In case the title of this article didn’t give it away already, the Vikings suck once again this year. As a long time fan I have endured numerous painful moments thanks to the Vikes. Whether it was watching them get eliminated from the playoffs on a last second fourth and 21 touchdown pass against the worst team in the league on the last day of the year, or watching the team give up on their coach against the Packers in a pathetic 31-3 defeat, watching Minnesota is like watching a train wreck: it’s painful, but you just can’t look away.
How bad are the Vikes? Well, they are 3-7 at the time of writing this and by the time you read this they will probably be 3-8. At least, that’s what I would bet on if I were a betting man. Of course, if I were a betting man I would be completely penniless because I would have lost it all betting on the Vikings. Interesting side note: I’m still penniless, but that’s from being a student.
One of my fellow football loving chums is a Jets fan. Throughout the years I have attempted to make the case that the Vikings were somehow better then the Jets. As a poli-sci student I have learned a lot about stretching the truth, but no amount of spin can make the Minnesota Vikings look good. As my friend recently noted, since the Jets are 9-2 and the Vikes are 3-7, even if you reverse the Vikings record they are still worse than New York. Last week, I had to admit that my football credibility had been tarnished for another year. I even had to admit the Jets were better then the Vikings, yet another embarrassment suffered as a result of being a fan of the Purple and Gold.
Even when the Vikings are good, they still suck. Last year the Vikes had an awesome shot at getting to the Super Bowl. On a third down, within field goal range, Brett Favre threw a pass into triple coverage. To the complete shock of everyone (sarcasm), that pass was intercepted. Now, usually, throwing into triple coverage is not even attempted by a quarterback, especially when the season is on the line. But hey, it’s the Vikings we’re talking about here. Of course, Minnesota ended up losing in overtime.
I will leave you with a quick run-down of recent events in Vikings world. In a fitting tribute to their years of failure, the Vikes brought back Randy Moss to try to rekindle some offensive magic. After a few subpar games, Moss ran his mouth off about the coaching staff and play calling, and expressed how much he missed his former team. Coach Brad Childress subsequently released Moss, wait for it, without informing the Vikings owner, who apparently pushed for Moss to be brought onboard in the first place. Childress, or “Chilly” as he is sometimes known, was fired last week. Sources from within the team’s organization even reportedly said that Childress suffered from a complete lack of people skills, perhaps the inspiration behind the ex-coaches nickname.
Don’t worry though, the NFL is a big league and there are lots of teams out there. The Vikings may be bad once again, but I’m sure my second favorite team is doing great. In fact, I think I’ll head over to ESPN.com to check on how the Cowboys are doing right now . . .
Disclaimer: After this article was written, the Vikings won a 17-13 decision over Washington. This latest development puts the team at a 4-7 record on the season — still nothing to brag about.
