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Ok, so I've been failing in a major way when it comes to the Wednesday Wanderings posts. Sorry about that (assuming anyone cares). =)
Today I've selected a neat story by a Vikings fan that was right up my alley. It looks at the lunacy of being a fan, specifically, a Minnesota Vikings fan. Also, it's a long-form piece that does a nice job of showing off the cool things that SB Nation United lets us do with the story template (and yes, I'm sucking up to the Mothership here). Not sure how they did it, but if I ever figure it out I'll definitely create a story with a cool static background like that. Anyway, back to the piece.
The lunacy of fandom - They killed our fathers, and now the sons of bitches are coming to get us
It's written by Jim Shepard, a legit writer with experience, not a hack blogger like me. It's a very personal story and it will probably feel very familiar to folks here. Because even if you aren't a Vikings fan, being a fan of the Gophers has certainly given you plenty of similar experiences to the ones Jim shares. Here's an excerpt from his fine work:
I’m not still thirteen years old, at least not in most ways, but I am, by profession, a fiction writer. I negotiate made-up worlds. I nose around trying to imagine and retrieve moments of pain and loss and revelation. As a form of self-mortification, what I’m up to can seem both high-minded and foolish. Right next to my desk, then, is a little touchstone of childhood agony -- silly agony, but agony nonetheless -- to provide me, should I need it, with a shove in the right direction.
Or at least in the direction my favorite team has always gone. I’ve often been asked: in the event of a Super Bowl win -- a season that actually finished with a victory -- would I feel a euphoria to match the devastation I feel after a loss? It’s always seemed to me a question that doesn’t require an answer, since, as a Vikings fan, I’ll probably never find out. My loved ones have continued to consider my condition an affliction, and treat it like a drinking problem that recurs once a week for five months a year. They hold out the hope that I’ll outgrow it -- unlikely at this point -- or that perhaps the team will transform itself so dramatically -- the Los Angeles Vikings? -- that even I will register the arbitrariness of my loyalty, and drift away.
Give the full story a read. I think you'll enjoy it!