Quote: @prairieghost said:
This was an amazing video and it really touched my heart. Sometimes we get mad at these guys when they don't perform the way we want or expect them to...sometimes we say things like we'd like to see them cut or put on the bench, or force them to take a salary cut because they need to be a "team guy." To me, Kyle Rudolph is a perfect example and the epitome of a "team guy." He represents our Vikings with complete class. He gives to the Twin Cities community and the State of Minnesota of his time, his money, and his friendship. What else could possibly make a player a "team guy??"
These men all play a game but outside of their on-field personas they are regular people who, in some cases, do extraordinary things. It's guys like Kyle that make the NFL much more to me than just professional athletes playing a game. There's definitely guys on our team, and throughout the NFL, past and present, who are making or have made a difference in peoples' lives. I'm very thankful for those men.
Congratulations to Kyle on being named the Vikings' candidate for Walter Payton Man of the Year!
I've said before, the older I get, the more I appreciate this kind of stuff. Not the NFL's phony PR stuff they shove out there, real shit like this.
I'm much more of a Rudolph fan now. Hopefully he wins, but I think he'd agree the title is basically pointless. The important stuff is in that video.
And hating these guys because they drop a catch or miss a kick... if you're an adult and you walk around holding onto that, you've got a problem. I remember being a kid and being furious with Gary Anderson. This September, as frustrated as I was, I immediately felt awful for Carlson when he shanked that fourth kick. What, you think he tried to ruin your Sunday? Trust me, his entire livelihood is hanging in the balance.
Thielen is still my first pick for my next jersey, but Rudolph is a close second.