Vikings finally get what they've been waiting for

I went out to dinner in Bigfork with my dad, who was in town from Seattle, prior to Friday night's football game. As we were leaving the restaurant a friend of mine who worked there asked me what we were off to do. I looked at him and said, "I'm going to go watch the Bigfork football team win their first game in three years."

Although I said it with totally certainty, I wasn't 100 percent sure I was correct. After all, Plains has a good football program that was undefeated when they arrived in Bigfork. I'm also pretty well known for being overly optimistic about sporting events going the way I would like them to go.

However, this time I was right.

From the moment I saw the Vikings take the lead in the first quarter, I had a feeling we were going to win. I had never been present for a varsity football game where the Vikings were ahead, and from the sounds of the stands, neither had most of the fans. I turned to my dad, whom I brought with me to the game, and said, "We're ahead. I don't think we've had a lead since the last time we won." (Upon further investigating, I found that was not correct, but was close to right.)

Even as the Vikings let their lead slip, something told me this game would be different than those in recent years. Then it happened – Bigfork's comeback sprinkled with a few errors by both teams to add to the excitement.

By the time the Vikings had tied it up, even I was in shock and I couldn't have been prouder of them as they held off Plains as the final seconds of the regulation clock ticked down.

I think everyone in the home stands would have been disappointed if Bigfork hadn't had the success they did in overtime, but we all would have commended them for playing their best game in years. However, those sort of assumptions aren't necessary because what happened was far better.

Do you remember where you were the night the Bigfork Vikings 2009 football team broke the program's 28-game losing streak? I do, and I don't think I will ever forget it, and neither will the members of that team or their classmates. I've been to an NFC Championship football game that Seattle hosted and the Seahawks won earning them a trip to the Superbowl, and I've rushed the field at Husky Stadium following the Apple Cup at the University of Washington, and some how I think that Friday's win on the Bigfork High School football field will rank right next to those nights as the best football experiences of all time for me.

As Travis Knoll landed in the end zone to seal the win for the Vikings in overtime and announcer Charlie Appleby said, "Touchdown Vikings," I paused in shock as he followed with "Bigfork wins, Bigfork wins." It literally took me a few moments to recover and start snapping celebration photos.

It wasn't that I didn't think that the Vikings could pull it off. It was just that I didn't think they would make it look so easy.

They not only held Plains off during their overtime possession, but managed to push them back negative yardage. Bigfork on the other hand pushed through to the end zone in a few quick plays, as if that is what they have always done.

Seeing the Bigfork bench and coaches storm the field, followed by the student section and parents, I was overwhelmed in pride for the team's accomplishment. This was the day we had always talked about. On more than one occasion plans were discussed in the Bigfork Eagle office about we would do when the team finally got a win. I hope that the athletes, coaches, students and community members feel that we did it justice in this week's paper and on our Web site.

I know that some may say that football is not the only sport in town, and that one win is not as good as the multiple accomplishments other teams have had this year. A teacher friend of mine once told me that he tells his students, it may not be fair, but it is equal.

All of the teams at BHS are doing great things in spite of adversity, but this week belongs to the football team. They have earned it.

They have been waiting for their turn for three years.

Not to mention, I think that anyone that was on that field after the game would agree with me on a few things: Bigfork winning a football game was the biggest news in town this week; that win single handedly changed the morale of not only the athletes on the team, but the students a the high school; and the 40 or so boys on the football team set an amazing example to everyone in our community and outside of it about not giving up, working hard for your goals and sticking with a team through thick and thin.

I know it is my job to be a fair and balanced journalist, but on Friday night I was a fan of the underdogs that got the win they have worked so hard for.

It brought me endless joy to see those boys' faces beaming with pride over what they had accomplished. They were heroes to their classmates, the community and to me.

Thank you Vikings for showing us all what hard work, perseverance and determination despite what others say can get you.