Vikings Block Out Painful '98 Memory

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) â€” Gary Anderson came close to duplicating his nearly perfect 1998 regular season for the Minnesota Vikings. <br><br>He has to hope that it doesn't have another imperfect

Tuesday, January 9th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) â€” Gary Anderson came close to duplicating his nearly perfect 1998 regular season for the Minnesota Vikings.

He has to hope that it doesn't have another imperfect ending Sunday when the Vikings meet the New York Giants in the NFC championship game.

Anderson, the NFL's leading career scorer, has made 24 of 25 field goals this season, including the Vikings' 34-16 victory over the New Orleans Saints in the NFC playoffs on Saturday. His only miss was a 52-yarder that was blocked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 41-year-old kicker from South Africa, the oldest player still in the playoffs, was 39-for-39 on field goals and extra points in 1998 until the Vikings, leading 27-20 in the NFC title game, tried a 38-yarder that would have put the Atlanta Falcons out of reach with less than five minutes remaining. The kick veered wide left by a matter of inches, and the Falcons came back to defeat the Vikings 30-27 in overtime.

Anderson said he is paying no attention to the similarities between the '98 and '00 seasons. He thinks about the missed field goal against the Falcons only when asked.

``I don't give that any thought at all,'' Anderson said.

That's an organizational attitude that comes from the highest sources.

``We're not big on looking back,'' coach Dennis Green said. ``We probably have 22-to-23 guys left from that team. Of those 23 guys, 12 were hurt going into or during the game. That leaves 11 guys that had something to do with that ball game.''

The Vikings, who set an NFL scoring record while going 15-1 during the 1998 regular season, shouldn't have needed Anderson's kick. They managed only seven points in the second half and overtime and gave away a 20-7 lead.

``We were shocked that we lost,'' linebacker Eddie McDaniel said. ``We weren't supposed to lose a game like that.''

But the Vikings say two years has been plenty of time to ease the memory of that loss, perhaps the most stinging defeat in franchise history. There is little talk of redemption going into their game Sunday.

``It's nice to write a story about or to draw comparisons,'' Vikings receiver Cris Carter said. ``But that game doesn't mean much. You have so many new people. It's totally different.''

Offensive tackle Korey Stringer, one of 12 current Vikings who started in the '98 championship game, said thoughts of that game are counterproductive.

``Winning this season won't change the fact that we lost in '98,'' Stringer said. ``I can't change that. It doesn't make any sense to try. It is what it is. I'd rather concentrate my energy on the present.''

The present includes players such as second-year quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who was worrying about the NFL draft the day the Vikings lost to the Falcons.

``Those guys weren't even thinking they'd ever be in Minnesota,'' Stringer said. ``If they see the rest of us getting mad about '98, they're just wondering what we're getting mad about.''