Par 3, 137 yards. A green that’s 78-feet long. In front, a bunker so small, you’ll have to stand on the grass to play a shot from it. For most pros, this should be a wedge in and a solid chance at birdie, but there’s one part I left out about the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass: it’s completely surrounded by water.

The 17th is known as the island green. Technically, it’s a peninsula, but only because a small strip of land had to be preserved to allow players to walk to their balls and compete the hole. It plays effectively like its island namesake, and is easily the most famous hole designed by Pete and Alice Dye. As The Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event, descends upon Sawgrass for the 39th time this week, it’ll be the first time without Pete and Alice, the architects of the course that year-on-year plays the starring role. Following Alice’s passing last February, and Pete’s passing in January, the golfing world will surely never be the same.

Pete Dye was born and raised in Urbana, Ohio. Alice hailed from Indianapolis. After a brief stint in the Army, Pete moved to Florida, where the two met. After marrying in 1950, they relocated back to Alice’s native Indiana.

Both were accomplished amateur players. Pete won the Indiana Amateur Championship in 1958, and even qualified for the US Open in 1957. Alice did him one better, winning the US Senior Women’s Amateur in 1978 and 1979. Still, their fame would come not from their play on the course, but their ability to torment those who played the courses they designed.

Their first notable endeavor was in Carmel, on a course called Crooked Stick. Crooked Stick hosted the PGA Championship in 1991 and the US Women’s Open in 1993.

Their Next big project was a course called Harbor Town Golf Links, in Hilton Head, SC. Opened in 1969, it has been host to a PGA Tour Event every year since.

Like this it went on for more than half a century. Many Dye designs, like Kiawah Island, and Whistling Straits, amongst others, have hosted Major Championships. And each course has its unique quirks. Whistling Straits has more bunkers than any other course in Championship Golf. Kiawah Island, on the other hand, has none, with each grain of sand being played “through the green.” Yet no course they’ve designed could be mistaken for being done by any other architects.

The style of the Dyes was both simple brilliant, born of two lifetimes spent studying the greats who came before, yet unquestionably of a style all their own. There are some features that are quick to notice. Long fairway bunkers will line many holes. Water will be in play, and will often feature railroad ties as embankment. The terrain will be bumpy, so as to assure that a player will never play from a comfortable lie.

But some features are harder to pick out. Why Whistling Straits needs 967 bunkers is anyone’s guess, until you climb into the mind of Pete Dye. He liked to make you uncomfortable, physically and mentally, and part of that involves making you see things you don’t want to hit the ball towards, even if there’s no way you actually find them.

And it helps that he doesn’t follow a normal design style. Where most designers plan every detail of their courses on paper before laying the course out on the site, Pete Dye liked to have a rough idea of the course he was building, mainly just the tees, greens, and routing, and then build the rest of the course on site, walking it and placing obstacles where his eyes told him to. By visualizing his courses as he built them, he could be sure that the layout would challenge even the best of the best.

And the crown jewel of the Dye Empire is no doubt the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Each and every hole is cut at a strange angle, and there is no one shot or one club a player can rely on to make it around the treacherous track. Capped by a magnificent three-hole stretch, the 16th and 18th holes are quintessential Dye holes. The 16th is a risk-reward Par 5 with a green reachable in two, but water waiting to swallow any shots that veer right. The 18th is a brutal finisher that is flanked along the entire left side with water, with many title hopes being extinguished by a hook that finds the drink.

But again, the signature hole is the island 17th, a design for which Alice Dye deserves the lion’s share of the credit. Originally intended to be a simple hole, digging on its ground revealed a wealth of sand, a necessary building resource for any golf course. As they kept removing the sand, the plot of land developed into a big hole. It was then that Alice suggested that an island be created, and what resulted was one of the most famous holes in all of golf.

The 17th is an example of the Dye’s simple brilliance being combined with the right set of circumstance. It is in this spirit that they built all their golf courses, and as the golf world watches yet another championship on their most famous layout, their memory continues to live in the pieces of art they left behind.

I never thought I would ever have to write something like this. To be honest, I am not sure I have yet fully accepted the events of January 26^th. But as the days have gone by, one after another, I continue to let go and appreciate further what it was Kobe Bryant gave to me. However we got the news, I think most people even subtly aware of the man’s impact on the sports world went into a state of shock and disbelief when they learned that Kobe had died in a helicopter accident, at the age of 41.

I was sitting on my couch, watching the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open, hoping for a Tiger Woods run, when all of a sudden, golf was the least consequential thing in my world. As the hours pressed on, there would be a lot of confusion, misreporting, and general hysteria. Ultimately, we also learned that Kobe’s daughter, Gianna, and seven others passed away on that tragic flight. For many, the thought of a daughter dying in her father’s arms was the most crushing part of the whole painful ordeal. Gianna, whose passion for basketball was passed down to her from her father, was just starting to make a name for herself. She had committed to play at UConn in college, with dreams of one day making the WNBA. To see that potential unfulfilled was the hardest part for me.

I wish I knew more about the other seven passengers. They all deserve to be memorialized, and I hope in due time, those who knew them will teach us about who they were, and why we should honor their memory.

Kobe Bryant transcended sports, and he transcended America. When he passed, people from every walk of life, from sports fans, to politicians, to entertainers, to even average people, felt compelled to express their grief. For me, it felt as though a piece of my childhood had been taken away, with the thudding finality that stays in your stomach for days afterward. I honestly don’t know if in my life a celebrity has passed quite so suddenly, or elicited quite the same outpouring of grief. It is a reminder to all that life is precious, and we must value it every chance we get, because any moment can be the one where it is taken away.

But also in this time, it is important to be reminded of who Kobe was, and how he likely would have wanted us to respond. In the past weeks I have struggled with the balance between reflecting on his memory and trying to return to a normal emotional state, while attempting to avoid wallowing in sadness or neglecting it altogether. But for Kobe, he would have expected us to move on, to not grieve, but continue living day by day. He would’ve asked us to put one foot in front of the other as long as we could. Because HE certainly did.

It doesn’t take much to get out of me that I am a die-hard Lakers fan. And for most of my life, the best player on the Lakers was Kobe Bryant. I began watching the Lakers during Kobe and Shaq’s initial run of titles. When Shaq left in 2004, I stayed with the Lakers, and Kobe Bryant quickly became my favorite player. The best moments were Kobe’s MVP 2008 season, and the Lakers deep playoff runs that followed. The peak of these runs were the championships of 2009 and 2010. The worst moments followed promptly after, and were marked by the countless injuries of his later career. When Kobe tore his Achilles tendon, it came at the end an amazing 2012-2013 season in which he seemingly single-handedly willed the Lakers to the postseason. That season would ultimately be his last as one of the best in the game.

And yet, the magic wasn’t extinguished quite yet. In his last ever game, in April of 2016, Kobe scored 60 points, leading the Lakers to a comeback win in the ultimate Swan Song performance. For a single night, Kobe reminded us of what we had previously grown so accustomed, and as he said goodbye to the game, he somehow left us wanting just a bit more.

Kobe’s career was full of amazing moments. When he arrived in LA, has was still only 17 years old. His initial contract had to be co-signed by his parents. In his early years, he dazzled us with an athletic style rife with high-flying dunks and athletic acrobatics. But what made Kobe a legend was how he managed to age his game so gracefully. One can argue that Kobe’s best years were when he no longer had the legs of his youth, but more than replaced them with an astute basketball mind and killer technical skills. Kobe’s greatest successes came when he used his mind to create opportunities for himself and his teammates, leading the Lakers to many more wins than the raw talent of his youth could supply on its own. In the end, he played all 20 seasons of his career with the Lakers. When he retired at the age of 37, he had spent more of his life as a Laker than not.

Kobe’s career was defined by his trademark Mamba mentality, a product of his self-assigned nickname, the Black Mamba. He seemed to have a killer instinct that struck fear in opponents. Throughout the years, he seemed to hit game winning shot after game winning shot. As a fan, I never gave up on a game as long as Kobe was on the floor. Furthermore, he seemed to have a toughness about him that was unparalleled. He often appeared to have his best game when he was under the weather. He once played most of a season (and won a championship) with a broken index finger on his shooting hard. When he had rotator cuff surgery in 2015, his doctor posited that the muscle may have been damaged for years. There are so many stories of his defying injuries and pressing forward to great performances that to list them all would ultimately sound tired and repetitive. Such was the legend of Kobe Bryant.

But as most athletes fade away after they play their last game, Kobe continued to demonstrate his excellence. He proved he was more than an athlete when he won an Oscar in 2018. He began mentoring current NBA players, shedding his competitive exterior for a warmer, teaching attitude. That attitude extended to his coaching his daughter’s youth basketball team. Likely through this experience, he became one of the foremost advocates for Women’s sports around the world. In his brief few years of retirement, Kobe Bryant was already becoming an important voice in the world. In a time when many athletes struggle to find an identity in their new existence, Kobe and his wife Vanessa welcomed two new daughters to their family, and Kobe’s identity became that of a dedicated family man, which is quite an amazing thing to say given his life story.

It is important, when discussing Kobe Bryant, to acknowledge and digest that he was not perfect. Throughout his career, he was often accused of being cold, both to his teammates and those he played against. In some cases, this iciness led to great players like Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard deciding they’d rather play elsewhere. On one occasion, he shouted a homophobic slur at a referee during a game. At another time, he was reprimanded for displaying apparent indifference towards violence against his fellow African Americans in the wake of the Trayvon Martin shooting.

But his worst transgression of all was a 2003 rape accusation.  A perfect public reputation was instantly destroyed, and Kobe found himself cast into infamy. Kobe, already a married man, admitted to an affair with his accuser, but maintained his own innocence. Nevertheless, the resulting proceedings showed at the very least a willingness of his defense team to participate in a shaming of the accuser amongst other shady tactics. To this day, this episode has left a scar on Kobe’s legacy. Ultimately, he was cleared of criminal charges, but did reach a civil settlement with his accuser. As part of the settlement, he released a statement apologizing to her for his conduct.

Kobe’s faults are part of his story, just as much as his many accolades. To forget them is to misremember who Kobe was. Throughout my time being a fan of his, I have had to wrestle with how to continue celebrating his accomplishments while the specter of some of his less reputable traits lingered. This conflict arose again when I heard about his death. A voice that has helped me come to terms with this conflict has been Rachel Nichols, one of the preeminent basketball journalists who covered Kobe. On an appearance on ESPN’s South Beach Sessions, she shared her appraisal of Kobe’s complicated legacy. “He’s certainly not a saint,” she said. “But I watched him do things that were good, and I watched him do things that were terrible, and I watched him try to get better after that, and that’s the biggest thing I ever want from someone. And I saw him try. And I saw him do it.” If nothing else, this may be the most important thing we learn from the life of Kobe Bryant. No matter our faults, no matter what we may have done in the past, it is our responsibility to improve, to leave a positive impact however we can. Even if some of his transgressions may never be forgiven, we can appreciate that Kobe made that effort.

As part of the process of coping with Kobe’s passing, I’ve been spending much time reminiscing about the great moments I had watching him. I’d like to share my fondest memory. It is not from any of the five championship runs. In fact, it is not even from a playoff game. It is from a Friday night regular season game in 2013, during his last hurrah amongst the game’s elite. The Lakers, at the time outside of the playoff picture, were playing a game against the Toronto Raptors. A season that had featured far more turmoil and drama than winning was just beginning to turn around, with Kobe leading the charge playing some of the best basketball of his career. This night, the Lakers, playing without perhaps their next best player in Pau Gasol, trailed the whole game, all the way up until the end, when in the last two minutes, Kobe hit three 3-point baskets to tie the game up. The first was off of multiple pump fakes, with defender Alan Anderson draped all over him. The second was a quick catch and shoot from the corner off a sneakily amazing pass from Steve Nash. The third was a cold-blooded catch, pump and shoot to tie the game. When that last shot went up, so captivating was the performance that there was no doubt in the minds of those watching that it was going through the net. This heroic performance was excuse enough to be excited, but the reason this is my favorite memory is far more sentimental. I was sitting in my parent’s house, all of 17, watching the game via an illegal stream on the internet. And sitting by my side, taking it all in with me, was my 77-year-old grandfather. He is a huge sports fan in his own right, but having grown up in India, basketball was never on his radar. Still, while we watched Kobe will the Lakers back into the game, it was hard to miss the amazement in my grandpa’s eyes. What began as just the routine watching of a basketball game for me ended up being one of the most precious bonding moments I’ve had with my grandfather, both of us captivated by the theatre of the game unfolding before us. The Lakers ended up winning in overtime, courtesy of a Kobe Bryant game-winning dunk to cap of a 40-point masterpiece. And I had experienced a night I will never forget. Kobe Bryant gave that moment to me. He gave that moment to my grandpa. It is something for which I will certainly always be grateful.

All of us are writing the chapters to the books that will be our lives. Some of us will be fortunate enough to know when we are writing our final chapters, able to do so on our own terms. Unfortunately for Kobe, Gianna, and the seven others who perished on January 26^th, they did not get that opportunity. Today Vanessa Bryant is without her husband and her daughter, and three other girls are without their father and their sister. Many others are grieving for their loved ones who perished that day. I can only hope that with time, their pain will begin to subside and normalcy can exist in some form again. But I do know this much: Kobe Bryant has cemented his place in our memory. I will never forget the countless moments of joy I experienced watching him play. I know that his work will continue as well. In the void that was left, countless others will step in to fill it, whether it is in mentoring the next generation, in advocating for those less fortunate, or in celebrating the accomplishments of those who deserve celebration beyond what they have come to expect. And, more than anything, I am sure that the generation of young athletes he inspired will continue to pay tribute to him in the way they practice, study and compete. And for that reason, the Legacy of Kobe Bryant will surely never die.

Colin Cowherd is one of the longest tenured Sports Radio hosts in the country, having started his show The Herd with Colin Cowherd at ESPN in 2004, moving it to Fox Sports in 2015. In a career that has withstood the test of time, one of his evergreen segments is the “Blazin Five” picks, his NFL betting locks for that week. He doesn’t simply make these picks with his gut: he consults with sports gambling experts to make them as solid as he can.

In the past 2 weeks, he is 0-9 picking NFL games.

If you think this is a small sample size, consider this. The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, a current ESPN Radio show, has a parallel segment called “Celebrity Prognosticator.” In this segment, they bring on a Random Celebrity, throw 5 betting lines at them, and pit the celebrity’s picks against Cowherd’s “Blazin Five.” They have produced a better record than Cowherd with these picks in 2 of the 4 seasons they’ve been doing them.

This is not to pick on Colin Cowherd. He has accomplished a whole hell of a lot in his career, building a radio show that has stood up when many, many others have failed. And as far as his picks go, he was rated by PunditTracker as the Best Pundit of 2012 for his picks. He is as qualified to make these picks as anyone is, and that is precisely my point. When it comes to Football, nobody has any idea what it is they are watching, with next to zero ability to predict what will happen next.

This brings me to Kirk Cousins. Perhaps no player in the NFL today serves as more of a poster boy for our lack of understanding of the game than the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. Here are his stats this season: 69.1% Completions, 3603 Yards, 26 Touchdowns, and 6 Interceptions; good for a 107.4 rating. That passer rating, for comparison’s sake, is better than every single year of Brett Favre’s career, better than all but 2 in Peyton Manning’s career, and better than all but 3 in the careers of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. Based on statistical production, there is no question that Kirk Cousins just came off an incredibly solid season. And what’s more, the Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs.

So what’s the issue? Well, there is a flip side to the Kirk Cousins story. There is a narrative that he doesn’t play well in big games. And to be fair, this argument has some merit. Discounting the week 17 loss to the Bears in which Cousins didn’t play, the Vikings losses this year came to the Packers (twice), Bears (the other time), the Chiefs, and the Seahawks. Three of these teams made the playoffs this year, and the Bears are a division rival whose 2018 Week 17 defeat of the Vikings kept them out of the postseason. These can all be considered “big games.” And Cousins’ performance can be questioned in many of these matchups. In only one of the losses did he complete 60% of his passes, and 4 of his 6 interceptions came in these games. The week 16 loss to Green Bay was particularly brutal. This was the Vikings biggest game of the year, and playing without star running back Dalvin Cook, Cousins was expected to produce a major chunk of the offensive production. His final stat line for the game: 16/31, 122 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. He was also sacked 5 times for 40 lost yards. Beyond a mere statistical analysis, there are times in these games were he just doesn’t look right, like he’s not sure of himself. Part of his struggles are likely caused by simply playing against better defenses, but it does seem at time that the moment gets to him.

For these reasons and more, there was little confidence had by the Vikings fanbase about Kirk Cousins performance prior to the Wild Card bout with the New Orleans Saints. This game was probably the biggest of his career. Not only because of the stakes of the season, but because of the weight of concerns that his perceived inability to win games such as these was wasting an embarrassment of riches on the Vikings offense.

So what ends up happening? Kirk Cousins rises to the occasion. He starts by leading the Vikings offense to 13 first half points. This despite their first possession abruptly ending on a fumble by the typically sure-handed Adam Thielen. Then in the 3^rd quarter, leading 13-10, on a 3^rd and 9, in the face of pressure from the Saints defense, Cousins threw a 34-yard strike to Thielen. Three plays later, he hit Stefon Diggs at the goal line on another 3^rd down, setting up a Touchdown run by Dalvin Cook that put the Vikings up 20-10. The Saints, as they have made a habit against the Vikings, would come back to tie the game, forcing the game into overtime. But when the Vikings got the ball to start the extra period, Cousins delivered again. On an early 3^rd down, he hit Diggs on a slant route, having to having to look off a Saints defender before delivering the ball. He then hit Thielen on another deep ball, summoning a pass that Troy Aikman, on the broadcast for Fox, claimed to be “the best throw of his career.” Three plays later, in the face of an all-out blitz, he delivered the dagger, a goal-line fade to Kyle Rudolph. It was his first touchdown pass of the day, and secured a walk-off win. Kirk Cousins threw a series of perfect passes in pressure situations, both in terms of the moment and in terms of the pocket, to lead the Vikings to an unlikely victory.

So now it’s worth asking. Has the narrative changed? I don’t know. I do know that Michael Jordan was called a selfish player who could never win a championship…until he did. Peyton Manning also had a reputation for coming up short, but ended up winning 2 rings before his time was done. Same with Lebron James. And John Elway. I don’t know that Cousins is any of these guys. In fact, most would scoff at merely mentioning Kirk Cousins in the same breath as these legends. This may be as far as he ever gets, but the fact is, the narrative on those guys changed drastically, and forever. This wasn’t even close to Kirk Cousins’ best performance of the year, but the stakes attached to the game made it into the defining performance of his career thus far.

In the week leading up to the game, a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless, texted me the following: “In his career, Cousins is 0-15 and 1-13-1 ATS against teams that finished with at least 12 wins in a seasons (the Saints won 13 games this season). The outright winning percentage is the worst by any quarterback in the Super Bowl era. Meanwhile, New Orleans in 11-3 ATS since week 3, the best mark in the NFL. Chances of a Vikings win on Sunday: 4%.” Another nameless friend replied, “Not even gonna cover the 8pts man,” referencing the +8 betting spread the Vikings were carrying into the game.

They were both wrong.

They weren’t alone either. Across host network Fox, ESPN, and NFL Network, not one analyst picked the Vikings to win the game. And the center of the concerns was with whether Kirk Cousins would be able to play well in a big moment.

This goes both ways though. I thought Cousins would throw for 300 yards against the packers in Week 17. I was also wrong.

The Vikings will get ready to play against the 1-seeded San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, and the question lingers: Which Kirk Cousins will we get? The guy that played the Packers in Week 16, or the guy that played the Saints this weekend. I don’t know, my friends don’t know, Colin Cowherd doesn’t know, and that’s okay.

Bob Costas once said “If you knew nothing about golf, and if you’d landed here from the planet Pluto, and they sat you down at Augusta, your eyes would go to him,” referencing Tiger Woods. “You’d say ‘Who’s that guy? That’s the guy I wanna watch.’ You’d just be drawn to him.” Leave it to one of the greatest broadcasters of all time to perfectly sum up my lifelong fascination with the greatest golfer that many of us have ever seen.

When I was so young that I didn’t know a driver from a putter, my introduction to sports was sitting next to my dad, taking in whatever he happened to be watching. And when my dad watched golf, my eyes were drawn to that skinny kid who hit it a mile and pumped his fist with the kind of unadulterated joy that coursed through every living room watching him. I started to watch golf because I wanted to watch Tiger Woods. Plain and Simple.

There are four Tournaments of Tiger Woods’ that I remember from that time. The first was the 2005 Masters, where Tiger won his 4^th Green Jacket. In route to winning, he hit a seemingly impossible chip from off the 16^th green that rolled down the slope, stopped for a moment on the lip of the hole, and then tumbled in. This is where I first experienced the magic of Tiger Woods’ creativity, playing a shot that most wouldn’t be able to imagine and creating the kind of theater that could captivate an audience.

The second tournament I remember was the 2006 Open Championship, where an emotional Tiger won his first major since his father Earl passed away. Earl introduced Tiger to the game, and Tiger always called Earl his best friend. After a stoic four days ended with a tap-in on the 72^nd green, he celebrated the win by sharing incredibly tearful, emotional embraces with then-caddie Steve Williams and then-wife Elin Nordegren. This win seemed to humanize Tiger Woods, for a moment removing his robotic focus and trademark precision, and allowed us to see him in a way we never had before.

The Third tournament I remember was the 2008 US Open, where Tiger won the tournament after an 18-hole playoff (and one hole of sudden-death) against journeyman Rocco Mediate. He had played the event just a couple months after knee surgery, and it was revealed afterwards that Tiger had played with a torn ACL and stress fractures in his leg, and somehow went 91 holes against the best in the game and prevailed against the toughest test in golf. This win demonstrated the determination, focus, and innate ability that Tiger Woods had to accomplish anything, even in the face of the doubts of others.

Through the course of these and many other wins, Tiger Woods was one of the most beloved and marketable athletes the world has ever seen. He, at one point, held all 4 of the Men’s Major Golf Championships, won the Masters and US Open by margins of 12 and 15 strokes respectively, and held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 683 weeks (the next closest is 331). Needless to say, he was on top of his world. As life seems to always present, though, there is always a flip side to the coin.

The fourth event I remember was what, until recently, many viewed as the beginning of the end of Tiger’s career: the 2009 PGA Championship, played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. With the tournament held in my home state, I got the opportunity to attend it and see Tiger live for the first time. After three rounds, he was two strokes clear of the field. In 14 previous attempts to close a major with a 54-hole lead, Tiger was undefeated. But on this day, relative unknown Y.E. Yang chased him down to score one of the biggest upsets in golfing history. What’s more, Tiger had a chance to tie on the 17^th hole, but missed a crucial par putt with me sitting in the front row watching.

What followed for Tiger Woods was nearly a decade of scandal, drama, and injury that led most to believe he would never win a meaningful event again. In November of that same year, a car accident on Thanksgiving night led to one of the most infamous infidelity scandals in the modern media age. Tiger Woods lost his marriage, many of his sponsors, his swing coach, his caddie, and his game in the following 2 years. And on top of that, the once beloved athlete lost many of his fans, became the butt of jokes on late night television, and was relegated to the status of a social pariah. One can reasonably debate whether we should care about the personal lives of professional athletes. Personally, short of criminal behavior, I have always held that it is none of our business what one does behind closed doors, but that’s for each individual watching to decide for themselves. What can’t be denied is that everything that happened in the aftermath of the scandal prevented him from winning on the PGA Tour in 2010 and 2011, after having won at least once in each of the previous 14 seasons.

Tiger found some of his game in 2012 and 2013, winning 8 events and even regaining the World No. 1 spot. However, at the end of 2013, a nagging back injury started to get worse, and over the course of the next 4 years, he would undergo four back surgeries, take multiple prolonged spells away from the course, and play some of his worst golf when he did attempt to tee it up. This led most observers of the game to doubt whether he would ever be a meaningful player again. Many even flatly stated that Tiger Woods was done playing professional golf. His magical touch seemed lost forever, the humanity we thought we saw in him was presumed to be a lie, and no amount of determination seemed to rescue him from the injuries he had sustained.

Interestingly enough, it was during this period of time that I became an enormous golf geek. While I had a certain appreciation for the game when Tiger was at his best, I didn’t fall in love with the game until my Teenage and College years, when Tiger was barely relevant as a player. I would research different varieties of clubs and try to understand the physics of different types of shots. I would learn the intricacies of different kinds of courses and come to appreciate different styles of play, all the while becoming an avid, if not particularly good, golfer myself. It was during this time that I started pining for the return of Tiger Woods. Highlights weren’t going to do. I needed to experience the genius of this guy in real time again. While I also had doubts about if he would ever come back, I held out hope through the worst of the worst.

And then, things started changing. After 3 failed microdiscectomy procedures, Tiger underwent a spinal fusion in the Spring of 2017. Though many initially viewed this procedure as a death knell, it finally relieved him of pain he had been enduring over the previous years. Tiger, who at times could not even walk without pain, now had the ability to swing a golf club pain free. Month by month, Tiger would release videos of himself chipping, swinging irons, and then eventually hitting drivers. Even his famous low stinger shot made an appearance in one of the videos. Speculation began rising that Tiger was going to make yet another comeback. Tiger Woods finally returned to competitive golf in late 2017. Over the next year, he proved that this time he was actually healthy, ultimately winning the TOUR Championship and making runs at titles the Open and PGA Championship. A once sordid prognosis for his future ceded way for excitement from both casual and hardcore golf fans.

But there was still one mountain to climb. Since the 2008 US Open, when Tiger beat the game’s best on a broken leg, he hadn’t won another major. For many, Tiger Woods playing, contending, even winning a regular event wasn’t going to be enough. To be back, he needed to win a Major again. Enter Augusta National Golf Club, and the 2019 Masters Tournament.

Heading into this year’s Masters, Tiger had yet to win an event on the season. His best finish was a quarterfinal defeat at the Match Play event, and short putting woes had led to concerns that he wasn’t ready for Augusta’s notoriously undulating green complexes. And in the first two days, those concerns seemed valid. Tiger was among the worst in the tournament in putting inside 10 feet, yet somehow, he was only one back of the leaders. That might have been attributed to the fact he was ranked first in the field in greens in regulation and putts outside 10 feet (weird, to be certain). He was doing what he had always done in his best years, making up for a shortcoming in one part of his game by playing lights out in another. Through two days, he had posted rounds of 70 and 68.

Then the Weekend came, and we got vintage Tiger. On Saturday, he fired a scintillating 5-under 67, pulling within 2 of the lead and securing a place in the final group on Sunday. The short putting woes that plagued him all season suddenly disappeared, and he had a chance to win in the final round. On Sunday, he gave us a different taste of his vintage. While everyone around him faltered and made mistakes, Tiger Woods stayed steady, posting a final round 70 to claim his fifth Green Jacket and 15^th major championship. He stared down many of the game’s best players, including Francesco Molinari and Brooks Koepka, the winners of the previous 3 majors, and emerged victorious. For fans who had hoped for a comeback through all the years of scandal and injury, you couldn’t write a better script. Jim Nantz called the moment “The Return to Glory.” Another legendary broadcaster summing up an iconic moment perfectly.

But it went beyond that. On Sunday, Tiger showed us some of the qualities that made us fascinated by him in the first place. On the 16^th hole, the sight of his famous chip 14 years ago, Tiger played a brilliant 8-iron that nearly went in for an Ace. The magic was back.

On the 18^th hole, after tapping in to secure victory, Tiger flipped a switch from stoic to emotional, sharing embraces with Caddie Joe LaCava, girlfriend Erica Herman, his mother Kultida, and his kids, Sam and Charlie. The humanity was back.

And, after all the injuries, after all the doubts, he was back holding the title that most said he would never hold again: Major Champion. At 43 years old, Tiger Woods had accomplished what perhaps only he thought was possible. The determination was back.

Tiger Woods won the Masters last Sunday. Those words are still hard to believe. How he got from a point of being indestructible to being a laughing stock to then rising to the top again is a book that would have been hard to write before it happened in front of our eyes. As a person who’s followed this story since I was a kid, Sunday was about as fun as it has ever been. But here’s the amazing part: Tiger Woods isn’t done yet. We don’t know how much longer he can play at this level, but after all that has happened in his life, he’s finally healthy consistently again. And, he’s probably already planning for the next Major he will play. Whilst we all continue to marvel at how great he is at his craft, he seems to have regained the focus that made his craft so great. In a few weeks, Tiger will head to the Black Course at Bethpage State Park for the PGA Championship, the site of his 2002 US Open win. Perhaps, at that public course in Long Island, the next chapter in Tiger Wood’s story will begin to be written.

For the last five weeks, the Vikings have been without one of their best defensive players. Everson Griffen has led the team in sacks three out of the last four years. He’s also, along with Marcus Sherels and Andrew Sendejo, the longest tenured member of the team, having been a Viking since he was drafted in 2010. And to crystallize the role he has on this team, he was voted captain to begin the year. Listen to any Vikings player, coach, or fan talk about Griffen, and you will quickly understand that we are talking about one of the most popular players in the locker room. And for the last five weeks, he hasn’t been with the team.

This is pretty unusual for a player who is in good standing among his peers. It is not uncommon for a player to miss games due to injury, but typically that player will be in the facility, and often they will attend games, watching from the sidelines. Occasionally, a player will spend significant time away from the team. These situations usually revolve around contract issues, and the reaction of teammates and fans is generally very negative. But Everson has been away dealing with mental health issues, and so the emotions of those closest to him have been very different.

I think this is an incredibly important point. In this situation, a mental health Issue in the NFL was met with understanding and compassion within the locker room. This is not what we typically expect from that particular ecosystem, and it is a welcome sign of changing sentiments and human understanding. One only needs to think back a few years to the treatment of Miami Dolphin’s player Jonathan Martin by teammate Richie Ingognito. While Martin was perceived as weak for his anxiety and run out of the league, Incognito, who exacerbated the problem with viscous bullying, ended up becoming a Pro-bowler a few years later.

Everson Griffen’s situation was treated much differently. Any time head coach Mike Zimmer was asked about it, he deflected any talk about Griffen’s return as a football player, and rather expressed concern for his health. And to be fair, he had good reason. It’s always concerning when you see a story like the one that led to Everson’s absence. On the Saturday before the Viking’s home game against the Bills (a game in which he was already not going to play due to a Knee Injury), Griffen was involved in a threat to an employee in a Minneapolis hotel. Later, police were again called to his home. When he was being taken to a hospital for evaluation, he ran from police. Given these circumstances, it is refreshing to see a team operated from a position of caring for their player’s well being, rather that thinking of the impact on the field and the public relations issues that often ensue.

There is another discussion that needs to be had here as well. These types of situations have in recent years raised concerns about a number of issues facing the NFL. One example is the league’s policy on Marijuana, which has been so penal that is had led to many players using less detectable but much more unstable synthetic alternatives, which often have really concerning side effects. The arguably bigger issue that the NFL faces in these situations is questions about the violent nature of football, and whether repeated blows to the head cause significant damage to a players mental health. With more research coming out every year pointing to major concerns with head injuries, situations like the one Everson Griffen was just involved in often lead to more questions about the dangers of football. Ultimately, we don’t know and may never know what factors were in play in this particular situation, but we can all agree that that the most important thing is for Griffen to prioritize his own health over anything on the football field.

Which brings us to the exciting news of the day. Everson Griffen returned to the Vikings this week. He practiced in full all week and is expected to play tonight against the New Orleans Saints. Even now, with all of the excitement for his return, Everson has largely talked about the fact that his journey is still not complete, and that he has work ahead to continue to improve his mental health. Still, I would imagine it has to feel good for a person to get back to being with with familiar people doing familiar things, given what Everson has been through. His impact on the field will no doubt be positive, and his impact in the locker room perhaps more so. But ultimately, the impact he can make by the way he and his team have owned his health, prioritized his well-being, and set an example for others going through similar circumstances may well have the most significant impact of all.

I’m a Lakers fan. There, I said it. It’s just one of those things that is generally frowned upon. And, to be honest, I get it. I was born and raised in Southeastern Minnesota, and yet was a fan of a team from Los Angeles, despite never having been to Southern California until years after my fandom had set in. To pick one of the most successful franchises of all time as your favorite, in a place you have no immediate connection to, seems like a cop out to many, and I’m willing to shoulder the criticism. But here’s the retort I always offer: I’ve been a fan of the Lakers from an earlier age than you were a fan of your favorite team.

I became a Lakers fan when I was five years old. My only older sports allegiance is to the Vikings, who I have rooted for since I was three. Here’s how it happened. When I was an impressionable five-year-old, Aaron Carter came out with the song “That’s How I Beat Shaq.” The song’s music video, where Carter wins a pickup basketball game against basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, made frequent appearances on my favorite channel of the time, Nickelodeon (naturally).

And I absolutely hated it. For one, who did that kid think he was, taking on this huge basketball player by telling him his shoelace was untied? Like that’s realistic. The other part was I, as a staunch fan of the Backstreet Boys, felt a bit as though this kid was stealing his brother’s well-earned thunder. But I digress…

I actually had no idea at the time who the behemoth of a basketball player was playing against him, but I felt for him. This Shaq guy was clearly the better player, and no cheap tricks should decide who won. This is really all I took away from the whole experience.

Fast forward a few months, and I’m sitting on the couch watching the NBA finals with my dad. At the time, the only basketball player I knew was Michael Jordan, little did I know that he hadn’t played an NBA game in three years. But lo and behold, clad in Purple wearing number 34 is Shaquille O’Neal, the same huge basketball player that I watched get cheated by a little teenage brat. And here’s the thing, he’s not just bigger than that twerp, he’s bigger than literally everyone. He’s a giant, and it seems like I’m not alone in thinking he’s cool. It seems he has the charisma to go with his big frame and from that point on, I was a Laker fan. I was never looking back.

And boy, did I pick a good one. The Lakers are second in championships only to the Boston Celtics. They started as the Minneapolis Lakers in the early 40s and were the first true dynasty in the NBA behind Center George Mikan. They then left the Twin Cities for sunny LA, where they have been ever since (In hindsight, this is probably the thing that should make me hate this team, given that they betrayed my home state, but again, I was five). They proceeded to win another championship in 1973 behind an NBA record 33-game winning streak. And then, in 1979, they drafted a 6’9” point guard out of Michigan State named Earvin “Magic” Johnson. And thus, Showtime was born.

For those among us who are uninitiated, Showtime was an era in Lakers basketball where they capitalized on having Magic, arguably the greatest point guard of all time, running up and down the court, creating fast breaks by being an illusionist (hence the nickname) of a passer. The team was a living, breathing highlight reel. Couple that with the crafty play of center Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, the NBA’s career scoring leader, and add in a supporting cast that at various times included the likes of James Worthy, Michael Cooper, Kurt Rambis, Mychal Thompson, and Byron Scott, and the Lakers had a team that won 5 titles in the 80s, making the finals three more times. And even though those teams and that style have left the Lakers over time, the Showtime moniker remains, an homage to perhaps the greatest iteration of the Purple-and-Gold the league has ever seen. I had picked one of the most storied and accomplished franchises of all time. And, unbeknownst to me at the time, the current team had just won their second straight championship.

It should be pointed out at this point that I didn’t even know of any other teams at this point. I would learn that Minnesota had a team much later, and at that point, it was far too late.

Fast forward almost a year, and we will reach the point where I go from saying I’m a Lakers fan to feeling it in my heart. It is in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, Game 4, against the Sacramento Kings. The Lakers, who had trailed by as many as 24 were on the brink of going down 3-1 in the best of seven series. But they worked it all the way to a two-point deficit and had the ball with a chance to tie. They put the ball in the hands of their young superstar Kobe Bryant, who drove to the right side but missed his layup attempt. Then Shaq rebounded the ball and tried to put it in, but he was also unsuccessful. On the second miss, Kings center Vlade Divac batted the rebound towards midcourt, away from the Lakers two best players. And then magic happened…

Power Forward Robert Horry, who was perhaps the fifth option on the floor at the time, grabbed the ball behind the three-point line straight away. Horry, who had garnered the moniker “Big Shot Bob” for his ability to hit clutch shots throughout his playoff career, calmly shot the ball after stepping in, making sure to keep behind three-point line. There was never a doubt. Horry nodded his head as he was mobbed by teammates and fans at half-court, having hit the most memorable of his repertoire of clutch baskets. In that moment, I was practically running through my TV to celebrate with him. This team was mine, and I was theirs. The Lakers would go on to win that series in 7 games and sweep their way to a third straight title.

And here I am, 15 years later, staying up to watch games that start at 9:30 central time, because I, yes, am a Lakers fan. And, to put it lightly, the last five years have been rough. After barely making the playoffs in 2013, the Lakers proceeded to miss the playoffs five straight years. In that span, we ran off Mike D’Antoni, who is now head coach of a Rockets team that seems to be the only real threat to the current Warriors dynasty (I was one of the ones calling for his head, so I’m certainly not pointing the finger, this was just truly a bad team). We also ran off Byron Scott, but that was an objectively good decision in the eyes of anyone who has watched Byron Scott coach. It took a heroic effort by Kobe Bryant to make the playoffs in 2013, and it ended in a sweep, and Kobe, who tore his Achilles tendon towards the end of the year, missed the playoffs and was never the name player. The Lakers Proceeded to Draft D’Angelo Russel, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. None of those players are still Lakers. The Front office inexplicably signed career journeymen Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng to massive deals, and those contracts cost young talent, draft picks, and way too much money to get out from underneath, and those two were never ever going to make any kind of appreciable difference on a serious contender.

It’s probably only fair at this point the acknowledge that I haven’t had it all that bad as a Laker fan. After that 2002 Championship run, the Lakers won an additional two titles behind Kobe Bryant, who between the first threepeat and the torn Achilles, became one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA. The Lakers might currently be in a five-year playoff drought, but the Minnesota Timberwolves, who I would no doubt have become a fan of had basketball come to me a bit later, recently broke their own 14-year-long streak of missing the playoffs. And their reward: a first-round exit, followed by a media circus surrounding their best player that might just plunge them back into mediocrity.

So, I get it. I could be complaining about a whole lot worse. But bad is bad, and there is no question that the Lakers in recent memory have been nothing short of bad. Which is why I am so excited for the team the Lakers are putting in play this year. For all the young players the Lakers have had to trade away, they still have formed a solid young core comprised of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart. Though their NBA careers haven’t yielded a ton of success in terms of winning yet, these four players are widely regarded as legitimate talents in today’s NBA.

Additionally, the Lakers made a statement this offseason by adding four intriguing veterans: Rajon Rondo, Michael Beasley, Javale McGee, and Lance Stephenson. These four are often known more for their personality and volatility off the court as they are for their play on the court. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that these players have had a knack throughout their careers for winning. Two of them, Rondo and McGee, have been members of championship teams, McGee having won with the Warriors last year. All are playoff tested and will bring that experience to aid the younger players.

That having been said, this team would still not be very good if that is all that it was bringing to the table. But of course, I’ve left the best for last, because the biggest addition of the Summer was a man by the name of LeBron James. In case you haven’t heard of him, he is a Three-time champion, four-time Most Valuable Player, and perhaps the only player who is ever considered to be a challenge to Michael Jordan for the greatest player of all time. He has played in the NBA finals each of the past eight years, and he is bringing his talents to Hollywood. This is the kind of talent, leadership, and star-power that the Lakers have sorely lacked for far too long. LeBron is the kind of player that will make any team good, and it is possible that with the pieces we have, this team can become great.

Listen, I am optimistic by nature. And when my team hasn’t won anything in half a decade, I probably go a little overboard, but I know this for sure. I am going to have fun watching basketball this year, which is something I haven’t been able to say in a while. I am going to be sitting on the edge of my seat while watching close games, not just for the momentary excitement but the stakes that will invariably be attached.

There’s one other thing, too. The Lakers, last year, were one of the fastest playing teams in the NBA. The finished the season ranked 3^rd in Pace and 2^nd in Fastbreak points. Add to that Lebron James, who despite having a revolutionary style all his own, is most often compared with…Magic Johnson. That’s right, the star we just got is most often compared to the centerpiece of the Showtime Lakers, and is joining a team that already likes to play fast. We have a potential to see Showtime again.

Will the Lakers make a run at the title this year? Probably not. But will they be among the challengers to the team we all expect to be the champions (the Warriors)? I think so, though some think the team will struggle to miss the playoffs in a stacked Western Conference. I don’t buy that. A player of LeBron’s caliber never struggles to make the playoffs, no matter which team he is on. And let’s not forget that this team is just beginning to be assembled. LeBron signed a four-year contract, and he won’t wait it out without another big-name player (or two) joining him, so this team is poised to make a run over the next few years that is bound to be incredibly exciting. We may still be in the very early stages of it, but the feeling is inescapable: maybe, just maybe, Showtime might be Back!

The date was January 14^th, 2018. I was sitting in the 3^rd deck of US Bank Stadium over the east endzone for my first ever Minnesota Vikings playoff game. With 25 seconds left in the game, New Orleans Saints kicker Will Lutz kicked a 43-yard field goal to give the Saints a 24-23 lead. All hope seemed lost.

It was a classic example of the Vikings getting their fans hopes far too high. Whether it was the four empty trips to the Super Bowl in the 1970s; or the 1998 season where the league’s top ranked offense had lead the team to a 15-1 record, only to lose in the NFC Championship game after a kicker who hadn’t missed all year missed a 38-yarder; or when 40-year-old Brett Favre, fresh off one of the most interesting offseason sagas ever led to one of the most exciting seasons ever, threw an interception deep in enemy territory to end the 2009 team’s chance at the title; or when Blair Walsh missed a 27-yarder in one of the most gut-wrenchingly unexpected losses of them all, this team had a flair for tragedy.

In fact, this entire season seemed like it was too good to be true. The franchise quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, had gone down with a gruesome knee injury the year before, and in an effort to remedy the situation, GM Rick Spielman traded a first-round draft pick for a quarterback who was once taken first overall, Sam Bradford. Though Bradford played well, setting a then NFL record for completion percentage, the team battled inconsistent play and ravaging injuries to an 8-8 mark.

Hopes weren’t too high going into the year, but the team began the 2017 campaign with a convincing win against these very Saints behind the impressive play of Bradford. Of course, the law of the Vikings dictates that things have to be unnecessarily complicated and stupidly undone, so Bradford developed a knee injury during that game that was unnoticed until afterwards, and his ability to return during the season was cast into doubt. So, with 15 games to go, the quarterback position was turned to journeyman Case Keenum.

This is the part the seemed to make no sense at all. Case Keenum was a college star at Houston, yes, but he had spent his five years in the NFL alternating between the Texans and Rams (both in St. Louis and Los Angeles), building little more reputation than that of a solid backup. And for what it was worth, that was what he was expected to be, even after the injury to Bradford.

The hope was that Bradford’s injury wouldn’t last long. That was the hope anyway…. Teddy was still on the PUP, but he would be available by week 7 if worst came to worst. “Keenum wouldn’t be long for the Vikings” was the prevailing thought amongst fans. I even took to calling him “some guy named Case,” thinking his time behind center would be short. Boy, how our tune would change.

Over the next 15 games, Case Keenum would go 12-3, and not just as a guy who stayed out of the way, but as a daring gunslinger who seemed to will the ball into his receivers’ hands. When star rookie running back Dalvin Cook went down in week 4, Keenum’s load increased, and he rose to the occasion. When Teddy Bridgewater came back midseason, the once budding young star was relegated to holding a clipboard, as no one would dare make a change from Case’s hot hand.

This team, however, would be defined not by their Cinderella quarterback, but by the League’s preeminent defensive unit. With Head coach Mike Zimmer in his fourth year at the helm, a man who was undoubtedly one of the leagues brightest defensive minds had built a juggernaut. With homegrown talent like Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr, and Everson Griffen, along with perfectly fit transplants like Linval Joseph, Terence Newman and Tom Johnson, the defense had ironically gained a reputation as a “no-name” unit, despite the fact that it sent five of its members to the Pro Bowl. By Season’s end, the Vikings ranked first in Yards Allowed, Points Allowed, and 3^rd Down Conversion Rate.

And so, behind the story of a journeyman quarterback turned season saver and the foundation of the league’s best defense, the 13-3 Vikings, by virtue of gaining the NFC’s second seed, prepared to host the Saints in the Divisional Round in a game that was tabbed as a week 1 rematch. Having decided to attend the game after some spur of the moment coaxing from my friend Abe – with whom I’ve shared the misery of lives dedicated to supporting a team who seem to find the most inspiring ways of building you up, only to find an even more agonizing way to tear you down – I prepared to watch this game with my hopes and expectations in the lowest place possible.

As it turned out keeping my hopes down was more challenging that I could have expected. The Vikings jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half behind Touchdowns from running backs Jerrick McKinnon and Latavius Murray, and a 20-yard field goal from former Saint Kai Forbath. Adding to the impressive offensive performance, the defense intercepted 2 of Saints Quarterback Drew Brees’ passes and didn’t allow the Saints a single 3^rd Down conversion through the first 30 minutes. With the team seemingly firing on all cylinders and a three-possession lead in tow, the crowd anxiously awaited the time when the clock turned zero and the team could officially turn their focus to the NFC Championship game the following week.

But sometimes all-time greats do the things that make them all-time greats, and no one in their right mind would ever question the greatness of Drew Brees after his second half performance. With two Touchdown passes to star receiver Michael Thomas, Brees began the task of bringing the Saints back from the brink of elimination. A 49-yard Kai Forbath field goal still gave the Vikings a 20-14 lead, that is until, with 3:01 left in regulation, Brees hit running back Alvin Kamara on a wheel route for a 14-yard, go ahead score. The Vikings responded with another Forbath field goal, the one from 53 yards out, with 1:29 left, only to see Brees march the Saints down the field once again. The Vikings defense even forced the Saints into a 4^th and 10 at the Vikings 46, but the future Hall of Famer would not be denied, connecting with receiver Willie Snead for 13 yards to extend the game. Fifteen seconds later, Wil Lutz’ 43-yarder sank the spirits of the crowd in a way that was palpable to all in attendance.

The speakers in the stadium began to play the famous Journey song “Don’t Stop Believing” in an attempt to connect with the crowd. While this seemed like an appropriate choice on its surface, I couldn’t help but feeling like it was a last-ditch attempt to keep some hope tethered to a fanbase with more scars than needed reminding of. It didn’t work, of course. No sooner had Lutz’ kick sailed through the uprights than scores of fans started dejectedly towards the exit. Those who stayed were mostly accepting of the fact that they were sitting out the final moments of another exciting, yet ultimately disappointing season. Though Abe and I chose to stay among those who waiting for the bitter end, two of our group decided they wouldn’t watch the Saints celebrate on our field and disappeared towards the Stadium gate. As Steve Perry’s voice echoed through the emptying bowl, I turned to Abe and expressed my feeling that the song playing on the speakers was a bad sign. I didn’t get a response, not even a glance; Abe, who I’m not sure even heard me, stood and stared forward, unable to put into words the feeling coursing through his gut after what seemed like the 100^th punch dealt in a yet young existence as a fan of this team.

As it turned out, being speechless was a theme that would pervade the coming moments, but not for the reasons we thought it would. Despite a false start penalty to open the ensuing drive, Case Keenum found receiver Stefon Diggs in the middle of the field for a 19-yard gain. The failure to get out-of-bounds, however, caused the Vikings to burn their final timeout. After an incomplete pass on the following play, a Saints timeout preceded the most exciting sports moment I’ve experienced in my 23 years.

On 2^nd and 10, Keenum fired a deep out to Diggs, who caught the ball after leaping in the air at the Saints 34-yard-line. An incredible tackling error by Saints safety Marcus Williams both failed in its quest to tackle Diggs and succeeded in preventing another Saints defender – cornerback Ken Crawley – from being able make the play. Diggs, who lost his balance upon returning to the ground, managed to brace himself by reaching out and pushing off the ground with his left hand. Seeing no defenders between himself and the goal line, he sprinted the remaining 30 yards into the east endzone right in front of Abe and me. The Vikings had, out of nowhere, pulled a miracle and won, 29-24!

Pandemonium erupted through US Bank Stadium. The deafening roar of the crowd would not subside for several minutes, as those who chose to stay and watch far outnumbered the ones who left. Many who left, by the way, did their best to return to their seats if they hadn’t made it all the way out. My exact words at that moment were “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!” and I quote. I can’t tell you what Abe said, because I honestly had a hard time perceiving the world around me in the moments that followed.

The craziness that engulfed the stadium was not confined to the stands. On the field, the Vikings rushed into each other’s arms to celebrate, the Saints rushed to the locker room, and media personnel rushed to interview anyone they could find, trying to find words to describe what they’d just witnessed. It wasn’t until many minutes later that Gene Steratore, the game’s referee, could be heard over the loudspeaker informing the crowd that the ruling on the field had been upheld, and that a conversion apparently needed to be attempted. Slowly, the Vikings had 11 players line up for the final play, and the Saints brought 8 players to line up against them. Before the snap was made, Case Keenum led the crowd in a rendition of the “Skol Chant,” a tradition only 2 years old, but seemingly etched in the culture of the fanbase forever. Case took the snap, put a knee on the ground, and the celebration ensued.

What happened next seemed to be a retelling of a tired tale that always ended in the same unfortunate end. Seven days later, the Vikings failed to put their best foot forward against the Philadelphia Eagles, losing 38-7 in a game that was as depressing to watch as any football game could be. I spent the entire week leading up to that game re-watching the play as often as I could. I thought we were the team of destiny, and that feeling was beat up on repeatedly over the 60 minutes the Vikings spend in Philly. To add insult to injury, the Eagles came to Minneapolis two weeks later and won the Super Bowl in a game we all hoped would be a grand homecoming. The reality had sunk in that for the 52^nd year of its existence, the Super Bowl title would not go to the Minnesota Vikings.

But somehow, this time felt different. Despite another year of failing to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy, there is still something bubbly that rises up in me when I thought about the game. I still watch the replay from time to time, reminding myself that yes, I was there when this happened. I experienced it as close up as I could have. It is through this watching and re-watching that I discovered the meme of putting Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” behind big sports moments. Trust me when I say that it made this one better as well.

I also often harken back to a conversation I had with my mother in the days after the game, explaining that it was moments like these that a sports fan dreams of, and that was these moments that seemed to make watching sports, which really is a silly practice when you think about it, justifiable, if only because of the excitement and community that seems to grow from them. Somehow, I felt that no one could take this moment away from me. That happiness that I felt, that would be there forever, despite what happened a week later.

Still yet, the memory that I’m reminded of the most often is the moment right before the wild finish, the moment when all hope seemed lost. This moment always comes to mind when I head “Don’t Stop Believing” on the radio, at a bar, or on YouTube. It reminds me that sometimes, a little hope, even in the most unlikely of scenarios, isn’t a bad thing. It reminds me that sometimes the greatest moments are born out of the direst of situations. I don’t think this song will stop reminding me of that for as long as I live. I think it has formed an unbreakable link with that moment.

Nearly eight months later, the Vikings prepare to start their 2019 season against the San Francisco 49ers. Case Keenum is no longer a Viking, having been replaced by expensive free agent Kirk Cousins. Many other faces, including Sam Bradford, Jerrick McKinnon, and Kai Forbath, have also departed. Such is the way of the ever-changing landscape of the NFL. Still, the character of the team remains largely the same, as the defense remains largely intact, and most of the skill position talent on offense is still in place. Expectations around the country for the Vikings are perhaps as high as they have been in my lifetime.

But yet I remain cynical. In recent years, the team’s most exciting years are often followed by their most disappointing. Whatever the future brings though, I can’t help, every once in a while, thinking about the day I was in the stands over the east endzone of US Bank Stadium, and remembering fondly the feeling they can’t take away.