Domo Arigato: The Minnesota Vikings

It feels good when your football team wins on Sunday. But it feels REALLY good when your football team wins against a bitter rival. However... it's even better when your football team beats a bitter rival, whose quarterback was once a hero for your team, but is now public enemy #1.

Three weeks ago, the Green Bay Packers went into Minneapolis and destroyed the Vikings on their home turf. It was truly a gift from the football gods. Last year, Brett Favre and the Vikings embarrassed and humiliated the Packers twice. This year, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers got their sweet revenge. And boy... was it sweet for their fans too.

But... it gets better. Not only did the Minnesota Vikings roll over and hand the Packers an early Christmas present. They also helped me win a bet that I had with one of my blogger buddies... Sir Charles over at Hoopography.

First... let me give you the details of the bet. Obviously, I took the Packers and he picked the Vikings. The winner got to pick one card from the other person's tradelist (up to $10 in value). Plus... the person would get to pick one additional card for each touchdown (7 points) differential in the final score. So... since the Packers won 31 to 3, the point differential was 28... which meant that I got to choose 4 additional cards from his tradelist.

Now... before I show off my winnings... I want to say thanks to Charles for being a great sport and one helluva friend. If you haven't checked out his blog, I encourage you to stop reading this post and head over to www.Hoopography.blogspot.com this very second. He has one sweet collection of 90's inserts and is the man to talk to if you collect basketball shoes.

Okay... now for my winnings:

Card #1: 96/97 UD3 #16 Derek Fisher RC

I've been wanting this card off of Charles for awhile now. The only rookie card of Fisher that I had was his 96/97 Finest. So... now I can say I have two Fisher rookies. Personally, I like this design much more than his Finest rookie.

Card #2: 1996 Laser View "Eye on the Prize" Jerry Rice

This card is sweet... it combines the greatest wide receiver of all-time with amazing 90's card technology: holograms. Last time I checked, Charles had a few different players to choose from... so if you're interested head over to his site and checkout his tradelist.

Card #3: 94/95 SP Championship "Playoff Heroes" #P8 Hakeem Olajuwon

I've been a huge fan of this insert set since I busted these packs almost two decades ago. There are two things that make this card special. First... The Dream was a beast. Easily one of the greatest centers to play the game. Second... the card stock. The card feels like homemade paper... the kind I used to have my students make when I taught 5th grade. Anyways... it's not your ordinary card stock and it's definitely unique.

Card #4: 94/95 Ultra "Defensive Gems" #5 David Robinson

This is another classic insert card from the 90's... of another great center. These foil beauties might have been the precursor to Fleer Metal which was released for the first time the following year.

Card #5: 95/96 Flair "Hot Numbers" Hakeem Olajuwan

This card is 100 times sweeter looking in person... unfortunately the scan didn't do it any justice. It comes from one of my favorite products of the 90's and has that 3D/Sportflic technology. This is another card I've been trying to get from Charles for awhile now. Unfortunately... it didn't fall under the $10 guidelines of the bet... but Charles let me have it anyways.

In addition to those five awesome cards... he also threw in these cards:

I don't have the Kobe, so that was a sweet addition... and you'll never see me turning down a #'d card of The Logo. However... my favorite card he added to the winnings was definitely this 1979 Topps Steve Largent.

I'm sure I mentioned it before... but just in case I haven't... Mr. Largent is easily my favorite Seahawk. There's nobody who even comes close... and this card looks like it came right out of a pack. In fact... I actually think I like this card more than any of the inserts.

Charles... if you're reading this... Thanks for the amazing cards. You know that I'm putting together a little consolation prize to cheer you up. I don't leave my friends empty handed.

So today's question of the day goes back to Favre and the Vikings...

If you're the head coach of the Vikings... does Favre start another game for you... or do you turn to Jackson?

Have a great weekened everyone... Sayonara!