fans, however, do not remember it the same way. That NFC Championship could also be described as an agonizing, unfair, controversial game that would eventually alter the NFL’s overtime rules. If you watch the following video, ESPN broke down a number of poor calls from officials over the course of the two games that Sunday. 30 seconds or so are dedicated to the Jets/Colts AFC Championship game, and the remaining two and a half minutes focus on the horrific officiating in the Vikings/Saints game.
To review, the refs missed a holding call on the Saints against Visanthe Shiancoe in which his shirt was actually torn. They missed a roughing the passer penalty where Brett Favre broke his ankle and threw an interception, where calling the penalty would have negated the interception and given the Vikings the ball back.
Then, in overtime alone, they missed the following calls:
1 – Devery Henderson bobbling the ball during a catch that should have resulted in the ball being spotted short of a first down.
2 – Pierre Thomas diving forward and having the ball knocked loose, then regaining possession short of the first down marker. This happened on fourth down and should have given the Vikings possession on a short field.
3 – A non-pass interference call that they mistakenly called on Ben Leber, despite not even touching David Thomas while he was trying to make a catch.
4 – A dropped pass by Robert Meachem that moved the Saints into field goal range.
The Saints would then kick the game-winning field goal without the Vikings even getting a chance to score.
As a result of that game, the NFL decided to change its overtime rules to guarantee both teams get a possession. It would later come to light that the Saints organization was also running a sophisticated bounty system in which players were paid for injuring opponents. Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for an entire season due to his involvement. Other participants who were suspended included defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and linebacker Jonathan Vilma (I covered him in my Bowl Mania posts – he doesn’t seem like the brightest guy).
Everything about that game made me sick, and when the Saints were paid off (pun intended) with a Super Bowl victory that year, it made me want to stop watching football altogether. Fast forward eight years to tonight’s Vikings/Saints NFC Divisional Round playoff game, and all of those feelings were still there in a game equally intense as the one in 2010.
In case, you somehow haven’t heard, here’s how it went: The Vikings jumped out to an early lead and coasted into halftime up 17-0, but the Saints mounted a comeback in the second half, scoring one touchdown in the third quarter and another early in the fourth to bring the score to 17-14. The Vikings added another field goal to make it 20-14, but Drew Brees led the Saints down a short field and threw a touchdown to Alvin Kamara to take a 21-20 lead after they blocked a Vikings punt.
Getting the ball back with three minutes left, the Vikings answered by driving and converting on a 53-yard field goal from Kai Forbath to go up 23-21. Unfortunately, they left about a minute and a half left on the clock, which was more than enough for Drew Brees to carve up the Vikings defense one last time and convert on 4th-and-10 to move the Saints close enough for another field goal to make it 24-23 with 25 seconds left. My hopes and dreams for the Vikings to avenge their playoff loss to the Saints were crushed, and it was in such a predictable way.
Then, the Stefon Diggs 61-yard miracle touchdown as time expired… I’d post the video, but the content is pretty heavily protected. Instead, here’s some fan reactions:
It’s not possible to describe how happy this made me. It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime moment that I’ll never forget.
But, if there’s anything the Vikings and Saints have taught me, with one fan’s joy comes another fan’s heartbreak. I’d say I can’t imagine how Saints fans feel, but I can, and it was worse when it happened to the Vikings. I want to take this opportunity to raise the spirits of Saints fans everywhere and give them a few positives to reflect on next week as they watch the Vikings in the NFC Championship.
Positive takeaway #1: At least a trip to the Super Bowl wasn’t on the line in this game! Congrats – you can sleep comfortably tonight knowing that you still would have needed one more win to make it to the Super Bowl. Better to lose now than next week. Am I right?
Positive takeaway #2: Your team straight up blew this one. Really badly. Isn’t that better than having the refs pry the victory out of your hands and then the NFL realizing that the circumstances of the game weren’t completely fair and changing the overtime rules across the league as a result?
Positive takeaway #3: Your star receiver Michael Thomas finally gets the peace and quiet he wanted. After doing a shushing motion to Vikings fans after each of his scores in the second half, Michael Thomas can enjoy the next seven months in the silence of his own home. No more noisy crowds for him!
Positive takeaway #4: You could have lost by six if the Vikings kicked that last extra point, but you only lost by five because they took a knee! Congrats again – the Saints covered the spread as a result!
Positive takeaway #5: Everybody now knows who Tommylee Lewis is because all of the highlights keep showing his shocked face after Stefon Diggs scored the game-winning touchdown.
Positive takeaway #6: Since the Saints didn’t injure the Vikings’ quarterback this time, your coach will be in good spirits. He didn’t have to open up his checkbook and pay anybody off tonight.
Positive takeaway #7: Your players all look like really nice guys now, especially Marcus Williams. Did anyone see Roger Goodell talking to that 100-year-old lady in the crowd who was attending her first Vikings game? You wouldn’t want to send her home sad, and you didn’t.
I’ll stop there for now, but that’s not where the positives end. If you’re a Saints fan and you’re feeling down after that tough loss, just keep thoughts like these in mind and maybe you’ll get over this game in eight years. It’s totally worth the wait!
