10-15-2020, 03:11 PM
A poster that I respect and like to read recently
said that I criticize the Vikings “again (and again) in a vacuum without
looking at other teams' draft results”. I know that many think I have
nothing but negative to say, and that remark made me think about
why I criticize. But I’m sure many people here just want to say, “Quit
your bitching” and not even call it criticism, so…I’ll own that.
I don’t hate this franchise. I don’t live in New Jersey and have some obscure grudge against the Wilfs. I have
said here that loyalty isn’t really deserved by a professional NFL team
and agree with Jerry Seinfeld’s observation
that, “You’re just cheering for the laundry.” Yep, it’s true. But the
Vikings have been MY laundry for over 50 years, I like that laundry, I
sure as hell don’t plan on switching to Packer or Chief laundry. BUT – I
would really like to see that Vikings laundry
holding up a Lombardi trophy, and…it ain’t happening any time soon.
My father made me a Vikings fan, like many of your
fathers probably did. He watched or listened to 99% of their games from
founding day of Tarkenton beating the Bears until Dad died 7 years ago at
88. He saw 62 years of them, AND every NFL playoff game and Super Bowl, but no Vikings championship. He
saw them get to 4 championships – ages ago. In 1977, a few days after
the big game, he cheered up and said, “We’ve been to 4 of the 11 Super
Bowls, we’ll get to a lot more and win some.”
Oops. For those of you believing in jinxes, I’ll apologize on his behalf for that remark.
I want a great season and a championship. I think
you all do, too. And why I bitch, mostly, is that I think too many of
you let this franchise placate you with consolation prizes and
rationalizations.
One consolation we heard throughout Adrian Peterson’s career was, “We have the best running back in the NFL!”
OK, great, and no argument. So: why didn’t we win a championship?
Doesn’t having a transcendent talent make everything else
about winning easier? Other GMs and coaches won championships with
backs that couldn’t lace Peterson’s shoes. So why don’t we hold our
ownership, management, and coaches to that standard? Instead we acted like
our team was OK because they managed to find ONE
piece of a team. Peterson’s 2K season was celebrated like a Super Bowl
by a lot of fans. Sure, enjoy it, but keep demanding a championship. The
current ownership and GM were here while this franchise
wasted the enormous advantage Peterson gave them…do you think the same people will win with Dalvin Cook?
Some of the consolations are just rationalizations or myths. “The Vikings are one of the best drafting teams in the league!” OK, I’ll take your word for that, but – shouldn’t that mean they have better players and win more games
than most of the league and a championship or two? “Rick Spielman is one of the best GMs in the NFL!”
Great – and that’s based on what? Because his team has won the most
Super Bowls? Playoff games? 8 different GMs have won Super Bowls since
Spielman
became sole Vikings GM a decade ago; did most of them do that with
worse playoff records than his (2-4)??
People scrounge desperately for rationalizations. “Rob Brzezinski is a genius salary cap manager!” That’s wonderful – so that means we should have cap room to get better players than anyone else and win championships, right??
“Eric Sugarman is the best team doctor in the NFL!” Fine, so our team must be the picture of health and consistently beat all those broken-down teams with inferior doctors.
“US Bank Stadium is the best in the league and so is our practice facility!”
Oh, kinda don’t care, unless it means free agent players are so eager
to be here that they take less money and we sign more of them and – yes,
I’m a broken record – it makes
the Vikings win championships.
All those accolades would be just fine – if we also
won championships. Don’t let all the BS distract you from that goal. Do
you really think fans of the Seahawks, Broncos, Packers, Eagles, Colts,
Patriots, or Steelers are patting themselves
on the back for having a great team doctor?? Try gloating about that
next time some Packer-Backer talks about their titles.
Maybe it doesn’t matter, and we should accept that
the Vikings are essentially the same as the Lions and just take a bit of
comfort in these consolation prizes. I don’t like that and I’ll keep
asking for results ON THE FIELD. So I bitch
because I want all of you to do the same. We might have absolutely zero
influence on how the Wilfs and Spielman and Zimmer manage this team –
but we sure as hell don’t need to make up their excuses for them.
Thanks to anyone who made it through this long scree..
said that I criticize the Vikings “again (and again) in a vacuum without
looking at other teams' draft results”. I know that many think I have
nothing but negative to say, and that remark made me think about
why I criticize. But I’m sure many people here just want to say, “Quit
your bitching” and not even call it criticism, so…I’ll own that.
I don’t hate this franchise. I don’t live in New Jersey and have some obscure grudge against the Wilfs. I have
said here that loyalty isn’t really deserved by a professional NFL team
and agree with Jerry Seinfeld’s observation
that, “You’re just cheering for the laundry.” Yep, it’s true. But the
Vikings have been MY laundry for over 50 years, I like that laundry, I
sure as hell don’t plan on switching to Packer or Chief laundry. BUT – I
would really like to see that Vikings laundry
holding up a Lombardi trophy, and…it ain’t happening any time soon.
My father made me a Vikings fan, like many of your
fathers probably did. He watched or listened to 99% of their games from
founding day of Tarkenton beating the Bears until Dad died 7 years ago at
88. He saw 62 years of them, AND every NFL playoff game and Super Bowl, but no Vikings championship. He
saw them get to 4 championships – ages ago. In 1977, a few days after
the big game, he cheered up and said, “We’ve been to 4 of the 11 Super
Bowls, we’ll get to a lot more and win some.”
Oops. For those of you believing in jinxes, I’ll apologize on his behalf for that remark.
I want a great season and a championship. I think
you all do, too. And why I bitch, mostly, is that I think too many of
you let this franchise placate you with consolation prizes and
rationalizations.
One consolation we heard throughout Adrian Peterson’s career was, “We have the best running back in the NFL!”
OK, great, and no argument. So: why didn’t we win a championship?
Doesn’t having a transcendent talent make everything else
about winning easier? Other GMs and coaches won championships with
backs that couldn’t lace Peterson’s shoes. So why don’t we hold our
ownership, management, and coaches to that standard? Instead we acted like
our team was OK because they managed to find ONE
piece of a team. Peterson’s 2K season was celebrated like a Super Bowl
by a lot of fans. Sure, enjoy it, but keep demanding a championship. The
current ownership and GM were here while this franchise
wasted the enormous advantage Peterson gave them…do you think the same people will win with Dalvin Cook?
Some of the consolations are just rationalizations or myths. “The Vikings are one of the best drafting teams in the league!” OK, I’ll take your word for that, but – shouldn’t that mean they have better players and win more games
than most of the league and a championship or two? “Rick Spielman is one of the best GMs in the NFL!”
Great – and that’s based on what? Because his team has won the most
Super Bowls? Playoff games? 8 different GMs have won Super Bowls since
Spielman
became sole Vikings GM a decade ago; did most of them do that with
worse playoff records than his (2-4)??
People scrounge desperately for rationalizations. “Rob Brzezinski is a genius salary cap manager!” That’s wonderful – so that means we should have cap room to get better players than anyone else and win championships, right??
“Eric Sugarman is the best team doctor in the NFL!” Fine, so our team must be the picture of health and consistently beat all those broken-down teams with inferior doctors.
“US Bank Stadium is the best in the league and so is our practice facility!”
Oh, kinda don’t care, unless it means free agent players are so eager
to be here that they take less money and we sign more of them and – yes,
I’m a broken record – it makes
the Vikings win championships.
All those accolades would be just fine – if we also
won championships. Don’t let all the BS distract you from that goal. Do
you really think fans of the Seahawks, Broncos, Packers, Eagles, Colts,
Patriots, or Steelers are patting themselves
on the back for having a great team doctor?? Try gloating about that
next time some Packer-Backer talks about their titles.
Maybe it doesn’t matter, and we should accept that
the Vikings are essentially the same as the Lions and just take a bit of
comfort in these consolation prizes. I don’t like that and I’ll keep
asking for results ON THE FIELD. So I bitch
because I want all of you to do the same. We might have absolutely zero
influence on how the Wilfs and Spielman and Zimmer manage this team –
but we sure as hell don’t need to make up their excuses for them.
Thanks to anyone who made it through this long scree..
