One of the first things you notice when you try to put together a comprehensive ranking of the best moments in Vikings history — as Jeff Day and I did on Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast, taking turns "drafting" moments until we had reached 10 — is that a lot of them inevitable come with post-mortem caveats.
The Minneapolis Miracle? An incredible moment that immediately vaulted into the conversation for very best moment ... but also diminished at least somewhat by the blowout loss in the NFC title game a week later.
The Vikings' run of dominance with the Purple People Eaters? Great, to be sure, but reaching four Super Bowls in eight seasons failed to yield a still-elusive championship.
Perhaps that's just the nature of sports or the fate of a franchise whose lows — which will be counted down on Friday's podcast — have left indelible marks on a wounded but resilient fan base.
Another thing you notice, in tandem with this first notion of highs pairing with lows, is that there are a lot of great moments in franchise history tied to the Green Bay Packers.
The 1998 win at Lambeau Field, Brett Favre's return and win at Lambeau in 2009 and the playoff victory in 2004 all cracked the top 10 list. Whether all three deserved to make it is debatable, and we certainly welcome your feedback on the list.
All three moments, of course, also had their counterpoints: As great as that win in 1998 was, the season ultimately ended in crushing disappointment. Same with 2009, and it was followed in 2010 by a Vikings collapse and a Packers Super Bowl. The Vikings in 2004 lost in the playoffs the following week.
Pausing to reflect on history, then zooming back to the present, does lead to this thought: For the past three decades of this rivalry, highs and lows were greatly influenced by Favre and Rodgers — with an undoubted peak in 2009 and 2010 when they were pitted against each other.
In 2023, with Jordan Love taking over in Green Bay and the Vikings' "competitive rebuild" trajectory dependent in many ways on the next 17 games, the rivalry has a level of uncertainty we haven't seen in quite some time.
In other words: It might be a while until another game rises to the magnitude of making a future top 10 list.
Then again, the Vikings and Packers play in primetime on New Year's Eve at U.S. Bank Stadium in the second-to-last game of the year. Perhaps the NFC North will be decided a couple hours before 2024.
Here are four more things to know today:
*The Twins ran through their 13-game gantlet against the Rangers and Guardians with an 8-5 record, improving their AL Central lead from five games to six in the process. With just 22 left to play, that's all you realistically could have asked for when the stretch started.
*The ascent of Josh Metellus has been rapid, to the point now that the Vikings signed the safety to a two-year extension. He might hold the key to an inexperienced secondary that seems quite thin at corner but has a fair amount of safety depth and versatility.
*Speaking of the Vikings, check out the latest Access Vikings podcast.
*A college football game of interest this weekend: Nebraska vs. Colorado. Is Deion Sanders' team for real? Did the Gophers play down to Nebraska in a narrow win? We might get some answers.
