When is the last time we've seen interest in the Vikings fall off the cliff with Minnesota's sporting public as rapidly has been the case over the past couple of weeks?
There have been instances in past Novembers when people seemed as bored with the Vikings as they do today, but what seems different is the rapidity with which we went from giving the Vikings full interest to the yawns that now exist.
We weren't all that worked up about the Vikings in 2011, but that was from the start of what everyone figured was going to be a lousy season -- not something that went kerplunk at the halfway point of the schedule.
There was also a fairly long stretch in the last decade, from the departure of Randy Moss to the arrival of Brett Favre, when the local temperature for the Vikings was moderate ... interested, but not frothing at the mouth.
The magnificence of Adrian Peterson and the unexpected trip to the playoffs in 2012, along with the arrivals of Greg Jennings from the Packers and three first-rounders from the draft, had us frothing over the summer, as the Vikings prepared to assemble in Mankato in training camp.
We went from frothing with excitement to frothing with anger when the regular season opened and the losses started. We screamed about the play of Christian Ponder at quarterback, and demanded an answer to our question, "What in Hades happened to this defense?"
There was finally a victory in London, when Ponder (allegedly injured) was sidelined in favor of Matt Cassel. There was a revival in interest when Josh Freeman was signed after his release in Tampa Bay. He was named the starter for the Monday night game vs. the Giants on Oct. 21, and we were all zeroed in on what would take place in New Jersey.
It was horrendous, and the Vikings quickly pulled the plug and went back to Ponder.