In chatting with former Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer, who was in town in part for Sunday's Vikings/Packers game, the subject of his six-touchdown day against the Packers in 1986 came up.
When Kramer was healthy and dialed in, he was a sight to behold. That game against the Packers — which Kramer dedicated to his mother, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer not long before — was the perfect example.
The Vikings won the game 42-7, with Kramer throwing five first-half touchdowns and one early in the second. Coach Jerry Burns took him out to preserve his health; Kramer remembers cursing at his coach, telling him, "Burnsie, I could have had 10 touchdowns!"
Kramer told me he was "20 of 23 with three drops" that day.
Pro Football Reference says he was 16-for-25 and doesn't detail the drops.
But what are you going to believe and what do you want to believe: the archives or the memories?
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
