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Ben Van Santen grew up in East Bethel, Minn. A Viking fan since birth, he experienced his first real sense of loss after the '87-'88 season NFC title game. He's currently employed as a technical writer for a local medical device manufacturer and resides in NE Minneapolis with his wife and dog. This is his first contest win since his 3rd grade pumpkin carving contest.

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Take the 'Real' Viking Fan Challenge

Last update: November 4, 2009 - 9:04 PM

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There's a specific breed of fan who likes to police who is a "real fan" and who is not. I never understood this. Besides the obvious bandwagoners, the evidence is usually hazy at best. And telling somebody they are "not a real fan" is really no different than telling somebody they don't really like spaghetti.

Nonetheless, I thought it might be helpful to put together a questionnaire in an attempt to define some criteria for the different levels of fandom. Each answer is assigned X amount of points. Add them up to discover your fan density. Enjoy.

How many games do you attend per year?
a) Season tickets baby!
b) I split a package with some others
c) 1 or 2
d) Why pay money to sit on hard blue plastic?

When the Vikings lose, I...
a) Pick fights with parking attendants, waitresses and/or bouncers
b) Replay key moments in my head over and over again
c) Rationalize it as just one game of 16
d) Shrug, whatever

If the Vikings were to start the season 0-8, I would...
a) Try in vain to get through to KFAN
b) Continue to watch and find a positive to build on
c) Have the game on in the background
d) I stopped watching at 0-4

If the game is on and my significant other has made other plans for us, I...
a) She knows better than to do that
b) Make a quick mental list of pros and cons of said significant other
c) Record the game and reluctantly go along
d) Hope to catch glimpses of the game wherever we are going

My first born son will be/is named...
a) Bud (even if it's a girl)
b) Grant
c) Denny
d) Brett

A = 4 points; B = 3; C = 2; D = 1

The results:
20:       Your family misses you
15-19:  Congratulations, you set the standard
11-14:  I know the leaves need raking, but you should really try harder
6-10:    Maybe you're more of a Twins fan
5:         Get off my blog (said like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino)

 

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Date/Opponent Time W L Score
Sep 13 - at Cleveland 12:00 PM1034-20
Sep 20 - at Detroit 12:00 PM2027-13
Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco 12:00 PM3027-24
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Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore 12:00 PM6033-31
Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh 12:00 PM6117-27
Nov 1 - at Green Bay 3:15 PM7138-26
Open     
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Nov 22 - vs. Seattle 12:00 PM9135-9
Nov 29 - vs. Chicago 3:15 PM   
Dec 6 - at Arizona 3:15 PM   
Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati 12:00 PM   
Dec 20 - at Carolina 7:20 PM   
Dec 28 - at Chicago 7:30 PM   
Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants 12:00 PM   

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