Allow us to offer you a little something that's sadly too hard to come by in the 2012 "journalism" machine. Context coupled with level-headed perspective. (And yes, we heard that astounded gasp all the way over here.)
By now, you might know that Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway has taken some heat in recent days and has felt obligated to apologize for an off-the-cuff joke he made in the locker room following last Sunday's 23-14 loss in Green Bay.
Here's how it all went down. Just because we feel you deserve to know.
The Vikings had absorbed a brutal loss to the Packers in a game they probably should have won. It was a defeat that likely put an end to the team's playoff chances. From the second the visiting locker room doors opened at Lambeau Field, you could tell the agitation inside was raw.
As many Vikings players stood around and answered the usual barrage of postgame questions, Greenway was approached by three local reporters: myself, Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan and 1500ESPN's Tom Pelissero.
A minute or so in, a cameraman from a local Green Bay TV station jumped into the mix.
Greenway -- as he always does after a triumphant win or galling loss -- stepped up to offer his take on the loss. It was, as more postgame locker room exchanges should be, a candid and casual back-and-forth without inane formulaic questions or pre-packaged cliche answers. (Imagine that!)
Two minutes in, Greenway was asked whether the Vikings' Week 14 game with Chicago essentially became the game for the entire season.