Sports : A lament from a foul-weather Minnesota Vikings fan

I was never a real athlete, but my favorite childhood memories were of the winter, playing football with my brother and neighbors. I remember the ecstasy of tackling in my brother in the snow. I recall the day I dived for a pass and probably would have caught it. But I landed face first in a pile of snow; the shock made me drop the ball. I felt, on those days, as though I was a member of my favorite team back then -- the Minnesota Vikings.

I thought of those days last Sunday, when the Vikings experienced one of their most miserable losses of recent years

When I heard the Vikings would have to play OUTSIDE, I knew they would lose. I knew it would be ugly.

I saw last Sunday coming 29 years ago.

I was a crazy, loud Dallas Cowboy-hating Viking fan as a kid. I loved Francis Asbury Tarkenton, silent Bud Grant, the Purple People Eaters, Chuck Forman, Sammy White, and especially free safety Paul Kraus. I hated the Cowboys, but only because they always seemed to beat the Vikings when it mattered. (Later, I came to admire Tom Landry, the Cowboys’ coach. He was the best of that time and quite possibly the best ever.)

The Vikings went to the Super Bowl four times in the 1970s. Sure they lost, but they got there a lot. They were good.

Part of the reason that the Vikings were always so good so late in the year is that they played outside. I loved watching them, in Decembers, playing teams from warm climates or teams with domed stadiums. The snow and cold weather did not bother the Vikings. I still remember a headline from that era: “Snowballs, not Bills, hurt Vikings.” Minnesota played a late regular season against Buffalo and won, although one of the Vikings got smashed in the face with a snowball while scoring a touchdown.

It was fun watching them play in the snow and the ice. The Vikings of that era usually won, especially in those conditions. I am sure the weather was a factor in their favor, especially if they played the L.A. Rams, or the Silverdome-spoiled Lions.

The Vikings lost their fourth Super Bowl in the late 1970s. Then they did something that I feared back then would keep them from ever going to No. 5.

They moved inside.

They tore down Metropolitan Stadium and started playing in the Metrodome. Things have not been the same since.

I thought back then – at the precocious age of 13 – that playing in harsh winter weather built character, and that the character of the team was a main reason for the Vikings’ success.

I was afraid that a team that played in a climate-controlled facility would not be prepared for the harsh realities of winter football.

There are exceptions, of course. The Cowboys played in Texas; the Dolphins, in Miami. The Super Bowl is always played either in a dome or a southern city that’s warm in January – never at Lambeau Field. So once a team gets to the Super Bowl, the weather is not a factor.

But to get to the Super Bowl, most teams have to play in the cold, the snow, the ice. And, I feared in the late 1970s, teams that play all year inside are going to have big problems if they have to play in the cold.

It seemed, to me, at that time, that moving the Vikings inside would turn them into one of those teams that seem to forget how to play football if the temperature drops below 0 Celcius.

Turns out, I was right.

Viking fans saw just how terribly the move has affected their team last week. Their warm, dry dome with the nice, soft warm playing surface collapsed under the weight of the snow. For the first time in exactly 29 years, the Vikings played a home game under the weather.

It could not have gone much worse.

The Bears – one of the classically historical outdoors all-weather teams – beat up on the Vikings. They won 40-14. They gave Brett Favre a concussion.

For Vikings fans, it was ugly. And the ugliness began before the game.

“This field is unplayable,” wrote Viking punter Chris Kluwe. Actually, he did not write it – he tweeted it.

As the punter, Kluwe actually spent less time on the field than any other Viking, but he declared it un-playable. All Kluwe had to do was stand there for a minute, say “Hike” and kick the ball.” One on occasion, he kicked the ball to Devin Hester, who proved that the Bears, at least could play in the snow. Hester ran past all of the Vikings, including Kluwe, to score a record-setting touchdown.

I don’t think he could have done that against the 1979 Vikings.

But he did against the 2010 version.

At least the Vikings only have to worry about playing one more game outside this season. They travel to Philadelphia on Sunday to play the eagles. Forecast 34 degrees; 30 percent chance of snow. Bet the Eagles will win. I just heard that the game has been delayed two days because of winter weather. If the Vikings had their way, it would be delayed until June.

Then they end their awful season at Detroit, where it’s nice and warm. But I bet the Vikings play like the Lions did in the 1970s.