Draft Day Vikings Party. MGD & a Victory Voyage

I went to my first ever Vikings Draft Party sponsored by Miller Lite at Winter Park yesterday. I don't think it will be my last.

The highlight of the day was meeting and reuniting with all the great tailgaters, and Vikings fans. Saueey and I started the day out looking for bars that opened before 11 a.m. Unsuccessful, we headed over to the Vikings Training facility and waited in line for 30 minutes in the freezing, wind-whipping cold air of a Minnesota spring day in late April.

"Global Warming my ass!!," commented one disgruntled fan in the line ahead of us, "Open the gates and let us in already!"

Once inside, Saueey and signed up at the KFAN booth to win a really neat Vikings kids bike for our sons.

"Geez, I can't write my name, my hands are still frozen solid," commented Saueey.

We headed over to the Party Zone, and started to enjoy our beverages. The music was loud, festive and inspirational. Then I saw my former co-worker and current Vikings cheerleader Brita walking with her teammates. She came over to say hi, and we chatted about the good old days. It's always nice to know that one of your friends is a Vikings cheerleader.
It was great meeting the gang from the Vikings Victory Voyage, a community on the Wearevikings.com site. Kevin "Pure Purple" from Arizona is the real deal, a diehard Vikes fan. Darin from South Carolina promised to meet us in Tennessee for the Vikings road trip. My hats off to Janelle for her help organizing the event, and Skolt for being such a presence on the wearevikings.com social world of cyber purple. Everyone who we met today was great.

Jared Allen showed up to the draft party wearing his sh*tkickers and cowboy hat, and jeans. The modern day Marlboro Man is now our defensive end. He wooed the crowd with his personality, sold tons of #69 jersey. It made Zygi look comfortable for spending 71 million dollars.

The Vikings provided a great environment with plenty of food options, prizes and affordable $5.00 beers. I would say that the draft party at Winter Park is a great way to spend a few hours.

So There I was in Kansas City Last Year...

Several of the gang from Vikingstailgate.com all headed down to KC last year for the Vikings game with the Chiefs. It was a great time, but losing 13-10 to a team that ended up 4-12 sucked.

In the Arrowhead Parking Lot, hours before game time, I can't count how many times that Chiefs fans kept pointing out that there "Superstar" #69, Jared Allen would be returning for this game, and the Vikings would get whooped.

It was sickening. It seemed like every time we'd strike up a conversation about the game, a Chiefs fan would "nuke us" with a "Jared's back, and you'll be sorry!" line. After hearing this ad nauseam, and seeing a sea of Red #69 jersey's walking all over the lot (most of them on women), I snapped,

"WHO THE F IS JARED ALLEN? AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?"

Admittedly, I was not familiar with this KC icon, and I my loud comment drew laughs of assurance from my Vikings brethren, and gawks of "You call yourself an NFL fan?" from stunned Chiefs fans. I mean really, who ever heard of this guy, hidden in the small markets of KC?

It became sort of a running Joke with my tailgate friends the rest of the year. We would spam each other with quotes from KC newspapers all lauding the great Jared Allen. As the e-mails became more frequent, we started seeing his sacks totals, and tackles add up. Then, we learned that he was named to the Pro Bowl, prompting one of my friends to write,

"WHO THE F is Jared Allen? He is the best damn defensive player in the AFC, playing on a cruddy team."

Well, the off-season came, and in late February, we jokingly prodded each other with more e-mails.

"Jared Allen is a restricted Free-Agent. Maybe Zygi should cough up the $ and 2 first round picks and go get him. Problem solved."

Last week, we got an e-mail from Notre Dame Dan,

"HEY, I Think we are Actually Going After this guy, Is this real?"

The e-mail cited a hot NFL rumor that the Vikes and Bucs were going after the star."

Today, it all came to a sudden, pleasing end.

"Who the F is Jared Allen?"

"He is your starting DE for the next wave of the Purple People Eaters, 'Purple Peeps Part Deaux"

I am amazed. Who ever thought this running joke between tailgating hard cores would lead to the actual acquisition of this Super Star? I mean, he is EXACTLY what this team, this town needs. He is good ol football in a town that sorely needs this character. He's the type of guy that shows up to a team MVP dinner, a black tie affair, wearing a fake tux t-shirt, cowboy hat and jeans to pick up his "Player of the Year Award."

I love it. This is my kind of football player. I dig what this team is trying to do. This is Fantastic.

See you all at the draft.

It's Never to Late: Bring Moss Back...

Every year that passes since Moss was traded, it gets easier to deal with the fact that Vikings messed up.

I have stated several times, several ways, that Superfreak was great, the best ever, one of my favorite Vikings etc.

Today, just a few days befor the 2008 NFL draft, and the dawning of new era in Purple Dominance, I am sent a brand new "Bring Back Randy" campaign.

I must post the links, and share the campaign with you out there in the Vikingstailgate.com Parking Lot. The Campaign is being run by Beck DeRobertis, and he wrote me stating:

Hey Fellow Vikings Enthusiast,

BRING MOSS BACK is the Art Campaign Dedicated to returning Randy Moss to
the Minnesota Vikings! The campaign was created by Beck DeRobertis and
includes videos, a blog, a petition, women's fashion, and more! Check it
out!

BRING MOSS BACK Blog:
http://bringmossback.blogspot.com

BRING MOSS BACK YouTube Channel:
http://youtube.com/artheadmagazine

Direct Link to Our Petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bringmossback/

BRING MOSS BACK MySpace Page:
http://myspace.com/artheadmagazine

Please pass the word along to your readers. Help us Bring Moss Back to
the Vikings!

84ever!

We Are Vikings.com

This might be old news for all you hard core Vikes fans, but for those who are looking for some more hands on Vikings Social networking at draft time, you may want to know about the site called "Wearevikingsfans.com"

http://www.wearevikingsfans.com.

The site has been up for almost 8 Months now, and is growing fast. I have a profile set up under Mookie, so feel free and sign up as a teammate, and start meeting people from all over purple cyberspace. It's also a great way to stay in touch with all your fellow Tailgaters during the off-season. All you need to do is create a password, and start networking. It's that easy.

Make sure you check out and join the following Communities created by Vikingstailgate.com members & friends once you log in:

1. Packer Jokes & Border Rivalry Stories (currently 80 members)
2. From the Tailgating Lot (also 80 members strong)
3. Viking Victory Voyage (130 members strong)

See you at the draft party!!!!!

Jared Allen- Rumors Update (1st and 2nd Round Picks in 2009?)

Defensive end Jared Allen, the Kansas City Chiefs' designated franchise player, has scheduled visits with two NFL teams even though he doesn't have any assurance the Chiefs would even consider trading him.

According to a source, Allen is in the process of scheduling trips to the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the next week. Because he is an unsigned franchise player, Allen has the freedom to meet and talk to teams, but the current price tag for a team wanting to sign him is two No. 1 picks, which is a price most teams aren't willing to consider.

Negotiations between the Chiefs and Allen are at the very beginning stage and no deal is close. ESPN's Michael Smith reported that according to league sources, the Chiefs don't intend to re-sign Allen and expect to deal him before they pick fifth overall in the NFL draft.

Should the Chiefs be willing to listen to a trade, it creates an interesting scenario. The Chiefs currently have the No. 5 pick in the draft and are in need of offensive linemen. If the Chiefs would consider a trade of Allen, they could select Vernon Gholston or Chris Long to help them at defensive end and then take an offensive lineman with a first-round pick acquired in a trade.


Smith reported that according to sources, the Vikings appear to be a front-runner because they have, and are willing to deal, Kansas City what it wants most -- draft choices.

Tampa Bay only has five picks in this year's draft and, according to sources, the Bucs are reluctant to include more than a first-round pick for Allen. The Bucs have offered their first-round pick and a fifth-round pick next year, and their proposed deal could also include defensive lineman Jovan Haye, Smith reported.

Meanwhile Minnesota is considering offering its first-round pick and a second-round pick in 2009, while the Chiefs would prefer to deal for picks in this year's draft, sources told Smith.



John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. ESPN reporter Michael Smith contributed to this report.

Chiefs' Allen talking with Vikings, Bucs

Last year in KC, a Chief's fan came up to me and said, "and you guys are toast today, because Jared Allen is coming back off of a suspension."

My reply at the time:

"WHO THE F is Jared Allen?"

I have spent the last year learning that Allen is in fact the most dominant DE in the AFC. He is a Pro Bowler, with 15.5 sacks. He is the kind of guy who "shows up at a black tie awards event to pick up his team MVP trophy wearing cowboy boots, jeans and a classy tuxedo t-shirt."

I have learned to really like this "Jared Allen guy" and today, my buddy who went to KC with me last year, ND Dan, e-mailed me the following info from Jay Glazer:

Jared Allen's days with the Chiefs appear to be numbered.

Allen, the NFL's reigning sack leader, told FOXSports.com that the Vikings and Buccaneers have held trade talks with the Chiefs and he anticipates a deal will get done prior to next week's draft.

"It's a situation that works out best for both sides," Allen told FOXSports.com. "I can go to a team that is competing for a championship right now. The Chiefs can get valuable draft picks to rebuild with."

Allen said he is flying to Minnesota and has a visit set up with the Vikings by this weekend. He is tentatively scheduled to meet with Tampa Bay next week. The Jacksonville Jaguars had previously inquired with Allen's camp as well.

The Pro Bowl defensive end is the Chiefs' franchise player, but re-signing in Kansas City will be a problem as the team is looking to stockpile draft picks.

Allen said the two sticking points are working out terms of a deal with a new team and the Chiefs agreeing to compensation for a trade. A package of first- and second-round picks or one of first- and third-round picks in the upcoming draft have been discussed as possible terms. It's unclear at this point what it will take to get the deal done.

Allen, a four-year veteran, led the league in sacks in 2007 with 15.5 and has 13 forced fumbles in the past three seasons.

2008 Schedule for Vikes: Roadtrip to Tennessee?

The Vikings will be heading to Tennessee on Seeptember 28, and if we have our way, the Tailgaters from our Parking Lot will be following them there.

Preseason

Week 1 – vs. Seattle – August 8 – Metrodome – KSTP – 7 p.m.
Week 2 – at Baltimore – August 16 – M&T Bank Stadium – KSTP – 6:30 p.m.
Week 3 – vs. Pittsburgh – August 23 – Metrodome – CBS – 7 p.m.
Week 4 – at Dallas – August 28 – Texas Stadium – KSTP – 7 p.m.

Regular Season

Week 1 – at Green Bay (Monday) – September 8 – Lambeau Field – ESPN – 6 p.m.
Week 2 – vs. Indianapolis – September 14 – Metrodome – CBS – 12 p.m.
Week 3 – vs. Carolina – September 21 – Metrodome – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 4 – at Tennessee – September 28 – LP Field – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 5 – at New Orleans (Monday) – October 6 – Superdome – ESPN – 7:30 p.m.
Week 6 – vs. Detroit – October 12 – Metrodome – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 7 – at Chicago – October 19 – Soldier Field – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 8 – BYE
Week 9 – vs. Houston – November 2 – Metrodome – CBS – 12 p.m.
Week 10 – vs. Green Bay – November 9 – Metrodome – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 11 – at Tampa Bay – November 16 – Raymond James Stadium – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 12 – at Jacksonville – November 23 – Jacksonville Municipal Stadium – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 13 – vs. Chicago – November 30 – Metrodome – NBC – 7:30 p.m.
Week 14 – at Detroit – December 7 – Ford Field – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 15 – at Arizona – December 14 – University of Phoenix Stadium – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 16 – vs. Atlanta – December 21 – Metrodome – FOX – 12 p.m.
Week 17 – vs. New York Giants – December 28 – Metrodome – FOX – 12 p.m.

Draft Countdown

I'm hoping for Limas Sweed, I don't think he will slip to the 2nd Round like some boards are predicting. I saw him play at Texas, and he strikes me as a potential game breaker, ala CC. Other than that, I am just hoping for best value. If the Vikings wait and see if he slips, then I like Philp Merling DE from Clemson in Round 1 or Derrick Harvey from Florida. In round 2 Like Darrel Robertson, DE Georgia Tech or Fred Davis, a TE from USC. I think having two third rounders in this draft will be the best thing we could possibly ask for. Here we have a great chance to add some talent that will be around for years to come. I like DBs in the 3rd Round. Marcus Griffin from Texas, Justin King from Penn State, Tom Zbikowski from Notre Dame or even a WR, Eddie Royal from Va Tech.