After losing in 1998, the Vikings began their agonizing decline. Marred by tragedy and scandal, by 2002 they were a laughingstock. In a way, they were the laughingstock that a healing nation needed in that period of history. Even as they pulled their act together after the circus sideshow that was the 2005 season, they still did it in funny ways. They embraced the 40 year-old icon of their bitterest rival. And suddenly, a fun-but-frustrating decade became all fun. And then, in a sickening twist that many still haven't fully processed, things became all frustrating.