The Werder Bowl

According to ESPN, the apocalypse is about to occur in Minneapolis this afternoon at roughly 4:15 PM Eastern time.  The 1-3 Minnesota Vikings are set to host the 1-3 Dallas Cowboys.

Nobody needs me to point out that the both of these teams rode the hype bus into the season as Super Bowl contenders.  At 1-4, the loser of this contest is going to try to match a feat that has been accomplished by only five other NFL teams in the past 20 years: make the playoffs.

Who better to be at the epicenter of this maelstrom than Ed Werder.  It seems as if every story that he files for ESPN is either from the Cowboys' practice facility in Valley Ranch, TX; or from Brett Favre's lawn in Hattiesburg, MS.

Total disclosure: I grew up a Packers fan.  Brett Lorenzo Favre was, and still is, one of a handful of NFL players that can get me to drop what I'm doing so I can watch him play.  Admittedly, I view the world through Favre-colored glasses, but I do like to think that I am something of a realist when it comes to the Southern Mississippi University alum.

During the 2008 NFC Championship Game, as soon as the Packers won the toss, I distinctly remember turning to all of the non-Packer fans in the room and saying "This game ends one of two ways: Brett throws an interception or works some magic and wins it right here.  There is no other ending for this game."

Sure enough, he did the former.

But he's human (mostly).  You don't play as many games in a row as he has without being made of steel.  Or some element that I've never heard of.

So between the swirling off-field controversy engulfing Favre and the Vikings, the return of Randy Moss's hobo beard to Minnesota and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones continuing to stuff the ballot box full of votes of confidence for his beleaguered head coach; sports fans have been beaten senseless with the story-lines for this game.

If you're a football fan without a rooting interest in any of the other teams playing in the late time slot, clearly this is a must-see game.  Especially since the other two games look like they should be duds.

I just hope that this game isn't so big that Werder spontaneously combusts on the sidelines.