The Minnesota Vikings have no chance at the playoffs after losing to the Chicago Bears last week. The loss made them closer to being the worst team in the NFC North Division rather than the best, forcing the reality that winning out might not even be enough to earn a playoff spot.

The Minnesota Vikings entered this season as a Super Bowl contender after posting a 13-3 regular season record in 2009. The division foe Green Bay Packers also entered the season with similar expectations, but the two teams meet this weekend with only one holding on to its championship aspirations.

Things are going exactly as they should for the rest of the black and blue division. The Packers and Bears are fighting for the division while their little brothers, the Vikings and Detroit Lions, are watching from the sidelines.

Apparently the Vikings are respecting their elders, allowing the Packers and Bears to continue battling like they have since the two franchises were created in 1919. The Vikings have equal or greater talent than all their divisional opponents, boasting several future hall of fame players and a handful of young superstars. However, Minnesota continues to play below its talent level and is considered by most as one of the greatest disappointments in the NFL this season along with the Dallas Cowboys.

This weekend is still important for both the Packers and Vikings franchises, but the value of the matchup between the two teams has been diminished with the rise of the Bears and the simultaneous fall of the Vikings. The Packers may just enforce its big brother role this weekend and bully the Vikings. The goal for Minnesota will be to stop the bleeding in what has turned out to be a season full of embarrassing setbacks.

It all began with the courtship of Brett Favre this past summer. Offseason surgery had Farve wondering if he would come back or retire. Despite conflict over the 2009 season, Head Coach Brad Childress spent many months bribing Favre with money, bonus packages, private jet rides and limo services, unintentionally decreasing his control and credibility. Weeks of media frenzy made this story disinteresting but set the tone for a season that included many more headline stories.

A 1-2 start to the year and a lack of depth at the wide receiver position prompted the Vikings to trade a third round pick for Randy Moss. Moss made an immediate impact in his debut with the Vikings against the Jets, and things were looking up for the purple and gold. Minnesota didn’t yet know that Moss would eventually pull down his pants and moon the Vikings’ upper management.

The first matchup with the Packers in week seven proved to be the beginning of the Vikings’ plunge from contention. A loss for either team would prove detrimental in the divisional race, and, unfortunately, Minnesota lost a close game. Three Favre interceptions, Childress’s blame game and Moss’s refusal to address the media all added to the pain of the loss and initiated a hell storm of unwanted controversy. Add the fact that the Vikings were prepared to face the New England Patriots the following week, arguably the best team in the NFL. They would be doing so with a seriously injured Favre, who fractured two different areas in his ankle.

Favre’s ankle wasn’t the only thing threatening the quarterback’s record streak of consecutive games played. After Head Coach Brad Childress passed the blame squarely on Favre’s shoulders after his three interceptions “caused” the loss to Green Bay.

Following the game against the Patriots in which Moss had one reception, the frustrated receiver attacked Minnesota coaches. He blamed them for ignoring his input on his former team, expressed his continued loyalty to the Patriots and continued his media antics by interviewing himself in front of reporters.

The Vikings released Moss one month and five Farve interceptions after signing him, hoping change would illicit immediate success. A spirited win over the Cardinals in which Favre threw for nearly 450 yards proved the team and the quarterback had a little bit of life left in them, easing rumors that the Vikings might bench Favre and/or fire Brad Childress.

The loss to the Bears almost mathematically eliminated the Vikings from playoff contention, and another three Favre interceptions ignited more rumors of his possible benching. Childress’s job remains on the line, but the Vikings insist that there is still hope for this season.

Despite a plethora of talent, another Minnesota sports team has found a way to ruin their chances at achieving any success, and I find it somewhat humorous. The Vikings have never won a championship despite many chances over the team history, including the 1998 season that yielded a 15-1 season culminating in a heartbreaking overtime loss to the less talented Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have had more losing seasons than winning ones, watching team after team succumb to the mistakes by upper management. The last championship this state has experienced was a Twins World Series win in 1991.

The Vikings are lacking in the win column, and their uninspired play has forced many fans to count down until the start of the Twins season; opening day is only 133 days away if you haven’t started the countdown already. However if you choose to stay optimistic, then there is plenty of hilarious failures to embrace before the fall and winter sports seasons are over.

I urge Minnesota sports fans to laugh at the alarming rate of ridiculous mishaps that can only be proven possible by our state’s sports teams. Recognizing the fate of our state may preserve your sanity.