It's a Bad Night When Halftime Is The Highlight

The best thing about the Vikings first outdoor game in 29 years in Minnesota was at halftime. When the 50 Greatest Vikings were honored, legendary coach Bud Grant came out without a jacket on and was lifted up on the shoulders of Matt Blair and Tim Irwin as the crowd went nuts. That put a smile on my face. The rest of the evening?

Even Bud could do nothing with this hapless bunch who call themselves the home team.

Butt ugly. Drubbed by the newly-crowned NFC North champion Chicago Bears, 40-14. Brett Favre was the surprise starter and got knocked out of the game early in the second quarter after hitting his head on the turf, which was probably more like fuzzy cement. It probably will be the end of his Hall of Fame career.

It was fun to watch the Vikings go down the field on the opening drive and score a TD. It all brought back happy memories of the Purple People Eaters of the 1970s and watching those Vikings teams dominate teams in the brutal Minnesota cold.

Then reality returned. This is simply a lousy football team.

The Vikings now officially have a losing record for 2010, the first time in four years.

Bring on the baseball season.