It was all so simple then.

As a kid in the 80's/90's in Minnesota, the routine from September to January was pretty cut-and-dry. Barring a game on the West Coast or a rare Monday night game, the Vikings played at Noon on Sunday.

Wake up at 7 a.m., watch whatever crappy Sunday morning cartoons were on (you know, the ones that weren't worthy of Saturday morning), eat breakfast, go to church then race home to catch the kickoff of the Vikings game at Noon.

The game would be over at 3 p.m., giving the family plenty of time to enjoy the game before getting dinner ready and going to bed. Life was good.

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In 2005, the Vikings played 13 of 17 games at Noon on a Sunday.

In 2023, you never know when the Vikings might be playing. Sure, it might be Noon on a Sunday, but that seems to be the exception these days rather than the rule. In fact, only eight of the Vikings' 17 games this season will be played at that time.

Divisional Round - New Orleans Saints v Minnesota Vikings
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In our modern world of endless cable channels and streaming 'services,' the Vikings could play on a Sunday at 7 a.m. overseas, 12 p.m., 3 p.m. or even 7:15 p.m. Or, they could play Monday night (usually at 7:20 but sometimes 6 p.m. or even 9:30 p.m.), Thursday night, Friday or Saturday.

You almost need an abacus to figure it all out.

No days are off limits, either. Halloween night, Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are all in play.

When the schedule is released each year, the headline usually reads something like 'VIKINGS TO PLAY FIVE PRIME TIME GAMES IN 2023!,' which to me indicates that SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE is happy about that. It isn't me though.

As an early riser, the 7:15 games are absolutely brutal. I have major fear of missing out when it comes to the Vikings so, as much as I wish I could just say 'no' and go to bed, the truth is that I can't.

I know this sounds very old-man-yelling-at-cloud, but I wish we could go back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

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