Souhan: Playoff curse? In Minnesota, Twins win pain claim over Vikings.
Vikings fans will tell you there is no team more cursed than theirs.
Twins fans will tell you that the Vikings aren't even the foremost victims of fate in their own (twin) town.
Who's right, and who's whiningly wrong?
The Twins begin the playoffs Tuesday at Target Field, and the Vikings, at 1-3, are dealing with heightened expectations following their 13-win, no-playoff-victory 2022 season.
The Vikings, it is rumored, have never won a Super Bowl. The Twins have lost 18 consecutive playoff games and haven't been to the World Series since 1991.
In a state that loves to complain about its men's professional sports teams never winning titles, who's the worst cursed?
The Vikings make a dramatic case.
They have existed since 1961. They are one of 12 NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl. They are one of eight franchises to have played in at least one Super Bowl without winning one. They are tied with Buffalo for the most Super Bowl losses without a title, with four.
Their NFC championship game losses are even more excruciating than their Super Bowl losses, all of which came against Hall of Fame coaches and quarterbacks.
Here's a rundown of the Vikings' last four NFC title game experiences:
2017: The Vikings scored the first touchdown, then were outscored 38-0 the rest of the way by the Eagles.
2009: A 12th man on the field penalty led to Brett Favre throwing a desperation pass that was intercepted, leading to an overtime loss to the Saints instead of a Super Bowl berth.
2000: The Vikings lost, 41-0, to the New York Giants of Jim Fassel and Kerry Collins, a not-Hall of Fame coach and quarterback.
1998: A 16-1 team lost at home to Chris Chandler.
(Reading this far in this column entitles you to a tranquilizer gun filled with Prozac.)
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The Twins' experience is almost the opposite of the Vikings'.
They have won "world'' titles — the 1987 and 1991 World Series. After an 11-year playoff drought, they returned to advance to the American League Championship Series in 2002. What's to complain about?
Pain, to be specific.
Since that charming 2002 playoff jog, the Twins have lost 18 straight playoff games and have rarely fielded an optimum team in October.
The Twins began their current 18-game playoff losing streak in 2004. During that time, they have had bad luck (if Phil Cuzzi calling Joe Mauer's line drive a foul ball when it was fair by the length of one Cuzzi is bad luck), ugly collapses and perhaps most of all bad health.
In 2004, they were without Mauer, who injured his knee early in the season.
In 2006, they were without Francisco Liriano, who had a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings because Liriano suffered an elbow injury while the Twins were on one of the greatest runs in franchise history over the last four months of the season.
In 2009, Justin Morneau missed the Yankees playoff series because of a stress fracture in his lower back.
In 2010, Morneau missed the Yankees playoff series because of a concussion.
In 2017, the Twins lost a one-game playoff in Yankee Stadium as star slugger Miguel Sanó, who had hit 28 homers in 424 at-bats, sat because of an injured shin, and Byron Buxton left the game after running into the center field wall.
In 2019, Buxton missed the playoffs against the Yankees because of a shoulder injury.
In 2020, Buxton missed a game with concussion symptoms, and Josh Donaldson missed the two-game series loss to the Astros with a calf strain.
In 2023, the Twins will enter the playoffs facing injury concerns to perhaps their three best players — Buxton, Carlos Correa and Royce Lewis.
A curse is a malevolent spell cast upon you.
The Vikings have lost a lot of heartbreaking games, but they can't claim to have had much bad luck.
The Twins are a voodoo doll pierced like a pincushion.
In this dubious competition, the Twins are the more cursed franchise. The Vikings just need to count offensive players before they run onto the field.
