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Tuesday, 12/02/2008
A Tale of Two Roadtrips: December 12th: Vikings 28, Chiefs 31 Editor's Note: The following is a summary of the events that took place for the 2nd Annual Section 205 Berserker "Party With the Enemy" Roadtrip to an NFL City. Last year the Bersekers stormed the Silverdome and came back with a 35-13 win! This year the Section 205 Berserkers decided to head to Kansas City, MO, but fell short of their goal of purple victoy, losing 31-28 in the last seconds. By Mookie Anderson, Freelance Story Teller It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... it was the Vikings NFL season of Light, it was the Vikings NFL season of Darkness. There was a spring of hope, but we were suffering through a winter of despair! We had everything before us, yet we had nothing before us! We were going to Kansas City with winning on our minds, accepting nothing of defeat, but we came home as fans of the losing team with smiles on our faces. The story of our '99 roadtrip was much like the perplxing beginning of a classic Dicken's literary masterpiece. Both good and bad qualities consumed us, our team and the trip itself, leaving us confused and bewildered in an enigma of satisfaction. What is with the 1999 Vikings football season? Everything old with the Vikings is new again and 1998 seems like a dream that never happened in our conscious lives. The frustrating season for the Vikings took on a unique twist for the Berserkers as we traveled to Arrowhead Satdium on December 11th, 1999. Leaving Minnesota at 9 am that Saturday morning we arrived in Kansas City just 6.5 hours later and checked into the Embassy Suites hotel. Before the trip, the Berserkers had set some pretty lofty goals as to how they wanted to act and what they wanted to achieve in Kansas City. Stier's note the day before departure pretty much summed up the mentality: Stier's Lament Part I Section 1: Here we go...on the road to KC. I don't know if you guys are aware, but I have some unfinished business with the Chefs and especially their fans. If you remember the most boring football game in the recent history of the VIKINGS--it occurred about 3 yrs ago vs. the Chefs at the dome and I was there sitting in the corporate 50 yard line seats. This is the famous "knitting game" That's right, the lady in front of me was knitting. I assume she was neither a VIKINGS fan or a Chefs fan, but that is not the part of the story that needs to be remembered for this weekend. There was a lot, I mean, a lot, of red in the Dome that day, and it was spread all around us! We were in the last row of the lower level on the 45 yard line and there was this Chefs fan all decked out in his red chefs jacket who stood up for the entire game. I was very annoyed by this guy. I was the only fan in this part of the stadium that would stand and cheer for a good play by the VIKINGS (there were very few that day) So we had a battle going back and forth for who's team was in control of the game. The Chefs controlled most of that game so he kept sticking it in my face. I just wanted him to sit down. He just keep cheering on the Chefs and rubbing it in my face. I think the Chefs had the ball about 45 minutes of that game and just ran it down our throats, finally winning 21-6. The Vikes scored a late touchdown and for some reason, went for 2 points and failed. The whole point is that the Chefs had the upper hand that day and this guy let me know it. I have one request for you guys and all the other PURPLE FAITHFUL that make this trip: Let every Chefs fan know that WE ARE VIKINGS fans and we are proud of our team and we will win this game and every Chefs fan in that stadium WILL know it. The Trip down was surprisingly fast and nearly uneventful. We passed about 15 clearly marked Vikings vehicles on the way to Kansas City. The funnest pass was when we overtook a super old camper truck with a very loud engine chugging along at about 50 mph. The driver was wearing a # 1 Viking jersey and a purple stocking cap and his hair flowed down to his back. Inside the camper we could see friendly waves and thumbs going up from what seemed to be a rock-n-roll Viking gang inside. As one of the Berserkers in our car said, "Whoa, that driver dude looks like Gallagher, the crazy comic that smashes fruit with a hammer and it splashes all over his audience! That camper gang looks like they'd be a fun crowd to tailgate with!" As we neared KC we were welcomed by passengers in other vehicles with polite waves, mock tomahawk chops, and in one instance an "eat me" sign from a car full of teenage delinquents. "Welcome to hostile enemy territory Boys!, Saueey warned. The Embassy's Sweet Free Beer Policy! Rocky's friend Chad Barthel had made hotel arrangements for us several months earlier, and met us at the hotel bar with his entourage including his brother Troy, his dad Jack and their friend Dean. With Stier's goal in mind, we found our way to the bar knowing that the Embassy Suites features a free Happy Hour for its guests on a daily basis. Apparently we weren't the only ones who knew this, nor were we the only Viking fans who would take advantage of this great amenity. As North East Missouri State extended Carson- Newman into the 4th overtime of their Division II National Championship on the bar TV, Viking fans were filtering into the lounge, donning their purple #84 Randy Moss jerseys and brand new Puma sideline baseball caps. The fans were enthusiastic and hopeful that their team would defeat the Chiefs the following night on national TV. Like bees swarming to honey, the Vikes fans "hoarded" into the bar and belly-upped for a night of raucous story-telling and pre-game celebration. We met several interesting characters and re-acquainted ourselves with old friends. Our local connection, Big Tony, a former resident of the Twin Cities, showed up to talk about the old days and offer his assistance for our tailgate the following day. We met new friends, including Dave (a Viking fan) and John (a Chiefs fan) from Helena, Mt who flew in for the game. Like good Viking loyalists, we shared stories of the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings. Hundreds of fans continued to cram into the bar and several instances of NFL male-bonding followed. There was a guy from South Dakota who we nicknamed "Yellow Guy" (because of the yellow Vikes shirt he was wearing) who proclaimed his favorite QB was Tommy Kramer because "That SOB could drink anyone of us under the table and still throw 5 TD passes on Sunday!" It was the "The Yellow Guy" who was the first of many Vikes fans to be hoisted into the air and body passed from one end of the bar, over the pool table, to the other end. Several times throughout the eve "Yellow Guy" took the Microphone out of the hands from one of the on-stage performers and led us in a rendition of "Skol Vikings!" Unfortunately for "Yellow Guy" he did not know all the words to this song, but managed to mumble his way through. As popular as "Yellow Guy's" rendition of the Viking fight song was, this cast of "Purple Strangers," spontaneously assembled from all over the United States, took part in other loud Viking cheers, songs and chants. "I say PURPLE! You say GOLD... PURPLE... GOLD...PURPLE...GOLD!" There were fat Vikings, skinny Vikings, tall Vikings and short ones. There was Viking gals, kids and even "ripped" Vikings. One guy from Oklahoma looked like a professional weightlifter. There was Sergeant Conrad, a Military Intelligence Officer from South Dakota who was temporarily stationed at Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas. He and Saueey talked for quite awhile about their old duck hunting turf at Head Key Pass in NE South Dakota. Rebecca, our flirty bartender, proclaimed to have the biggest "tips" of all as she raised her arms and flashed her D-cups to the cheering Purple drinkers! The scene at the bar was a great beginning to a weekend of NFL fun. Some Extra Time and One Lesbian Football Kiss As the free beer offer ended at 7:30, the crowd at the bar soon split up and the Happy hour was over. That evening we all went out in our separate ways, Rocky, Stier and Bart went bar hopping in the Westport district of KC, while Saueey, Tone and I went to Gates and Sons BBQ in the South part of the metro area. The rest of the Viking crowd either went out to eat and continue the buzz or went back to their rooms and passed out. While out and about the boys ran into Mike Tice, the Vikings Offensive Line coach and offered to buy him a beer but he politely refused. The highlight of the evening was when Bart suggested to two female bar patrons that they should "kiss. Shockingly, the two indulged in his request and proceeded to tongue each other madly. Before another Penthouse Forum letter ensued, the women cut each other off and the guys slithered home to the hotel. Viking fans partied into the night as it was well past 3 am before the last horn blowing sounds and Viking chants faded to sleep. Sorry Folks! Park's Closed! Sign Out Front Should've Told You That! We woke the next day and headed immediately down to the free breakfast buffet. As we made plans for that days tailgate at Arrowhead Stadium, a nervous energy ensued. Our friend Big Tony had volunteered to pick up groceries and meet us at the hotel no later than 10:30 that morning. As we waited for him, we grew impatient. "Hey we didn't come down here all the way from Minnesota to sit in a hotel room and wait for someone who might show up?" commented one of the Berserkers, "We came to TAILGATE with the self-proclaimed best tailgaters in the NFL!" We decided to leave Big Tony a note and John and Dave the Montana guys, volunteered to wait for him to show up. "Hey man, the hotel bus doesn't leave until 4 PM, and we'd like to come down their early with you. If he shows up maybe we can ride with him and meet you at the stadium?" It was a great idea, so we quickly left the note and headed blindly to Arrowhead Stadium. As Big Tony was to be our navigator and food supply, we needed to stop at a store for directions the stadium, chips, burgers, and assorted tailgate goods! Feeling that we were late, we pushed to get into the stadium as soon as possible. When we arrived at Arrowhead we were delighted to see that their was still plenty of room to tailgate as the parking lot was completely empty! Like that scene in National Lampoon's Family Vacation when the family finally arrives to Wally World, the gate we drove to was open and we figured we were the first one there! Sensing that we could get by with parking for free, Saueey announced that we needed to park some where we would be inconspicuous, where no one could see us. "What the hell you talking about? We are the only ones in the lot, we stick out like a sore thumb, of course someone will see us!" slammed Stier. We drove into the huge lot at 11:05 am and had our choice of sweet spots! Naturally we argued over the best place to set up. Saueeydidn't want to park close to pedestrian traffic lanes, Stier thought we should be near a porto potty for convenience sake, and Rocky wanted to be underneath one of the big overhead lights so we could see our spot at night We could not make up our minds where to set up camp and drove wildly throughout the lot C, stopping, parking, arguing and debating. From a distance we must have looked ridiculous, and soon found that to be the case as a Parking-Lot-Monitor-Dude drove up to us in a pick-up Truck with flashing lights. "Just what in the hell, y'all trying to do? said a squeaky tiny man in a squeaky southern accented voice, "The gates ain't opened up yet!"
As the parking lot attendant explained, we had to leave. The big question on our minds was WHY and... "Just where the hell do we go for 4 hours before a game in KC?" We drove through an empty Arrowhead stadium, looking for a way out, but all the gates were now locked. Finally we spotted an open gate where some KC tailgaters where on the outside partying. It seemed like they were pretty organized and could actually tell us what the hell was going on. We pulled up to their tailgate set-up and noticed how intentionally mobile it was. They had a Pig Roaster on wheels and their entire party plan looked like it could be transferred on the drop of a hat, or as it would turn out, on the opening of a gate into Arrowhead. I asked the dudes what the deal was and they responded, "They will not open up the gates until 3:30, but people come out here and get in line around 1:00 or so. We've been here since 8:30 am and by 2:00 there will be thousands of people waiting to get in!" They went to explain that there was a Kansas City local ordinance, preventing people from entering the stadium until 3-4 hours before game. It was the intent of the ordinance to curb heavy drinking and abuse of the property, or something like that. Thanking them for the advice, we pulled up to a gate next to them and started setting up for a temporary tailgate. "This is just bull-sh*t!" proclaimed Rocky as we pulled out our Minnesota beer and started to set up our Viking turf, "So much for the best tailgating city in the NFL! I can't F'n believe this! Within minutes our hotel buddies, Chad Bart, Troy Bart, Papa Bart and Dean from So Dak showed up and found us setting up. We played a pick up game of football while Stier and Saueey hooked up the satellite dish so we could watch any game in the NFL on this particular Sunday! Football Pornography, and A Piece of Tailgate! Big Tony and the Montana Duo showed up, with extra cases of beer and more chips. The tailgate soon grew in numbers as Vikings fans from all parts of the US started showing up at our party. Within an hour the purple fans waiting at the tailgate doors were outnumbering the diehard Chief's regulars. Tony and Brett from Tulsa made their way over to our tailgate and more Viking bonding ensued. We watched the Packer-Panthers game on satellite, and flipped through the NFL Ticket channels during commercials; Redskins-Cardinals, Cowboys-Eagles, Saints-Rams, Giants-Bills, Colts-Patriots... Other fans came to our set-up and made their presence known. A large roaring engine from a familiar sounding camper rolled up, and guess what? Out jumped Gallagher Viking and his entourage! Without hesitation I yelled down at them, "Hey, it's the dudes in the camper that we passed yesterday! Welcome to the Viking Party!" Hearing the welcome invite, the gang from St. Paul came over and introduced themselves. Now 30 Viking fans strong our party was just starting to peak! As Chiefs fans rolled in, they hopped out of their vehicles and welcomed us to their turf. I must say that we were all impressed by their loyalty to their team and willingness to embrace visitors into their tailgate worlds. We were thoroughly convinced that this was the reason that KC tailgaters receive much national acclaim for their parties at Arrowhead. In my opinion, I thought that Chiefs fans were almost too hokie-sappy, but very nice. Hats off to the guys and gals we met; The Shark, Hank Stram-Jacket-Wearing-Guy, Big-Buck-Buchanon-Tooth, and Silver Betty with all her sisters! The fans wore red camouflage pants, headdresses (Politically Correct ones- and there was not as many as one might think)and red Chief's starter jackets. Their vehicles were even more unique; a Shark van, an old red Scout with Chiefs Logos painted all over it, a huge red bus... The men who drove these vehicles were self-proclaimed "kids!," honking their horns and waiting for the Arrowhead gates to open. The Chiefs fans as a group were a bit self-conscious, and not too confident of their team as we learned from conversations with them, > "What do you guys think of the Chiefs?...Elvis Sucks..There is nothing special about our special teams...what do you think of Arrowhead?..What is the tailgating like up in Minnesota?... Is the NFC really that bad this year?... How was your trip down?... We are you staying?... Do you think you'll win tonight? The questions soon turned into full-blown NFL conversations, and I honestly cannot remember how many times a Chiefs fan reminded me of their Super Bowl IV victory over the Vikings in 1970. It wasn't long before a Viking Vs. Chiefs fan pick-up football game started and ended with a 14-7 Chiefs fan victory. The game lasted about 15 minutes before players on both sides were out of breath and called it. An observation about the game: The Vikes-fan secondary sucked, just like the real NFL team, and the receivers, including two hefty guys wearing Moss jerseys, dropped everything thrown at them! Both times the Chiefs team scored they taunted us (like we cared). The Berserkers were watching the real NFL games, with a a focus on the Panther-Packer match-up. Occasionally, Saueey, Stier or Rocky would flip the satellite dish channel to pornography and exclaim, "SHOCK VALUE! FREE PORNO!!! FREE PORNO COMMERCIAL!" Needless to say, this activity drew the attention of all young buck Vikes fans and raised the ire of the silver-haired Chief's loyalists who had driven up in their custom painted vans, campers and SUV's. "How the hell do you guys hook that up without a phone line?" They would ask, "I don't know, we just turned it on and it worked! You should try it sometime!" we would sarcastically respond. As Steve Beurlein dashed across the Packer goal line on 4th down with no time left on the clock, the the Vikings fans watching our satellite dish cheered loudly! The gates finally opened up at 3:30 and like a Sooner staking their land claim we raced through the gates to find our official parking spot at Arrowhead! Shrimps on The Barbie and National TV After four hours of eating chips and cookies (thanks to Ellen for the great chocolate chips)in our temporary housing we FINALLY settled into our real tailgate mode! Since we had doubled up the groceries (Big Tone's and Ours) we had enough meat to feed an army! As luck would have it, it was a Viking Army that had followed us into the lot. Looking around our new home we saw rows and rows of Viking fans who had followed each other into Parking Lot "N" and established a Village that Thor the God of Thunder would be proud! Surrounded by a sea of red, yellow and white Chiefs flags, our Purple and Gold camp proudly displayed the colors of Vikings. We immediately started up the grill and set up the satellite dish for viewing the late games; Seattle-San Diego, Tampa Bay-Detroit, Atlanta-San Francisco... We set up the field goal posts and caught the attention of our new Chiefs fans neighbors as Rocky missed 3 straight field goals, hooking them all wide left. "Hey, Vike boy, you kick just like the real Gary Anderson in the NFC Championship Game!, taunted one nearby Chieftain. I came to Rocky's defense and retorted, "Hey, Chiefy, did you get a good view of that Championship game from HOME? I don't remember seeing you guys in the playoffs recently! Or was that loss to Indianapolis in the first=round, where you blew home field for the playoffs just last year? The Chiefs fans took offense and one of them wearing a Chef's apron lifted the front up and exposed a fake set of genitals and balls. Just like the Scots in the Movie Braveheart, he was mocking the enemy and "sunned" me, but I was quick to respond. "Oh ya... There its is... I heard about this famous KC BBQ that y'all got down here... that must be the meat! Why don't you chop that thing off and throw it on your grill for us?" The Chiefs and Vikings fans in our area all laughed. It was the start to a nice afternoon of football, beer, joking and celebrating. Big Tony managed the grill and threw on rounds and rounds of meat. Throughout the day, our menu included hot chicken wings, steak-tips, round steak, hamburgers, bratwurst, chopped onions, sauerkraut, baked beans, chips and even shrimp on the barbie. The guys from Tulsa brought the shrimp and cooked it up to share. The words "Get in my belly!" from the Austin Powers character Fat Bastard were repeated several times by hungry Berserkers who joked about their consumption of food. It was like a Thanksgiving party with both Chiefs and Vikings sharing their food and beer and thanking the NFL Gods for this Sunday Night match-up on National TV that brought all of us together. We had food a plenty and were able feed our entire cast of guests with plenty left over. As Rocky commented on the way home the next day, "Man, I just remember Big Tone cooking, and cooking, and cooking and cooking and cooking. That guy was a Chef extra cooking freak!" Some Viking fans about 3 cars away from us started an impromptu war paint application clinic and the boys from Tulsa volunteered to purple paint their faces. The satellite games were a big draw for passers by, particularly the Tampa-Detroit game for Vikings fans and the Seattle-San Diego game for Chiefs. If San Diego were to beat Seattle, the Chiefs could tie them for first place with a victory over the Vikes later that night. If the Lions won, the Vikings would have a shot at winning the Central with a chance to play Detroit on January 2nd at the Dome. At this juncture of the NFL season, both games were crucial, as was the ensuing match-up that night. We met several Vikings fans who had visited our web site and looked for us at the Washington Avenue tailgate in Minneapolis before but never found us. Ironically, now that we were in Kansas City, we were meeting some true diehards. Gallagher Vikingdude came over and offered up his group's specialty, grain alcohol fruit, "Hey man, this will take the edge off! It's laced with Everclear, man! We politely declined, "No thanks man, we actually want to remember the game..." All told, the fans we partied with had assembled from as far away as Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fargo, North Dakota, Egan, South Dakota, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Louis and Kansas City Missouri, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Helena, Montana. For the Land of the Free...and the Home of The Chefs? The Bucs made their comeback and won, while Chiefs fans celebrated the Chargers huge upset over Seattle. Things didn't seem right for the Vikes playoff picture, but a win that night would set it all straight. The Chiefs fans thanked us for letting them watch the San Diego game on our dish and wished us good luck. Many were commenting on the number of Viking fans that were in the parking lot, "Man, I think the last time I saw this many fans of another team was a few years back when the Packers came to town," commented a long time Chiefs fan to me while we waited in the porto-potty line, "We hate the Packers here, they were disrespectful and we took pleasure in kicking their ass, but you Vikings fans are ALL-RIGHT! It was nice to know that the fans in KC liked us, but we had a game to win. Night was falling and all the pedestrian traffic started walking towards the big entrances to Arrowhead. Soon we would be heading into Gate C, Section 211 in club level, but we had to start winding down our long days tailgate. We packed up our TV, beer, grill and food and bid adieu to Big Tony! The pre-game tailgate was officially over and game time approached. As we walked toward the stadium, high-fiving other Vikings fans we yelled taunts like "WHO OWNS THE CHIEFS?...VIKES SCALP EM CHIEFS!...SKOL VIKINGS!..." It's hard to describe that breathtaking feeling of walking into a stadium that is built exclusively for football in the great outdoors of the Mid-west. I could see how people in this city could be Chiefs fans. I was, and remain envious of their beautiful stadium as we walked toward it, thinking, hoping someday, the Vikings could be proud of such a home. We found our seats in the club level of the end zone and greeted our neighbors. It was everyone's hope that this would be a clean game and wished each other luck for our respective teams. Unlike this coming Monday Night in Minnesota when the Vikes play the Packers, the fans at this venue were downright friendly with each other. I was taking in the atmosphere from our seats and I reflected on my first game as a Viking fan way back in 1975 at the Old Met. The Chiefs franchise has a storied history, stated with the obvious ring of fame names posted on the interior of their stadium: Bobby Bell, Len Dawson, Jim Tyrer, Mike Garrett, Buck Buchanan, Otis Taylor, Willie Lanier, Emmitt Thomas, Hank Stram, Jan Stenerud, Art Still, and maybe even someday Joe Montana? The Arrowhead crowd at playoff fever pitch as the teams were introduced. As the National anthem wound down, I was disappointed to hear the Chiefs fans change the last word in the song from brave, to Chiefs! "For the land of the free... and the home of the... CHIEFS!!! To me, any variation from that anthem is disrespectful, and I was disappointed with the blatant slur of the last words. It was just the first of a few things the Chiefs crowd did that were somewhat annoying. Don't Worry, I won't Hurt You, Bubble You and YOU and You, YOU! The Vikings won the toss and elected to receive. As Jeff George took the field, the huge scoreboard in front of us showed a picture that kept flashing: Naturally the crowd, wanting this so not to be true, reacted and cheered loud. As loud as it may have seemed, I must admit that there is NO WAY IN HELL that the stadium ever reached the pitch of the HHH Dome! Every time this graphic flashed, (and believe me they flashed it a lot!) the crowd reacted, but never, at any point during the night, did it top out the dome. I know this because I was able to communicate with my fellow season ticket holders all night during these times, "Yo Rocky, can you hear me" I would say to him, "Ya, why?" he would respond, "Just testing, because when I sit next to you at the dome, and we try and talk, or yell, we can't hear each other." As a matter of fact there are times at the dome when we yell at each other point blank and can't understand an F'n word! Advantage for National Anthem and Crowd Noise: Home Sweet Dome! Advantage for Atmosphere: Arrowhead.:(put that crowd inside and they'll blow the roof off!) The Chiefs played with the scoreboard all night. One thing I did like was how they kept track of Fans Statistics Vs. the Opposition. For example, after they posted the Dome graphic, they would follow it up by posting messages that gave statistics:
I thought this was a clever way of keeping the fans on the opposition's case. I also liked how they would direct fans during the Chief's drive to stay quiet by posting,
After scoring touchdowns the Chiefs fans would chant in sync with the song Rock n Roll Part II, something like "The Chiefs will hurt you, you, you, you and you!" Because of it's timing and total fan involvement the chant is kind of cool, but it sucks being on the receiving end of a taunt from a cocky fan. When they scored their 3rd touchdown and went up 21-0, instead of just chanting the "You, you, you, you..." They pointed at us. That kind of cockiness hurt! C. Bart took offense to one fan who was pointing him down and retorted, "Look dork, you can cheer for your team all you want, but don't you EVER, and I mean EVER taunt me, or I will knock those yellow teeth right out your face! Fortunately for the Vikes, the taunting was short-lived and the ensuing kick off to Robert Tate led to a long TD return! The Vikes fans had a chance to mock the Chiefs "You chant" seconds later. "Now, we Bubble you, hurt you and you and you and you and oh by the way, SCREW U!!!!" At 21-7 midway through the second quarter, the Vikings had new energy, but the Chiefs had a dorky mascot thing that, from our view, looked like sick rat or mouse. Saueey's curiosity took over and he asked the woman sitting next to us, "Just what the heck is that mascot supposed to be?" "It's a wolf," she replied. "It looks more like a rat, don't you think?" "Ya, it does," she embarrassingly responded. The wolf could not prevent the Vikings from tying the game 21-21, and we could not prevent the Chiefs for taking the lead 28-21 late in the game off a Jeff George fumble. With just minutes remaining in the game, it looked like the Chiefs were gonna lock up the win. The entire crowd, in unison chanted, "Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs, Chiefs!" That show of unity, and just knowing when it was appropriate showed me that these fan know their football, and love their team. But the chant came a little too early, and when the Vikings forced the Chiefs to punt with 1:41 to go, the fans were even more confident as they saw Randy Moss setting up to return the kick, "Hey Moss, choke us up another fumble! Moss Chiefs MVP! MVP! I turned to Saueey and said, "Remember when we were down here in '93 and Royals fans were ripping on Kirby Puckett?" "Ya, old Kirby had a great game, hitting a triple and gunning down a few base runners...You don't think? Moss...?...Puck? At the same time Stier looked at Rocky and said, "If Moss wants to be who he thinks he is, then he has to take this thing to the house. Do you think he can?" "Rocky responded "Ya, I think he can, but I know he won't the way this game's been going." The words were barely out of our mouths when Moss fielded the punt and gracefully dashed right into our end zone untouched! Like that, the game was tied 28-28 and we taunted the Chiefs right back, but we knew we had scored too soon. Just like the Detroit and Green Bay games earlier in the season, we had no faith in our defense to hold the opposing team for the win. For all intents and purposes, this game was over and we knew it would end with Chiefs late second scoring drive. When Pete Stoyonovich drilled a 37-yard field goal with time running out we were disappointed but not shocked. It was,after all, a great game and I personally learned a lot about NFL Fan class that night! But the night was young... Game Highlights My favorite moments during the game:
Stier's Lament Part II The post game pain of another National TV loss effected all of us, but the immediate effects on Stier were very obvious. His post-game tirade led to the Berserkers creation of a new post-game award: "Most Disgruntled" Stier locked this award up easily! His post-game antics included storming out of stadium, mumbling to himself, and yelling loudly things such as "Losing sucks!...The only thing a prevent defense prevents is winning!...I am so sick of seeing us piss away games in the last seconds...Green Bay, Detroit, and Now this...Let's get out of here, I don't want to be this purple freak show for people to pick on as we exit...We are a sorry ass team!" Later, Stier called down, but his points of lament during the Arrowhead exit were true, stinging and valid. The most disappointing thing about the post-game was leaving the stadium, knowing we would be taunted and harassed by overly confident Chiefs fans. As Stier predicted, we were the "Purple Freaks!" One guy came up to me holding a Viking horn hat, and barked in my face, "LOSER! SEE THESE? What the F are these gay things, what are these LOSER?" Pointing to the horns, his "scalp" I retorted, "Those things? Oh, I got two choices for ya, those are Viking horns that either a.)You can stick up your ass, or b.) I can stick up your ass for you! Which is it?" The guy kept walking! When we got back to the base camp, the honking vehicles and KC celebration was tough to take. "If you ever expect to celebrate a Super Bowl Championship for the Vikings, you have to be willing to suck up and swallow a loss like this one from time to time to time." The words from our fellow tailgater friend C Bartfrom Omaha are probably still echoing their way back to the deaf ears in Minnesota. We stayed at the stadium well past midnight, and talked about the future of this team. When we left, we had regained hope.
Role Call & Game Day Grades
MVP: The Candidates were
Berserkers Final Grade: A- The only thing keeping us from an A+ was the loss, and really the only bad thing about our trip to Kansas City was the final score, 31-28, in favor of the hometown Chiefs. It was everything you'd expect from a game on National TV, coming full equipped with a big time comeback and a last second field goal for victory as time ran out on the clock. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, and made many great acquaintances along the way. The Food was OUTSTANDING- our best effort to date thanks to Big Tone Quotes: "Go ahead and cheer all you want, but don't you EVER stick your finger in my face, or call on a Viking!"C Bart responding to the taunting "You" chant of a KC fan after a Chiefs touchdown! "It was all them damn loud Viking fans"The Embassy Suites checkout guy overheard telling a fellow employee after a guest complained of too much noise on Saturday Night and was given a free nights stay because of the 100% satisfaction guarantee. "I... DON'T...Think..SO!"Parking Lot attendant to the Berserker gang as they started setting up camp in the KC season ticket holder reserved lot 8 hours before game time. "Whether it's second year or changing coordinators, I don't think Brian Billick had one thing to do with him dropping those balls! So, hey, in this business, and rightfully so, you are as you do. That's the bottom line." Red McCombs source, MSNBC "Man this place smells like a sewer"Mookie returning to the Hotel room after breakfast on Sunday morning. "Do you think that the red Kansas City Chief starter jacket is standard issue with a season ticket purchase? It seems like everyone in that place was wearing the same damn Chiefs jacket! - Rocky and Stier discussing the standard Chiefs fan apparel. "I have an idea, why don't you 2 kiss?"- C Bart to 2 females at a bar in Westport the night before the game. "Youse guys are TAILGATING Gods!!!!! What a game - I just hated the way it ended! Hope the ride back was OK?." -Big Tony our tailgating Chef from Kansas City. "We're from a small town this impresses us"Dave, speaking on behalf of John on being from a small-town in Montana and seeing Arrowhead for the first time. "Don't ever say 'CHEESE' to Viking fan!"Mookie to a Silver haired Chiefs lady who was taking a photo of the Berserker set-up on her digital camera. "So, do you boys want to eat at the Best BBQ place in KC or the 2nd Best?"Big Tony the KC local who offered to take the Berserkers out to eat on Saturday. "Uncle Wayne!"Stier responding to the cab drivers question of what his uncle's name was, as they had apparently grown up in the same part of town. Hangover Afterthoughts The game was A BLAST! So the Vikes lost. That's the bad news. The good news is that the NFL is alive and well. The KC fans are great. Many shared their stories and we teased each other about our teams. We tailgated and tossed back some beers, talked about our teams' history, ate great bbq ribs and watched TV with satellite dishes. When the Packers lost to the Panthers, we laughed at Green Bay's stupidity in coaching. Nice time out Rhodes! The Chiefs fans know how to party and share a hate of Green Bay that is unprecedented! Wow! So the Vikes play the Packers in a 1 game death match this Monday Night. We'll see the best team win... I resent the fact that we will go from partying with the coolest fans in the NFL to going back to the Dome and sharing our tailgate with arrogant Packer jerks who still think their way is the best. Now that I have been to both Lamebeau and Arrowhead their is NO CONTEST to who has better fans. The Chief faithful welcomed us into their homes, and did it right. On behalf of all the Vikings fans that made the trip, I thank Chiefs fans for their courtesy in making our trip worthwhile. Congrats on the win 31-28, it was a great game and even better experience! As far as the Green Bay game, we will be there with the faith and cheers that the Vikes will win! "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."Skol to all! Designed by Marcus "Mookie" Anderson and Internetcomealive, Inc. |