45 years and one day ago today, the Minnesota Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field with a last-minute, come-from-behind scramble by Fran Tarkenton that resulted in a 24-23 victory.
Today, some of us are rooting again for a Vikings victory, while others are rooting for just the opposite. To celebrate tonight’s ultra-publicized Vikings vs. Packers super rivalry game, a few of us at UMP decided to show our true football-fan colors. Here at the Press, we have Vikings fans, Packers fans, and fans to whom we gracefully refer as “other.”
If you like to indulge in Vikings (or *sigh* Packers) nostalgia, perhaps you will enjoy our yard-by-yard chronicle of fifty years of Vikings victories and defeats from the perspective of the sportswriters and commentators who were there as the stories unfolded. Here’s an excerpt from this Oct. 6th, 1964, story that appeared in the Milwaukee Sentinel (featured in The Vikings Reader):
“Everybody in the joint knows he’s going to pass, so how could he get away with it?” one of thousands of dejected Packer fans was heard muttering as he elbowed his way out of the Green Bay stadium Sunday after the hard-to-take 24-23 loss to the Vikings.
That’s right. Everybody in the joint, including the Packers, knew it had to be a pass. With less than a minute to play, fourth down and 22 to go from his own 36, Fran Tarkenton had to go for it in a big way. …
They talk of customer golf. Well, Sunday’s thriller was the ultimate in customer football, that is for those who were able to look at the game objectively. It may not have been the greatest game ever played in total. But for excitement and nail-biting suspense, it must rank with the best.