Vikings fans: America's team should be your most despised

After listening to many of ESPN's talking heads the past two days, this question needs to be asked: Should the Vikings even show up on Sunday?

They are making it sound like the Cowboys are a combination of the '85 Bears and '96 Favre-led Packers.

The only thing that could make me more nauseous this week is if NBC announces that former Cowboy Emmitt Smith is taking over for Conan O'Brien, although since you can't change the stripes of a leopard, we don't have anything to worry about.

Raised by a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, I was taught early to despise the Mets, Celtics, Knicks, and Cowboys. This latest slurpfest fuels my Dallas dislike even more.

For obvious reasons, the teams Vikings fans loathe the most are the Packers and Bears. With all due respect to those feelings, the franchise you should reject the most is Sunday's opponent, the Dallas Cowboys.

Sure, some of it is jealousy and envy. Five Super Bowl championships to zero. 57 playoff games to 43. The Vikings have been eliminated in the postseason by Dallas four times, which is tied for the most against any team.

The Cowboys have more Hall of Famers, get regular Thanksgiving exposure, and have a longer sell-out streak. Also, according to Forbes, the Cowboys are the most lucrative sports franchise in the United States. A big reason why: A $1.2 BILLION stadium that features go-go dancers as we are entering a second decade of fighting for new digs.

Most of it is because Dallas won three Vince Lombardi trophies after being on the receiving end of the most lopsided trade in professional sports history. Simply called "The Trade," in 1989, running back Herschel Walker came to the Vikings for five players, three of them defensive starters, and eight draft picks, including three in the first round, three in the second and one in the third. Dallas soon went from 1-15 in 1989 to titles after the 1992, 1993, and 1995 seasons.

The Vikings had a losing record with Walker (21-23) before releasing him. Their only playoff appearance was a 41-13 loss to the 49ers in 1989.

The 1975 "Hail Mary" Dallas win at Met Stadium, where Vikings cornerback Nate Wright was pushed by Dallas' Drew Pearson, was made easier when the Cowboys eventually lost in the Super Bowl.

Running back Adrian Peterson's favorite childhood team: The Cowboys.

Quarterback Brett Favre is 2-9 lifetime against Dallas. That includes a 0-3 mark in the postseason.

Dallas has a winning record against the Vikings in overtime games (2-1), has won the lone NFC championship matchup (23-6 on 1/1/78), and even came away victorious in the Vikings' first ever game, a preseason contest in 1961.

We even have to tolerate a former Cowboy, Troy Aikman, calling this Sunday's game.

For once, instead of hearing "How 'bout them Cowboys?" after these two teams play, wouldn't it be nice to be able to say, "Why not mess with Texas?"