The airport bar across from the gate with the Minneapolis-destined plane was packed even as the gate agent called for Zone 1, and Zone 2, and so on. The agent watched as a few dozen of us, most of the others in purple shirts, ignored the requests.



“This is the final boarding call,” the agent said. “Board now or you’ll miss the flight.”



But Saints kicker Wil Lutz was lining up for a go-ahead field goal with 29 seconds remaining in a playoff game against the Vikings. We watched Lutz split the uprights, then we ran across the way to the gate, most in the group downtrodden, and boarded a flight home for an unamused gate agent.



By the time we were seated, it seemed someone in every row had found a way to stream the Vikings-Saints divisional round playoff game on their phone. The pre-flight security address fell on deaf ears.



Most watched the Vikings in silence, dismayed at how they had seemingly let another playoff game get...