[08.25.04]
Written by: Bob Pinter

For the Love of the Game, Part 6
New-Look Vikings Fall In Upset

[08.25.04] (Somewhere in Hawaii) -- Ahman Green looked to his left. No one. His right: no one. All around the Hawaiian field: silence.

As the Fudgepackers runningback coasted the remaining few yards of a 37-yard score, he began to feel what the rest of the PWFFL players felt: the defending Puck Bowl champs could be beaten.

And this year might be the year. After going undefeated the previous campaign, the Kalamazoo Vikings found themselves trailing, 7-3, against the worst team in the league the year before.

Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper clapped his hands in a short burst. He was frustrated; after all, he had a new cast of characters to command.

It all started when runningback Ricky Williams, long considered one of the PWFFL elite, disappeared. At some point in the afternoon, he simply walked off the field and left. No one knew when; no one knew where he might be going. But he was gone.

"It's cool," Shaun Alexander told his field general. "I'll pick up the carries for him."

"And I'll play fullback," teammate Edgerrin James nodded.

And it began to work. With little time remaining in the first half, Alexander broke off a 14-yard run to get closer to Fudgepacker territory. He then netted a 40-yard gain to put Kalamazoo on the Green Bay 23.

But on 3rd down, defensive back Darren Sharper--who had been looking sharp himself all day--batted down a Culpepper pass to set up a Matt Stover field goal, making it 7-6.

The half was coming to a close...and the Vikings were still losing.

But as Culpepper, Alexander, James, and the rest of the offense watched things unfold with their defense on the field, Green Bay started to play sloppy. The Vikings defense began getting to quarterback Brett Favre quicker, forcing him to take sacks and throw lame-duck passes that didn't find anybody. The Pack couldn't get any momentum and were forced to punt.

"We've got 'em right where we want 'em," Culpepper told his crew as they huddled up just short of midfield.

And it was the Green Bay offense's turn to watch their defense go the same way. Culpepper picked apart the Fudgepackers in the final series of the half, throwing four straight passes to Tony Gonzalez and Keyshawn Johnson before running it in himself from the 1 as time expired.

Kalamazoo had the lead, 13-7, and some confidence back as well.

But on the first play of the half, the Green Bay defense found new life. Linebacker Nick Barnett intercepted a Culpepper pass at the Vikings' 30-yard line, putting the Fudgepackers in a great position to take the lead again.

"You see that?" Favre said quietly in the huddle. "This is the best they got! We're playing like crap and this is the best they can do against us!"

"Let's close this out NOW," Green agreed.

And after getting the Pack closer with an 11-yard run, Green put the ball back in Favre's hands, who in turn put it in Az-Zahir Hakim's hands, in the end zone.

"It's on now!" the speedy wide receiver jawed.

He would do it again later in the third quarter, catching a 20-yard pass to move the Fudgepackers into Viking territory another time. And it was Favre, refusing to give in to age, throwing another touchdown pass to a teammate who was willing to do the same.

Almost.

"Man," Shannon Sharpe crowed as he picked himself up from a 46-yard score. "This might be it for me."

The third quarter ended with Green Bay ahead 21-13. Along the sidelines, the players began to whisper.

"What do you think?" Detroit quarterback Michael Vick gestured to Yoopers QB Byron Leftwich. "You think this is just a fluke, or can we beat these guys next year?"

"Well, look at what happened," Leftwich replied. "They've got a ton of new receivers, and Ricky just flat-out walked away. You don't think that's bothering them right now?"

Meanwhile, Favre was hooking up with an old friend again. He would find Green on a short pass in the end zone, his sixth straight completion going back to the Fudgepackers' last touchdown.

"It's our year, baby!" Favre yelled, finally beginning to smile.

When he watched his defensive teammates stuff Alexander at the goal line, he knew it was over. Culpepper had regrouped and thrown a 34-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez, but the Vikings couldn't convert on the two-point conversion.

The Pack would run out the final three minutes of the game, punctuating the win with a Ryan Longwell field goal.

And for the Vikings, they were longing to return to the glory days of last season.

Final Score: 31-19, Green Bay.

"Hey, Keyshawn," Green yelled across the field. "Maybe you should go back to being timekeeper."

He would, begrudgingly. The Fudgepackers were hot. And the Vikings might need a few more weeks to find their way. Up Next, Slugs and Ridicule