Anyone who knows me well knows I bleed purple, gold and white — the colors of the Minnesota Vikings. So, am I panicked by their 0-2 start? Absolutely not, and neither should any fan of a team that has started 0-2.

It didn’t take long for the sports pundits on television and sports talk radio to jump on the “statistical wagon” by pointing out teams that start 0-2 only make the playoffs 13 percent of the time, as opposed to 64.1 percent for teams that begin 2-0.

I say hogwash to the stats. There is an old saying I heard, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” What does that mean? It means you can use statistics to say anything you want them to. Using the same statistics, I can say since 1990, 22 teams have made the playoffs after starting 0-2 — it just depends on how I want to spin it.

Every year there is a Cinderella team that comes out of nowhere to reach the playoffs. In 2008, there were two, the New York Jets, who finished the previous season 9-7, and the New Orleans Saints, who went 8-8. In 2009, both teams went to the AFC and NFC championship games, respectively, and the Saints capped it all off by winning the Super Bowl.

There is also a comeback team every year. Last year, after starting 0-6, the Tennessee Titans won five games in a row and eight of their final 10. They missed the playoffs, but showed why you should never throw in the towel.

I am not throwing in the towel on my team after starting 0-2, and neither should the fans of the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams or San Francisco 49ers.

Statistics show one of these teams has a chance — and America loves an underdog — just look at the number of Soldiers we have who overcome personal tragedies and injuries to beat the odds.

Without going all the way back to the American Revolution to cite one the biggest underdogs in history, the American colonists, I’ll go back to a football player who I found inspiration in: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rocky Blier.

Blier was a 16th-round draft choice by the Steelers in 1968. After playing one year in the league, Blier was drafted by the Army and sent to Vietnam. Blier suffered multiple wounds to his left thigh and right leg and foot during an ambush Aug. 20, 1969.

In 1970, weighing 30 pounds less than his previous playing weight, Blier reported to the Steelers. According to accounts, he could not walk, let alone run without pain and a noticeable limp.

To make a long story short, Blier played on four Steelers championship teams in his 12-year career and caught the decisive touchdown in Super Bowl XIII. Blier is seventh on the Steelers all-time rushing list after having only five 100-yard rushing games.

So, as long as there are teams like the 2008 Jets and Saints, and as long as there are players like Blier playing — and yes, there are players like Blier — never give up on the spirit of the underdog. It’s that type of underdog spirit that eventually makes champions.