Take this as a piece to mull over, now, now, as it pertains to football only. Up a few blocks there are a pair of extended-height tree stumps, each wrapped in gaudy strings of lights, like something you might buy in a bathroom at a nightspot. Colors of the two particular ones are one purple and one gold. Then I wish to note there are the glowing lawn lights packed in still-present snow just up the street. Not to be risque, but one might say, to make a comparison the Vikings were going up and the Packers were going down. But since one of those bulbs under the snow surface was red, and actually one gold too, you might add that the San Franscisco 49ers were on the rise also and even more so, defeating the Packers in the NFC championship game, and then another Red team, the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, much like what actually played out in U.S. war history.
This post continues with quips about how we got to the game of games, (and a later post will follow about that ultimate contest), which was won like the west with both the rushing game to start the two-game swing, and the passing of QB Patrick Mahomes to finish. As a halftime ad put it, Leave it all out on the table, which HudsonWiNightlife has done about most of the playoffs until now, as its Funner to the final second, as was appropo with the the 49s being championship-material in the final minutes if not seconds.
Not to drag with this like an instant relay, we will tell the war of the roses, so to speak, often in the terms of more colors and metaphors, so here goes:
The Packers run to the playoffs ran into a dead end, and they ran out of luck, when facing the run-based 49ers, who used the rush to run Green Bay into the ground, although not flat-out running the table ( is that a run-on sentence?)
The Packers did run the table one-game longer than the Vikings, winning their first game against the Seattle Seahawks. But if across the river, this was one big and wide question, to take center-stage a week earlier.
The Purple People had a cloudy query in their headgear, and unlike Einstein it was not subtle, “Will Theilen be able to play?” Yes was a possible answer to that key question, if judging by the violet jerseys for him that abounded about town, and teamed with hats, although not helmets, that included dreaded Green Bay. Turns out they’d need the injured star to go forward to win. And when cleaning up the house with my Viking spouse, we came across a postseason mug in the name of those dreaded Eagles. More green. (I will say the logo shown is very much like that on Minnesota helmets). Are either of these things street legal?
The question apparently was answered at the Village Inn in North Hudson, on its big sign that’s a jog off the main drag. It declared itself Packer country, and backed it up by showing the whole U.S. on a green and gold colored map, with a great big G over the Rockies (road) and over to the West Coast. I guess that would make it the much sought after G Spot. And a few days later, but current by HudsonWiNightlife standards, was a leaping deer with a G Spot where to borrow from The Grinch in this season, his heart should be. Aww. Or am I mixing up things with a colorful lawn decoration nearby?
But back to Thielen. A guy at the can dropoff spot was beaming and then pointed to his head. Turns out that his work helmet had been fashioned into a Viking thingee, although the only horns were the ones painted on — three inches long, and therefore not nearly as big as the ones of his ancestors. He was guardedly confident in his teams Saturday chanches, although as he said, these are the Vikings. Ouch. Regardless, he planned to witness the result, although he’d have to hurry since the closing of his shop was at the odd time of 11:45 a.m. Stop by Kwik Trip to get game grub first, as time would allow, like the two-minute warning that actually takes another ten. And at that store recently, they were wearing not Packer/hunting gear, or Viking helmet-style horns, but chicken hats including waddles, which may or may not be appropo, depending on your favorate squad, but inevitably a bit pathetic. So I queried a couple of the workers there, Why did the chicken cross the road? To get quickly to the other side, as was late for his shift. Alas, one of the workers said, he hadn’t heard any chicken jokes to that point.
And we shift over to a conversation in that enemy state, at a watering hole that caters to of all teams the Chicago Bears. It was in advance of the starting game of this column’s concern, and there was one other person in the bar. But the bartender assured me that give it a couple of hours the place would be almost as hopping as if the Bears had squeaked in and barely made the playoffs. Packers more of a question, but in doubt, refer to that Big G..
And what of the Viking season, now ended. There is a new logo, same look, same old result, except the Viking braid is shorter. Did this mean its time for a haircut? However, that could also sap their strength even further, as assistants are looking for other employment. The score, however, was even when a friend was given a big Packer ring, and responded she is always from the other side. So we ended up having both of them.
And Green Bay does so carry on, and the sign at Kozy Korner sums it up with a double meaning. Scout group (insert the troop number with the one of your kids). Go Pack go! And concerning the Border Battle, the Pack was not yet catching flack.