Nearly five months have passed since the Vikings dropped an overtime nail-biter to the Saints, after a finish to regulation that featured an inexplicable 12-men-in-the-huddle penalty and a “this isn’t Detroit” heave that resulted in an interception.
And the team that lost still feels the burn.
“It was kind of hard [at the beginning] because it was on everybody’s mind,” defensive tackle Pat Williams told Vic Carucci of NFL.com. “Guys are tired of watching it when they show it on TV. If you bring it up in the locker room right now, guys get mad about it.”
And that makes Pat Williams happy.
“I want guys to be mad,” Williams said. “I don’t want guys to come in thinking it will be smooth and that it will be easy. It’s going to be hard because everybody’s going to be talking about it. I want guys to stay mad.”
Of course, Williams’ motivations come from a clearly defined self interest.
“I’m just thinking I want to win a championship, and [then] I do want to quit,” Williams said.
If it plays out that way, Williams most likely would avoid forever the four-game StarCaps suspension that the league will have a hard time imposing on him during the 2010 season.
The journey begins September 9, when the Vikings return to the scene of their season-ending defeat.