Curse of the Lutefisk

http://blog.lavacocktail.com/2009/12/31/curse-of-the-lutefisk.aspx

Curse of the Lutefisk
Jaye Beldo
LavaCocktail.com

An Acquired Taste: Lutefisk

Prior to a Vikings game at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington in 1967, a well meaning Samaritan named Sven Larson tried entering said facility with a case of Lutefisk he intended to give away to fans as a goodwill gesture, one he hoped would insure the team a Superbowl win. However, security guards prevented Sven from entering, primarily because of the strong odor the jellied codfish was giving off and which they feared other fans would find most offensive. As the irate Norwegian walked back towards the parking lot, he turned around and proclaimed for all to hear, that the Vikings would be forever cursed and that they would never win a Superbowl until the end of time.
Obviously Sven Larson's Lutefisk curse has worked quite well, as the Minnesota Vikings have failed a total of four times to win the coveted title. It is even rumored that field goal kicker Gary Anderson, who missed a critical three point try in the 1998 Superbowl game, after a flawless season, caught a whiff of the dreaded fish just before making his field goal attempt that surely would have secured a win for the team if he had made it.

Like the Curse of the Billy Goat waged on the Chicago Cubs by tavern owner Billy Sianis in 1945 at Wrigley Field, the Lutefisk curse will need the help of curse breaking experts, if not a full out exorcism of the Metrodome stadium and whatever stadium is built in the future for the Vikings, for the curse will follow the team wherever it goes, even if it is sold and moved to another state. A little know fact amongst die hard Vikings fans is that the real reason the Metropolitan Stadium was torn down in the first place, was not to make room for the the Mall of America, but rather a desperate attempt to break the Lutefisk Curse.

While the Vikings continue to struggle after a critical loss to the Chicago Bears last Monday and millions of devout fans pray for another Superbowl chance for the team, the Lutefisk curse will most likely persist, at least until the soul of Sven Larson finds peace at last and he is allowed to bring his malodorous delicacy into whatever stadium he chooses to enter.