Vikings Fan Who Wouldn’t Shave Beard Until Team Won Super Bowl Passes Away

Long time Vikings fan Emmett Pearson and I have something in common, we have loved our Vikings faithfully, despite decades of heartache and disappointment. Emmett's love, though,  may be greater. He vowed to not shave his beard until the Vikings won the Super Bowl. They still haven't won it - and now Emmett is gone.Emmett died Monday at age 83, his snowy white beard still in tact.Like all Vikings' fans, Emmett clung to the hope that his beloved team would one day make it back to the big game and come home a champion. After the Vikings lost the Steelers in the 1975 Super Bowl, Pearson vowed to not shave until the Vikings won it all. He died with that hope still in his heart.

It seems like someone should pick up Emmett's torch and carry it forward - until the day comes when the Vikings finally win a Super Bowl championship. I'm probably not going to be that guy, but I do want one of those purple t-shirts that say "ONE- before I Die."

When Brett Favre came out of retirement and led the purple and gold to the NFC Championship game, we thought maybe it was our year. Turns out it wasn't. Just another heartache. One more bitter pill to swallow.

The St. Louis Rams apparently didn't learn from Minnesota's failed experiment and tried to lure Brett back from the farm just a few days ago.

It's been 35 years since the Vikings played in the Super Bowl. Now with our quarterback situation in disarray, the team in shambles, and just one win this season,  the Super Bowl seems light years away. But, those of us who are true fans, like Emmett,  will keep hoping, trusting, praying, and believing. Just one before we die.

Here's the story of Emmett Pearson and his devotion to his Vikings.