This Vikings fan spent a late Christmas celebration with my Packers in-laws in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, on Saturday night. My wife’s immediate family are a fun-loving, great group of people whom I have spent 30+ years of holidays with. Her immediate family now numbers 105, so you can imagine the activity at such an event, even though only 80 of them could attend the party at the local Knights of Columbus Hall.

Vikings Fan in Packer Country

The holiday celebration coincided this year with the Packers’ Wildcard Playoff Game against their fierce division rivals, the Chicago Bears. With the game on Amazon Prime Network, we needed to take certain steps to ensure that we could view the game.

But it’s a resourceful group, so someone contributed a TV, someone else brought along a modem, and finally, another family member gave us access to their Amazon account information, and we were set. With my Vikings on the sidelines this playoff season. I decided to support my cheesehead relatives in their pursuit of Super Bowl glory. But there was also one Bears fan in the audience that night.

My wife’s brother, Chris, became a lifelong Chicago Bears fan through a childhood friend who moved from Chicagoland with his family to the Rice Lake area. So, there was friendly dissension in the ranks as we prepared to watch the game. I did not mind the respite, as my years of loyalty to the Vikings had earned me the family nickname “Mudduck.”

Pregame Resignation and Packers on a Roll

I found it interesting that, in my unofficial pregame poll of Packers fans in attendance, everyone thought the Pack would lose. I found this a bit odd, as Green Bay entered the game as a point-and-a-half favorite. I chalked this up to a similar malady that Vikings and Minnesota sports fans in general suffer from. No matter what the score is or how big your team’s lead is, there is the constant fear that they will fall apart and lose the game at any point. But much to Chris’ chagrin, the first half was all Packers.

Behind three Jordan Love touchdown passes and a Packers defense that boxed Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in and limited their dynamic running attack, Green Bay rolled to a comfortable 21-3 halftime lead. Maybe this Vikings fan had brought a little luck with him from across the St. Croix River. But at the end of the first half, after a 55-yard field goal attempt by Packers’ kicker Brandon McManus, went wide left. I heard Jared, the husband of one of my wife’s nieces, say, ” I’m still worried. The Bears have come back from deficits all season long.”

The Slow Steady Decline

But sure enough, his premonition proved to be correct. Even though the Packers took possession of the ball to start the second half, their offense went into a complete tailspin. Their third-quarter drives netted them 10 plays and 29 yards of total offense. But the Bears continued to do everything they could not to win the game. Despite the Packers’ futility in the quarter, the best Chicago could do was add a field goal, and another drive stalled due to a Williams interception.

But much like my beloved Vikings, the Packers were doomed to fail. The Bears opened the final quarter with a Cairo Santos 51-yard field goal and added a D’Andre Swift touchdown run on their second possession. The Packers offense seemed rejuvenated on the next drive as they marched 64 yards down the field in nine plays, culminating in a Love to Matthew Golden connection for a touchdown and a 27-16 lead. However, McManus missed the extra point, and this would loom large as the game progressed.

And just like that, it was over. Chicago closed out the game with two Williams touchdown passes, while all the Packers could muster was another missed field goal attempt. And when the gun sounded, the Bears ran off the field with a 31-27 win. The silence in the room was palpable. I especially felt bad for my lifelong Packers fan brother-in-law, Mike. As for Bears fan Chris, he was joyous, but respectful.

The End

So, in the end, this “Mudduck” Vikings fan could not bring good fortune to the Packer faithful. But I could certainly empathize with their experience of having their team “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” And as for the lone Bears fan, Chris just hopes his team’s luck does not run out as they host a Divisional Playoff Game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.