Grab a giant cheese hat, everybody. Go Pack go! This is Green Bay Packers territory.

At least until Tuesday.

Seriously, no one really expected the Vikings to clinch a playoff berth against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Where's the fun in that? Where's the communal high blood pressure? Where's the sheer terror? Oh no, clinching against the Falcons would have been too easy. And that's not the Vikings' way.

"It's right there in your grasp," Jim Kleinsasser said. "And then you don't get the job done. Seems like we've done that quite a lot around here."

Yes, now that's the Vikings' way. Never take the shortest route. Instead, always go around the mulberry bush. Wearing a blindfold. At midnight.

The irony of Minnesota's flop Sunday is that it pretty much forces area fans to ROOT for the hated Packers in tonight's game against the Chicago Bears. If the Packers win, the Vikings are in. If the Bears win, the locals are still scrambling. Nothing is resolved, and the New York Giants are on deck.

Can the Vikings beat the Giants? Sure they could. New York won't have anything on the line and could be resting key players. The Vikings could lose just as easily, too. So, in the famous words of Dirty Harry: Do you feel lucky today? Well, do ya, punk?

If not, better swallow that pride and cheer for those lovable Packers.

"I'm a cheesehead this week," Bobby Wade said. "Big time."

Imagine, after the great Brett Favre fiasco in the offseason, after the tampering charges, after a lifetime of antagonism, the Packers can do the Vikings the biggest favor imaginable. They can assure them of a playoff spot and remove all the pressure from next Sunday.

"I don't know about going that far," Bryant McKinnie said of wearing a cheese hat. "But I'll make time to watch that game."

Some of the players couldn't accept it, though. They can't imagine relying on Green Bay. Even more important, they say, is that they want to win their way into the postseason.

That's a nice, honorable thought. But never, ever turn down a gift, especially this time of year.

"No one likes backing in," Chad Greenway said. "That's not the way you want to get in. We're here to play. That's what it's about."

Said Antoine Winfield: "We could have been in, but we didn't take care of our business today. That's not how we want to get in. We've played good Football the last four weeks."

Well, there's a long history of fingernail chewing in these parts. After last week's rout of the Arizona Cardinals, it appeared as if the Vikings were going to knock down the front door and steamroll into the playoffs. But that was only to the untrained eye. Most of us knew better.

In the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, the Vikings had a flashback. Sure, they fumbled all game, and that really killed them. Yet they still had a chance to come back. But suddenly the receivers couldn't get open, the quarterback was making poor throws and decisions, and the play calling appeared ultraconservative.

The crowd became angry all over again, too, showering the offense with jeers. That may have been an overreaction because the Falcons played very well. They deserve a lot of credit for the outcome. Hence, the proud state of Minnesota has been put in a compromising position.

Come on, Packers!

"What's going to happen in that game is going to happen," said Kevin Williams, shrugging off any possibility of cheering for Green Bay.

Asked if he'd be rooting for Green Bay tonight, Matt Birk said, "Absolutely."

But Ben Leber probably put it best. He has his preferences, but the ultimate objective is the main thing.

"The back door is fine," he said. "But that's not what you want to do."

I'm sure that's not what Vikings fans want to do, either. Some would rather stand naked in the snow than pull for their archenemies. Rest assured chat rooms will be buzzing this week. Bad language will fly across state lines.

Yet the Vikings already have put themselves in harm's way. By losing Sunday, not only did they fail to clinch but they also assured themselves of having to play a first-round game if they do get in. Anyone want to play for all the marbles on Sunday against the defending champs, regardless of the Giants' motivation level?

I didn't think so.

Go Pack go!

Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com