my father grew up in minneapolis. he was a HUGE vikings fan. we literally had to clear out of the house whenever they were playing so he could focus on the game without the distraction of little children. (maybe also because my mother didn’t want us exposed to the salty stream of comments my father would yell at the tv.) i became a devoted fan as well, because what i wanted most in life was a dog. my father used to tell me that “if the vikings win the super bowl, i will get you a puppy.” each year, i followed their progress and kept track of their stats. i wore their colors and got in fights on the bus defending their honor - i was the only vikings fan in my elementary school because at this point we were living in northern california. the vikings actually made it to the super bowl FOUR times, but they never won. and i never got a puppy. i don’t know what my father would have done had they actually won, because my brother is so severely allergic to dogs that we would have had to sell him had we brought a dog into the house. i don’t think my parents would have done this, regardless of my father’s promise, because they really loved my brother. to this day, the vikings have never won the super bowl and i have never had a puppy. until now…
this is hank, our darling, new guy. my kids and i are over the moon. we don’t really know what we are doing (clearly i don’t have any puppy training experience) so we will need lots of support as we love him up and try to raise him well. the vikings are looking pretty good this year, but for the first time in forty years, i really don’t care.
