Wednesday 24 January 2018 18:32, UK
It was one of the NFL's all-time great endings.
The Minnesota Vikings were down 24-23 to the New Orleans Saints with 10 seconds left, planted on their own 39-yard line. Then, quarterback Case Keenum stepped back and threw it downfield, desperately trying to find an open man, to then get out of bounds, and possibly kick a field goal to win.
They got much more than that. Stefon Diggs made the catch and scampered clear for the touchdown to send Minnesota to the NFC Championship game, a play since described as the 'Minnesota Miracle'.
"That kind of play just doesn't happen," said Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman, who is joining Sky Sports' live coverage of Super Bowl LII.
"The one time it did, a miracle came from it. Minnesota, inside the last 10 seconds, decided 'our fate is not decided'. It just goes to show, you can never, ever, count anybody out until those final seconds are over."
Perhaps more than any other franchise, Minnesota deserve its miracle.
Former New York Yankees baseball player Lefty Gomez once famously said that he'd "rather be lucky than good". The Vikings' problem is that they've often been good, but not very lucky.
Consider this. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, Minnesota have been to the playoffs a staggering 27 times. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys have been to the postseason more. They have 11 Super Bowls between them - the Vikings have none.
Four times they have been to the Super Bowl themselves, and all four times they have lost. The last of those defeats in the NFL's showpiece game was way back in 1976.
Since, they have suffered some of the most agonising playoff losses in league history. Think of the 1998 Vikings side - considered by some observers to be the greatest team to never win a Super Bowl, they went 15-1 in the regular season.
Minnesota's explosive offense - with rookie star receiver Randy Moss at the heart - set a then-NFL record of 556 points in 1998, never scoring fewer than 24 in a game.
But, they came unstuck against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game after a missed field goal from Gary Anderson, a kicker who until that point had not missed a single kick all year!
Back in the Championship game in 2009, against the Saints no less, there was yet more heartbreak for the Minnesota faithful. Tied at 28-28, legendary quarterback Brett Favre threw a crucial interception with just 19 seconds left. The Saints would prevail in overtime, and would go on to win the Super Bowl that year.
Most recently, there was that Blair Walsh field goal miss. Two years ago, down 10-9 against the Seattle Seahawks on Wild Card Weekend, Walsh had a 27-yard chip shot to win it. But, again the Vikings' fate was sealed by a dodgy boot - the kick sailing wide left, and fans' Super Bowl hopes fading with it.
Few other sports franchises have been nearly men so often, frequently in the running yet so often beaten in the harshest ways. Some fans even believe their team is cursed, doomed to forever await their first Lombardi trophy.
One brave journalist asked coach Mike Zimmer before the playoffs if he believed in such a jinx. His reply was typically caustic: "I've got a crystal ball and a wood spirit hanging in my office, so there's no damn curse."
Maybe he's right. The stars seem to have aligned this season, to the point where misfortune that might have previously broken the team, has instead galvanised them.
QBs Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Bradford were both sidelined through injury, but former third-stringer Keenum has steered the ship like a seasoned pro.
Star rookie running back Dalvin Cook also went down early on in the season, with an ACL tear, but Latavius Murray and Jerrick McKinnon have proved a formidable rushing duo.
So what's next? This Sunday sees the Vikings play the Philadelphia Eagles, who have struggled since the loss of Carson Wentz but also appeared to benefit from an 'underdogs' tag in their divisional round win over Atlanta last week.
"Nobody really would have said that these two teams were worthy of this opportunity," added Washington's Norman. "But, the football gods smiled on them."
If the gods are smiling on Minnesota again in Philly, they'll then return home to become the first team to play a Super Bowl in their own stadium.
There is still much to be done, but after years of disappointment, that would surely be the ultimate reward for the city's long-suffering fans.
Watch the Conference Championship finals in the NFL playoffs, starting with Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots, on Sunday from 7pm, live on Sky Sports Action.
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