The Vikings sold their soul to longtime nemesis Brett Favre for a year, hoping to earn the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship. Instead, the men in purple came up just short, falling to the New Orleans Saints in overtime of the NFC Championship in the Big Easy.

Less than six months ago, Vikings coach Brad Childress personally picked up Brett Favre from the airport and brought him to Minnesota’s facilities. The gesture marked a beginning of a new relationship between the Packers legend and his former rivals, and also signaled Childress' allowing Brett to become the alpha dog in Minnesota.

On Sunday, the duo cost the Vikings a chance to make their first Super Bowl since the 1970’s.

With the score tied at 28 with 2:37 left, the Vikings got the ball on their own 21-yard line. Favre marched them down the field, taking the ball all the way to the Saints’ 33-yard line with 1:06 left in regulation.

It looked like it would be a drive for the ages: 40-year-old Brett Favre, hobbling around after being beat up and injured earlier in the game, was about to bring Minnesota to its first Super Bowl in more than 30 years.

Then Childress called two straight runs, both of which were stopped for no gain by the Saints. From the 33-yard line, it would be roughly a 51-yard field goal attempt. Even for a good kicker like Ryan Longwell, this is a difficult kick, especially on the road with the game on the line.

Childress was not done yet. The Vikings were flagged for 12 men in the huddle before their third-down play. That wasn't directly Childress' miscue, but sloppy mistakes should always point back to the coach. The 5-yard penalty --- which came after a Vikings timeout --- would have made the field-goal attempt 56 yards if they had failed to gain any ground on third down.

Nice.

Now the Vikes were obviously going to come out throwing on this third down with only 19 seconds left, as they needed to make Longwell’s field goal attempt easier.

This is the part in the story when Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson lets out a very large sigh of relief.

Favre rolled out to the right, and threw a classic Favre pass. It was the worst possible decision at the worst possible time.

One of the oldest rules of quarterbacking: NEVER throw the ball across your body.

Favre proceeded to throw the ball across his body, when he could have easily run the ball himself for at least 5 or 6 yards. And he threw it right into the hands of Saints defender Tracy Porter.

The game went into overtime, but the writing was on the wall: there was no way the Vikings were winning this game after the Childress-Favre breakdown.

When the Saints won the coin toss, it was over. A few minutes later, Garrett Hartley put the ball through the uprights, officially ending the 2009 Minnesota Vikings season. And possibly ending Favre’s career (again).

The Vikings knew what they were getting into with Favre. It was probably going to be a one-year run with the gunslinger, and they were oh-so-close to making it to the big game. I would venture to guess that every Vikings fan would take Favre again if they had the option.

Here’s the problem: With Favre likely not returning to football next season (just don’t take my word for it), the Vikings could easily revert to their 2008 version. They will likely enter 2010 as a great team with no quarterback.

Is it possible the Vikes acquire a big-time quarterback like Donovan McNabb this offseason? Or even a decent quarterback that would thrive with a better offensive line, like Jason Campbell? Yes, both of these scenarios are quite possible. But there’s a good chance that the Vikings will start next season without an established quarterback.

So while acquiring Brett Favre almost brought Minnesota its long-awaited Super Bowl glory, it probably set the franchise back a bit. Finding a quarterback is a process, and Brett Favre was only a one-year solution. Now, Minnesota loses an all-time great under center, and still has a coach, who opened himself up for more second-guessing in the NFC championship loss. Without Favre, repeating as division champ is definitely in question, especially with the resurgence of the Packers (and don’t forget about those Lions!).

Of course, knowing Brett Favre, he’ll probably play for another ten years. And everything you just read is completely irrelevant.

-- STANLEY KAY

It's almost as though it was destined to happen this way, isn't it?

All season long, as hopeful as we were, wasn't there always that nagging feeling that Adrian Peterson would fumble, that Brett Favre would toss a careless interception, and that the Vikings would fall short?

The Brett Favre era in Minnesota, whether it ends with Sunday's game or not, can't possibly be considered a failure. Favre led the Vikings as far as they've gone in 33 years, and it's difficult to imagine that they would have achieved as much with Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson at the helm. When a few of my Viking fan friends were engaged in existential hand-wringing over the signing of our longtime rival quarterback, my question to them was, "Well, what's the worst-case scenario with Brett Favre? The Vikings don't win the Super Bowl? A lifetime of watching football has led me to believe that I can survive such an eventuality."

But it still hurts. We root, and we care, and we hope, and we lose. Every year. This one was especially painful, of course; a long field goal attempt at the end of the fourth quarter on the Superdome turf was no gimme, but it would have been nice to at least have had the chance to try it. But no, thanks to Brett Favre, it was not to be.

And how much longer will our team tolerate Adrian Peterson and his now practically guaranteed two or more fumbles in any big game? How much longer will we tolerate Brad Childress, and his coaching staff's singularly inept handling of the clock at the end of every half? Childress recently signed a contract extension and Peterson is, Vikings fans now undoubtedly regret to have to admit, too good to let go. Favre won't make it through another season like this one; that much is almost certain.

In fact, one can't help but fear that the Vikings' window of opportunity has slammed shut. Next season we'll have to make do with a quarterbacking hodgepodge because Favre, at 41, can't possibly last an entire year, even if he does decide to come back after his inevitable will-he-or-won't-he offseason dance. The season after that could be cancelled by a labor dispute for all we know. Hell, the next time the Vikings host a playoff game, it could be in Los Angeles.

A gloomy outlook? Yeah. A little far-fetched, I can admit... but it's hard to look on the bright side now.

We love sports. But they don't love us back.

Such is life.

--JOE MULDER

If you are in New York and looking to watch the NFC Championship game at a bar, we have the perfect place for you. Bar None, on 3rd Ave. between 12th and 13th, is actually a Vikings and Saints bar. It’s a big space, but guaranteed to have a huge turnout, so make sure to show up early to get space. They don’t serve food at the bar, but they encourage you to order or bring your own, which works out nicely considering the delicious options a few steps away. My two personal favorites are 99 Miles to Philly (the best cheesesteak I have had outside of Philadelphia) or Blue 9 Burger, an In-N-Out-style burger that does not disappoint. I hope everyone has a great time watching the game, just remember that the tackling should be done in the Superdome, not at the bar.

-- CHARLIE WIDDOES

At least one Saint is easy to root against.

This is a tough one, because I don’t hate the New Orleans Saints, at least yet. Now, I want the Vikings to win – if this game were played one hundred times I’d want to Vikings to beat the Saints 49-0 one hundred times – but of all the franchises in the NFC, this is one whose history is even more pathetic and sad-sack than the Vikings.

Now, Jeremy Shockey is a wet pantleg of a human being, and the whole “Who Dat” thing gets old, but if they (unfortunately) beat the Vikings, and I hope they don’t, I would want the Saints to win the big ba-dang. It’d be great for their franchise and the city and all that argle-bargle. And I do think they’ll make it to their first Super Bowl.

Just not this year.

Baby steps, guys.

-- J. RYAN STRADAL