Hmmm... Could, This, Be Happening?

I can't remember the last time and almost forgot what it is like to win two games in a row. It feels good to see the Vikings crush a team like the Giants, and to see Zygi smiling on the sideline, but I am still a bit hesistant to pronounce that our purple have "turned the corner."

After being so harsh, and calling for a regime change, I have to give Coach Childress alot of credit for getting this team focused. He took a really bad situation after the Packers debacle, and somehow managed to use it to help motivate his team. If he has truly succeeded in getting his team's ears, then it should show this weekend when the Vikings face the Lions.

If the Vikings are able to flush Detroilet this weekend, I will have a smile as big as our owners, but no game in this league is a cake-walk. Last time the Vikes played the Lions, a damn crossbar got in the way, so I am hoping that this weekend the Vikings will be able to play themselves out of situation where a late kick will determine the outcome. I guess I am saying that the team should kick the Lions up and down the field, and when they do, that Dome will be as loud as ever.

"All Day" will return to the Vikings line-up, and the fans will go absoultely ape when he is announced. In recent history, the Vikings haven't been in situations where they could play themselves into playoff contention. The fans know what is at stake, and it is amazing what a 2-game win streak can do for perceptions of a fan-base. I really think this weekend that the Dome will feel as close to a playoff atmosphere as we have seen in the last 3-4 years. I win at home means that momentum could carry this team further than the talent it might have. In the words of the late Chris Farley, "That would be awesome."

Look at the schedule. If the Vikes win, they would be 6-6 overall, the same as Detroit (who currently holds the 6th playoff spot). They Vikings just trashed the Giants, a team who currently holds the 5th playoff spot. A win would almost put the Vikings in control of their destiny with just 4 games remaining against "beatable" teams (San Fran 3-8, Chicago 5-6, Washington 5-6 and Denver 5-6). Holy Opportunity.

But, let's just take it one game at a time, one Adrian or Chester yard at a time. If the defense plays like they did today in New York, well... let's just say it's my hope to return to Lambeau in January and try to stay undefeated against the Cheeseheads in playoff games.

Stay tuned, try to stay positive, and cheer your ass off this weekend. Why not us? It starts on Sunday, and what I am saying right now is that "there's a chance in hell" afterall.

Vikings Stink Rant Fall 2007

In November 2007 after the Vikings were blasted 34-0 at Lambeau, I jotted down some angry, vicious thoughts about the state of the purple during a boring meeting at work. What can I say, I was pissed. Here now is that list:

Top Reasons Why the Vikings Suck:
1. No Quarterback, no leader, no big toe.
2. Our real Head Coach is in Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Jacksonville or Baltimore
3. The Metrodome is like a Marshmallow on steroids
4. Erasmus James is worthless, a waste of a pick. I said it when he was drafted, "That guy had one good game college against Penn State's 3rd string tackle, and the Vikings thought that was worth a first round pick?
5. Daunte Culpepper for Ryan Cook? Not exactly an even trade.
6. How can anyone organization possibly justify trading Randy Moss for some garbage?
7. Superfreak, Big Papi and the Big Ticket are all in Boston winning, or soon will be getting more rings. Nice job Minnesota.
8. Troy Williamson cannot catch a cold.

Packers Playing Dirty? Bounties for Taking Out Players Like Adrian? League looking into report of Packers players' 'bounty' offers

Why does this not surprise me? Those dirty bastards in Green Bay took a shot at Adrian's knee last week, and the fans in the stands near me were cheering, hooting and hollering UNTIL... we could all hear AP screaming in pain, writhing on the field. It got quiet with guilt. Packers players started signalling for Vikings trainers to come out immediatley and the mini-party on the Packers bench subdued. Fans near me sat down, and was able to finally see the NFL's best new rookie laying on the Lambeau field. I was sick to my stomach. Now I see the following posted on ESPN.com's automated news wire and want to puke:

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- NFL officials are investigating whether Green Bay Packers players offered payments to teammates for achieving specific defensive goals.

League rules prohibit teams and players "from offering or accepting bonuses to a player for his or his team's performance against a particular team, a particular opposing player or players, or a particular group of an opposing team."

League spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the investigation Monday.

ESPN reported that Packers defensive backs offered to pay the team's defensive linemen $500 each if there were able to hold Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson under 100 yards rushing two weeks ago, and another $500 for holding Carolina to under 60 yards rushing as a team on Sunday.

Peterson was held to 45 yards rushing before he left the Vikings' Nov. 11 loss to the Packers with an injury. But the Panthers rushed for 131 yards in Sunday's loss to Green Bay.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday morning he was not aware of the situation, but had not yet spoken to general manager Ted Thompson.
IMAGINE THAT.
"I have no knowledge of that," McCarthy said. "I have not been made aware of that. I haven't talked to Ted today, so if it's something that happened this morning, we have not spoken."

Packers players were not available to the media on Monday after their 31-17 victory over Carolina.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

The Low Point of 42 Years in Vikings Loyalty

So Lambeau Field was pretty cool. The game sucked, and it's pretty damn bad when a Vikings fan for 42 years of life, has to be felt sorry for by Packers fans. I have never seen a football program look so clueless as I witnessed at Lambeau last weekend. 0-8 on third downs (or was it 0-11, I lost count after the third free beer from empathetic Packer fans) is unacceptable.

The Vikings are 0-4 against the Packers under Coach Brad Childress. That fact itself is unforgiveable and grounds for divorce. There is no way in hell the Vikings are supposed to be swept twice in consecutive years by our biggest rival when over the entire history of the franchise, the games were dead even when the new Coach took over. It's tough to be a Viking fan with a team that plays in a Dome (I know Zygi is trying like heck to change that, and I will support that however I can) and has done very little to restore the Pride that was once known as the Purple People Eaters. Our history has always been one of losing big games, but we were at least competitive enough to put a team together that could win and put themselves into a position of playing in championships. Right now, I would take a 41-0 ass whipping at Giant Stadiums in the NFC championship game. Apparently those were the glory days.

The loss in Green Bay was especially hard to take, because it was almost worse than that moment in early 2001. I kept telling Packer fans, "Anything but 41-0" when it was so obvious that our coaching staff was so inept at countering anything the Pack threw at them. It was that bad.

It's now officially true that for the first time in team history, the purple product on the field is completley inferior to everyone it plays. That being the case, an embarrasing realization has taken hold: The Vikings are at their lowest point and needs to make a change. Childress has to be bought out, and replaced. I am sorry to write that, because I think another regime change is like taking a step back. To me, the definition of Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and I actually believe that Childress should be comitted.


I have ALWAYS been loyal to the Vikings, and will continue to do so until I stop breathing, but as a very passionate fan, I have spent too much energy supporting the status quo; a team that is whitless, passionless, and quite frankly ignorant on how to win games. Rumors abound on various Viking web boards, Myspace and fan sites, that Zygi Wilfe is contemplating buying out the remainder of current head coach Brad Childress' contract.

I have to write, for the first time ever (including Tice, Steckel, Green and even Burns) that I would support this decision if it does occure. The rumors speculate that a buyout would "elevate current defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier to head coach for the remainder of this season. Wilf is said to be displeased not only with Childress' on-field results but also with the second-year coach's lack of appeal among the fan base."

If it was my team, I would make a change. Then next year look for a proven Head Coach (not some first timer) to take over the reigns, groom an heir to the coaching job from their system, and put this team back on course. The Viking ship is sailing rudderless, the Captain is stubborn and unwilling to listen to sane people, and it's to dock this thing back home with a new leader.

I hate being anti-anything Viking, but supporting things they way their are, well, I guess that would make me insane. I am still tailgating as normal this weekend, and the only reason I would even consider walking into the dome would be to see Daunte Culpepper in silver & black. The past two years have been very brutal, and I have walked out of games shaking my head in disgust way too many times. Besides, if this game is blacked out, I'd rather use my ticket after tailgating instaed of driving to South Dakota to watch it on TV.

Good Grief.

Hating Your Enemy: Vikings Edition (From a Packer Blog)

Found this on a Green Bay Packers Blog, while was searching Google for "All-Time Vikings Game Dominance"


Oh its that time of year, folks. The leaves are changing, there's a chill in the air, and the Green Bay Packers are in first place in the NFC North. Something about all of this just feels right . Of course, this weekend is my favorite enemy, the Minnesota Vikings.

I'm actually a little excited that they won in such a dominant fashion last week. The excitement that the "W" over San Diego has some Minny fans talking playoffs (insert Jim Mora joke here). I'll say this now for all the world to hear... if Brooks Bollinger leads the Vikings to the playoffs, the universe will immediately collapse upon itself. That's called sarcasm, Minnesota fans... which means its not gonna happen. It should be loads of fun kicking you back down to the cellar with the Bears. I wonder what it smells like down there? Probably like ass and Lions fans...
Let the snark begin. Do to redundancy's sake, I'm not going to pronounce members of the Purple Pecker Checkers as "D-Bags."

Ragnar


Do you know that this snitz is from Wisconsin? I wonder what he does during the offseason. I'm pretty sure he runs around in his purple Fruit of the Looms in his appropriately colored purple trailer and punishes himself. I never knew that the Vikings were able to conquest northern Europe using Segways and sparklers!

Darren "Hey everybody, I went to William & Mary" Sharper


Something about this guy never sat quite right with me. He was supposed to be the leader of the defensive secondary when Butler retired, and bought into his own athletic superiority a little too much. He's too much of a dainty safety in my opinion. Did you know his middle name is Mallory? As Packers fans know, Darren's a guy who will get his picks every year against inferior competition, make the Pro Bowl, but disappear in the big games. Vikings fans love him. Maybe its because they've never been in a big game while he's been on the team. He likes to talk a lot of trash, and has been burned several times against the Pack, which has been very satisfying. I have a feeling that when he retires, he'll do the whole Tiki Barber thing and continue to annoy us all for years on T.V. with his air of superiority. Before his first game with the Vikes, he exclaimed "Man, I look good in purple!" Yes you do Darren, yes you do..

Robert "Turd" Ferguson

Are you starting to see the trend? Minnesota has a knack for signing ex-Packers players who are on the the downside of their careers. Unfortunately, Ferguson never realized the upside.

Ryan "Laces Out" Longwell


Ever popular with the media and an extremely accurate kicker while with the Pack. However, there were two extremely annoying attributes that caused Green Bay to not even attempt to sign their all-time leading scorer. First of all, he could never reach the end zone on kickoffs (leading to regular outstanding field position for the opponent) and his excuse making for every kick he missed wore thin on Packers coaches/players. Longwell seems to be more anal about the hold on the kick then any kicker I've ever seen. And I'm including the fictional character Ray Finkle from "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." Now he can kick in a dome at least eight games a year. Good riddance.. Mason Crosby could kick his ass.

Brad "Chester the Molester" Childress

As rumor has it, Childress was pretty high on the list of candidates to coach the Pack after TT fired Mike Sherman at the end of the 2005 season. Brad wouldn't even oblige Green Bay with an interview and almost immediately signed with the Vikings. Inside sources state that Childress chose Minnesota because they would be a much better team. We all should probably thank the guy, as he may be an even worse coach then Mike Tice, who at least identified who his playmakers were and tried to get them the ball (remember the ridiculous Randy Ratio). Brad also has a general creepy appearance. I'm 90% sure he spends time at Disney World by himself, wearing his fanny-pack, and just watching the kids walk by.

Vikings Fans in General

I could add a couple players who've been arrested for Minny here (Cedric Griffin, Chester Taylor, etc.) but that's not going to make this All-Star List. Vikings fans, I know you're trolling around out there somewhere, are the most insecure, back-handed, band-wagon, envious, negative pieces of (edited) that you can find in the NFL. Yes I'm including Oakland Raiders fans, at least they stay passionate when their team is losing. They have an absolute unhealthy obsession with the Brett Favre and the Packers in general. A common comeback in a trash-talking duel with the Vikings usually includes "Haha Favre takes Vicodin." Alright guys, think of something new.. that stopped before the 1996 season. Eleven years ago. When you eventually lose your franchise, there's a pretty good football team in Northeast Wisconsin, you might want to check them out.

Posted by BobbyOShea (http://www.packerforum.com/index.php?name=Your_Account&profile=BobbyOShea) Thursday, November 08, 2007 (03:20:54) (618 reads)

Lambeau Field Here We Come

Tomorrow we are taking a roadtrip to venerable Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin to stop by and say hello to Captain Intercepto and his 7-1 Packers.

This will be our third trip to Dairyland, and so far each trip has been great. If you never made the trip, you gotta do it. Packer fans are loyal to their team, the tailgating is on par with Kansas City, and the entire town centers around the Pack. In the past Vikings fans have made the trip in droves, and this year with Adrian Peterson leading the purple, we are looking forward to meeting many new Vikes fans, and schmoozing with the Cheese.

Tailgate Lot Debacle; Storm Troopers & New Rules

Nobody expected it, but there it was. No, it wasn't Adrian Peterson's 296 NFL single game rushing record and it wasn't the 109 yard NFL record kick return by San Diego.

It was the fact that on Sunday November 4th, in the hallowed lot resereved for Vikings fans to host their pre-game activities, Tailgating showed it's ugly corporate side. A very aggressive security corp was hired to impose this new policy on the loyal Vikings fans.

On this particular day the people who showed up early were treated with all the disrespect that Mike Tyson would receive at an Indiana beauty pageant.

In short, it was an unnecessary distraction to a group of NFL fans who have had their share of being kicked around the past few years.

The day started off with hopes of another great tailgate event. Many loyal Viking tailgaters always arrive early at 6 am to make sure that they claim their "favorite spots." These diehard tailgaters, "the core of the team" (as Zygi Wolfe referred to us earlier this season in the same tailgate lot) take it upon themselves to create an environment, a base camp if you will, that is intended to be shared by others in their party who arrive later.

Tailgating, as a sociological entity, is a source of great habit. The people who tailgate are very ritualistic in positive sense, and frankly this is what makes them special. I could write a book on this. Oh wait, there already is one called "Purple People" by my friend Ried Holien- and many websites, businesses, books, magazines and even TV shows are dedicated to various tailgate habits both social and economical. I will spare the details on this social phenomenen for now. The point is tailgating is a force of nature, and when that nature is disturbed, disasters- or in this case arguments and disgruntlements- happen.

The early tailgaters were greeted with a barrage of new rules and policies (Vehicle height limitations, music levels no louder than 90 decibels etc.) Being told that we all needing to parking one area of the lot, in order to reserve space for latecomers, we were all forced to scrap our tailgating rituals and appease the whimsical wishes of an anonymous entity called "Impark Wireless." We were herded into new parking spaces like cattle being rustled into the wrong "O.K Corral."

One by one we were all forced to cram into spaces next to new people. Granted this wasn't as travesty, as a matter of fact, it turned out to serve a nice little unintentional team-building execercise for the diehards of the diehardest Vikings fans. As we acclimated to our new neighborhood, many of us shared the same frustration. "WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY TRYING TO PULL?"

We soon figured out through various explanations from lot attendents, that eventhough all these lots were prepaid, and we all had passes to guarantee to us a spot to park, that the powers to be thought they could save spots closest to the entrances by forcing everyone to park next to each other as they arrived. Doing so would allow them to keep any open spots available in one area for late arrivals and get this to garner more profit from no-shows. As one tailgater speculated,

"What they are doing is trying to keep every spot 'not claimed' open so they can charge a fee for 'drive-up parkers."

To make sure that no rebel tailgaters disrupted this extra profit plan, they hired a staff of Avalon Security Guards to enforce the new policy. That is where the problems got ugly. I saw two people threatened for "Inciting a Riot" and told that the Minneapolis Police were on their way with a paddy wagon. I videotaped a few tailgater vs. security guard run-ins that I will post on the VikingsTailgate.com TV so others can see what we were dealing with. (Stay tuned).

These security guards displayed, in many people's opinion, ludicrous behavior. They threatened, bullied and argued openly with tailgaters who looked for clarification. Following is a first hand account from Shanna Allen, a 4-year season ticket holder, summing up her experience with the Avalon Security personnel:

" I just wanted to write a quick note:

Yesterday, while tailgating, a Avalon Security guard not only yelled at myself and my friends-- and kept coming back to yell some more even when we were just hanging out eating chicken wings, and threatened to kick us out numerous times (and have us arrested for "inciting problems"), but also physically got into my friend's face and hit him with his chest (there was a whole body-bump thing you may have caught on tape).

It was very unprofessional and actually could have been considered physical assault. I spoke with Avalon Security this morning ((763) 767-9111, or guard@avalonsecurity.com , and they did agree that was unacceptable and assured me something would be done to address my complaint. The Human Resources person I spoke with was very helpful and nice on the phone.

After the Vikings win, I wasn't as upset as I was at the time (I generally avoid conflict and really at that point just wanted to go home), but I did feel the need to call and complain because I don't want a repeat performance at the next game.

Yes, I realize we started off on the wrong foot, complaining about being told where to park, but the reactions and actions of the security guard were unacceptable and frankly, kind of scary. I wanted to send this note, on the chance anyone else would like to call in to the security company and have their comments heard.

Feel free to post my comments. We just want to have fun at tailgating. Considering the team hasn't given us a lot to cheer for in recent times, the tailgate experience is honestly why we continue to get season tickets. Football is a great TV sport, so if not for the whole-day experience, I'd sleep in on Sundays and watch the game on TV!

Hopefully tailgating on November 18th will be better.

Sincerely,

Shanna Allen"