
So it has come to this: not only did the Vikings tumble from 5-0 and on top of the world to 8-8 and not even in the playoffs, but also their fans are now left with a rough postseason reality.
The four remaining teams in the NFC are:
*Dallas, which became a serious Vikings nemesis thanks to the Drew Pearson game in 1975 and which many purple faithful don't like on general principle.
*Atlanta, which delivered the most crushing defeat in at least the past 40 years of Vikings football (since, you know, Monday marked the 40-year anniversary of the last time Minnesota even played in a Super Bowl).
*Seattle, which delivered the freshest crushing playoff defeat on a long list of them (the one-year anniversary of which was also earlier this week on Tuesday).
*Green Bay, the Vikings' biggest rival by an increasingly wide margin.
Can you fathom, dear Vikings fan, rooting for any of the four?
I posed the question on Twitter, and it seems like the early takeaway is that Atlanta is the team most likely to get the most Minnesota support. It's true that this version of the Falcons is fairly likable and that outside of 1998 — admittedly a pretty big deal — there aren't serious grievances a Vikings fan would have with that franchise.