The Curse of the (Clean) Socks

If you have been a Minnesota Vikings fan for anything length of time, all I need to do is mention Gary Anderson and the 1998 season and you know exactly what I'm talking about. But for those of you who aren't familiar, here's a quick backstory: In 1998, the Vikings were having a spectacular season. They became only the third team in NFL history to win 15 games during the regular season, and scored a then-record 556 points. They cruised to the NFC Championship game--with home field advantage--where they faced the Atlanta Falcons. With a seven-point lead and two minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Vikings had a chance to essentially put the game away with a 38-yard field goal. Despite going 35 for 35 on field goals in the regular season, Gary Anderson missed. And that miss gave the Falcons a chance to tie the game and push it into overtime, which they eventually won (by kicking a 38-yard field goal, ironically).

What you may not know and what I previously failed to mention is that it is MY fault Gary Anderson missed that field goal. On that particular Sunday, I wasn't feeling the greatest, so at halftime, I changed out of my church clothes and into something more comfortable (which was only something we were allowed to do when the Vikings were losing at halftime, which in this particular game they weren't). I also spent most of the second half lying on the couch, and during all of the games earlier in the season I had sat upright to watch. So really, it should come as no shocker that Anderson missed that field goal--and clearly, it was all my fault.

Sounds ludicrous, right? Not to my sister. I kid you not, for YEARS I had to deal with her telling me it was my fault the Vikings didn't make it to the Super Bowl that year (and truthfully, she'd probably say the same now, but I just avoid bringing it up). My sister is what you call superstitious--and a little obsessively so. Candidly, my dad is too, but my sister is definitely worse. Which brings me to this year--and the curse of the socks.

The Vikings started this season 5-0--a surprise not just because they are the Vikings, but also because their starting quarterback suffered a season (and possibly career) ending injury in practice just weeks before the start of the season, plus their starting running back suffered a serious knee injury early in the second game of the season and has been out since. Admittedly, it hadn't always been pretty, but the Vikings still managed to find a way to come out ahead in the first five games. And then they had a bye, which by all counts, should have been a good thing. They had extra time to really work with the offense and cater it toward the players who were healthy and playing, not the ones who they had thought would be playing when the season started. Plus they had time to rest a few minor defensive injuries. And statistically, teams have a slightly higher odds of winning coming off a bye week. But for the Vikings this year, none of that was good enough.

You see, what the Vikings hadn't counted on and couldn't prepare for during their bye week, was the fact that my sister's husband WASHED her Vikings socks. So when she sat down for their game against the Eagles, she was wearing the same outfit she'd worn for each of the previous games--but her socks were clean (I'll let you infer what that means for the rest of her outfit). And that, ladies and gentlemen, ruined it for the Vikings. They lost that game--and they haven't won since. All because her socks were washed during a winning streak--and everyone knows you don't mess with the mojo when there is a winning streak going on. I promise you my brother-in-law won't be forgetting that anytime soon after the "spirited discussions" he had with my sister after the sock-washing incident.

In all seriousness, though, I really hope the Vikings manage to find a way to win against the Redskins on Sunday. Because if I have to listen to my sister complain one more time that the Vikings can't win because her socks got washed, I think I might lose it. I may not get into the games quite like some of my family members, but I do enjoy my purple and gold football Sundays with this crazy family.