Posted 1/18/01 Opinion, by MaryHelen Swanson: Remember, itís only a game I know thatís a hard thing to focus on when we have all been totally embarrassed by our stateís football team, you know who Iím talking about. Not being a huge sports fan, my heart isnít as broken as others I know, but it sure is a shame they made such a poor showing Sunday. I think we needed that win here in Minnesota more than anyone realized. We were disappointed two years ago when they went down in the last minutes, but at least they made the game interesting. We were fairly optimistic, yet cautious this time and many held off on the whoop-de-do party until the Super Bowl. With great apprehension, we sat down to watch what we hoped to be the final leg on our ride to Tampa Bay. But our train never got out of the station. Iím sure it will have a significant impact on our stateís economy. Those Viking jerseys that were almost impossible to find around Christmas will lose some of their elusive value. There will no doubt be a major slow-down at the sports stores for Viking paraphernalia. The loss to restaurants, entertainment spots, grocery stores, pizza parlors, etc. could be significant in the coming weeks. Super Bowl wonít be that super for us and it will show at the cash registers. Young people have been disappointed by the shutout. However, they will take their cue as to how to handle it from their elders. Seems most of the folks I talked to simply walked away from the set Sunday, opting instead to do other interesting things such as clean the garage, shovel snow, wash laundry, fix a meal, go sit on a frozen lake and drop a line into an 8î hole, anything to get the fiasco out of their minds. Some have given harsh opinions of the team and its coach, making comment on public air that doesnít show a lot more maturity than the football players did in New Jersey. But itís over and that it. Sure we have next year, maybe. Maybe not. One thing for sure, this should make it easier for our legislators to put any stadium discussion on the back burner in lieu of more important issues. Whatever your feeling about this sad loss, please, remember, it is only a game. ©Post Review