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Smash Articles
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The Sign! Since that day, and year after year of playoff loses, I would lament in agony, when would be our time?. When would be my time? Each time I was immersed into the depths of despair and each time, I was given the same sign. All of my life, when others would state which teams they were fans of, and how many of them there were, I would state, "for me, there is only one team". "There is no other". Don't get me wrong, over the years I've watched countless sporting events, and would cheer them on, but my heart belongs only to one team ... there is only one team ... there is no other. Over the years, countless people have looked at me, feeling sorry for me, as if I were somehow crippled by the effects and sum of my team, but there can be no remorse given for true and unwavering passion. The ones that I view and see each time when I turn around are either closet fans or band wagon jumpers. These are the people that I feel sorry for, as they will never know the passion, or the love that I have for these memories. The lessons taught by being apart of Minnesota Vikings history were more than what can be obtained from just a simple game ... it was the sum of its members. Even in my agony, these tortured memories are something that I cherish and carry with me day by day. I need to share these feelings, these emotions, these memories with no one other than my peers ... the ones that have endured Viking history. The dream ... the dream ... the dream that I've seen countless times in my remorse, my agony, my pain and the depths of my despair was viewed over and over again. It was the response to my question. The answer would reveal itself in a specific astrological event within the constellation Taurus. For years, I've searched the heavens, first to locate the Belt of Orion which points to Aldebaran, the prime star to locate Taurus, and within the Taurus constellation, I would see a very bright star, a planet, what I thought would be Jupiter. Year after year I would look up and search the heavens, and it was never to be seen. Each time I asked, "when would be my time?", I received the same answer to that question by seeing this same unique astrological event. For years I understood that you could only see the Belt and Taurus at night during the winter months as it progressed across the heavens from the east (in the beginning of winter) to the west (at the end of winter). While in college, I would jog at night, and every day, I would look up, and what I was looking for was never there. I was born on April 22, 1961, the very year which is affectionately known as the birth of the Vikings. I had never known that the Minnesota Vikings had been established in 1961 until my mother-in-law gave me a Viking sweatshirt several years ago with this statement incorporated on it. My astrological sign is Taurus. Right next to the constellation Taurus is an unusual cluster of stars known as the pleiades, also known as the seven sisters. A circular cluster of seven stars that I first observed in New Orleans using a 12" mirrored telescope in 1987. I have exactly seven sisters. As a very young boy, I was bitten by a small dog's fang on the inside of my right pinky ... it scarred me for life with a Viking Horn. As a young boy, my very first playground tackle football rec team, picked randomly for me, was the Minnesota Vikings. I've been placed on Viking teams all my life. These are all signs that are specific to me. Could it all be just a coincidence? All of my life, I've been a night owl. From this dream and these signs, I've been hunted into becoming an amateur astronomer. One of my favorites has been to view what is called the morning star, which is actually the planet Venus. For some reason, I've always been drawn to it, although being a night person, I'd only see it in the western sky at dusk or in the evening. I had never seen it in the morning. My body is changing, where I now wake in the early morning hours. For some reason, I awoke on a particular Thursday morning that just happened to be NFL's 2007 opening day. Maybe I was haunted by the thought of a new season of disappointments. It was 4:30 am and it was quiet, dark and I was all alone. For some reason, in my restlessness, I decided to go down stairs into my kitchen. I peered out of my kitchen window, drinking a glass of water over our sink, which projects onto an eastern view. As I viewed out of that window, and as my eyes adjusted, I saw the bright morning star right next to a beautiful crescent moon with clear pristine skies. I thought to myself how beautiful it was. I wanted a better view, so I walked out onto my deck and just breathed it all in and just absorbed its beauty. I was completely relaxed and at ease. After a time, I then shifted my view slightly to the right and I noticed something odd, something that I've never seen before, at least not in summer. It was the belt of Orion. I thought to myself, this can't be right, it can't be the Belt of Orion. It's not winter, the big dipper was not upside down pouring out all of our good Viking fortune. I thought, how could this be? I was still partially asleep. I was disoriented. I forced myself to think this through. Yes, Yes, it could be the belt ... it was morning, not night, and the sky could have shifted in such a way as to be able to see the belt on the horizon. So I instinctively shifted my gaze toward Taurus. I couldn't find it. It was not there. I panicked. It has to be there, where is it, as my mind raced. Why can't I see it? Are my eyes that bad? I then took that breath and went back to the Belt, and extended the belts line upward, to find the exact location of the Aldebaran. I then oriented the five stars that form a triangle and then extended them out to the two far reaching stars that make up the constellation Taurus. I found them, but something was wrong. There was a large bright planet right in the center of Taurus. The sign, the sign ... the one that I've awaited my whole life. This past weekend, I spoke with a long lost Viking fan on my trip to Rochester, New York. I told her this story, and then she tells me of her son. Her son recently told her of an unusual celestial event which involves Jupiter, to be seen only in the early morning hours. What had drawn her son to this event? Does this all sound like coincidence? Has something changed? It is my son that serves me the news. Michigan looses to Appellation State. Notre Dame and Michigan, where both 0-2, in fact Notre Dame still hasn't won a game. Oklahoma loses! Penn State collapses! The carnage is everywhere. There have been so many things beyond the ordinary for me to even recall or remember. The para-normal shift continues unabated. Are we experiencing and in the presence of some sort of cosmic shift? They tell us, it will come as if a thief in the night, and when you least expect it! No, not the end of the world, but what is regarded in football terms as ... it's when it all comes together. Sometimes there is no explanation for it. I've been waiting for this for so long. Could it be? Let's now take the sum: The defense is very strong and respected. We lack an offensive line with backbone ... some call it intestinal fortitude. How many more times will you relent and be driven into our quarterback? What special gift lies within Syd's hands? Will Tarvaris Jackson's humility take us to Nirvana? Could Aundrae Allison be the real deal? Could Troy finally let go of the monkey on his back ... to finally dispel the notion of the label? I will tell you this ... I've never seen a player like Adrian Peterson ever ... he was fashioned by the gods for a purpose! Could it be that the spirits of our ancestors are awake on Vikings winds? Something has changed! The Viking Ghost
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