It's better to have hope than to give in to pessimism, but in looking back on the Vikings' 38-7 loss to the Eagles in Sunday's NFC title game, it's clear just how much a playoff baseball game played more than three months earlier predicted the Vikings' fate.
I'm talking about the Twins' 8-4 loss to the Yankees in the AL wild-card game in October. The Twins jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, and the entire state of Minnesota felt great. It lasted only a few minutes, though, as the Yankees tied the score 3-3 in their half of the first.
Likewise, the Vikings looked unstoppable on their first drive against the Eagles in taking a quick 7-0 lead. But a pick-six not long after tied the score.
In both cases, you might have tried to convince yourself it was just like both games were tied 0-0 and things could still be OK.
And in both cases, we all probably knew better.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
