Atrocities Committed Against Vikings in ’09 NFC Championship Far Worse Than You Remember

In 2009, the New Orleans Saints won a Super Bowl that they never should’ve been a part of. Two weeks earlier, they were vastly outplayed by the Minnesota Vikings, in one of the most memorable NFC Championships in NFL history.

Sure, Brett Favre threw THE interception and Adrian Peterson fumbled 174 times, but everybody knows it was the referees who made that infamous postseason game competitive. Hell, Sean Payton was suspended for a full season because of the paid assault the Saints defense was allowed to commit against Favre.

The NFL and their referee minions

Still, most do not remember just how badly the Minnesota Vikings were wronged that late January night. It wasn’t just the Bountygate scandal or the hits that Favre took. In fact, I’d say that part was the least of Minnesota’s series of unfortunate events that night. Let’s go back and look at the tape.

Never forget that the Saints have the most fraudulent unearned Super Bowl in history. #SKOL pic.twitter.com/Y6b3LPYHmV

— Thomas Sullivan (@Yfz84) September 28, 2022

The Bountygate investigation got Sean Payton a movie deal and made the Brett Favre sandwich an iconic moment in league history. The phantom Ben Leber pass interference penalty is hard to forget too, especially if you listen to KFAN, where Leber is a regular contributor.

The atrocities you may not remember.

But earlier in their game-winning overtime drive, the Saints faced a critical 4th and 1, just inside of Vikings territory. Pierre Thomas leaped over the line and Chad Greenway’s helmet met the football while he Thomas was in mid-air. The resulting fumble pushed the Saints’ offense back behind the line to gain. Easy call, right? Wrong, even after booth review, the 1st down stood and New Orleans’ game-winning drive to continued.

Oh, you have a steel trap memory and remember all of this? Well, what about the zebras’ knockout blow that night? On 2nd and 14, Robert Meechum clearly dropped a pass from Drew Brees, that pushed the Saints into easy game-winning field goal range.

Yet again, the Vikings got their booth review. Yet again, it didn’t matter. Only one team was going to win that night and it wasn’t the one coming from Minnesota. So with Vikings vs Saints (London Edition) upon us this weekend, it’s important we remember the historic football atrocity levied at us back in 2009. #NeverForget

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan