Yesterday a post went up on this website “previewing” the 2010 Minnesota Vikings. This so called “preview” was not a preview at all. This “preview” was used as another fan complaining about the Vikings and the way they operate their organization.
I have been watching the Vikings with my father for as long as I can remember. There have been many times in my life where I have been let down by the team, and consequently been made fun of and berated by non-Vikings fans who feel like I deserve it.
This has led to me having almost a Bill Simmons-esque relationship with the Vikings: always cautious of how and when the team will eventually fail, just so I can avoid total heartbreak when it happens.
Trust me, it always happens.
It’s not something I’m happy about, but who could blame me? Just once I wish this was a team that I could throw myself completely into, but I don’t think that will ever happen.
No, this team is not perfect, and probably never will be.
Yes, there are questions about how the organization is run.
Yes, Brett Favre causes headaches for everyone. Even Viking fans get annoyed.
Yes, last season ended terribly for Vikings fans and fantastically for everyone else.
All these points were brought up in yesterday’s “preview”. All these points aren’t wrong, just lazy. I would have been fine if it had been left to these main points, but the ending was uncalled for.
“I don’t think they deserve the glory. Not this year, not with these guys behind the wheel. And since they’ll always be the Vikings, not ever.”
No team ever deserves to win anything then. If that were the case, there would be no reason to play sports, and frankly no reason to follow sports. Sports aren’t about who deserves what. No fans deserve pain and anguish and disappointment year after year. Fans aren’t responsible for how the teams they follow are run.
I went to a high school that has only won three championships in over 110 years. I am a Vikings fan, a team that has never won a Super Bowl. The Twins last won a World Series when I was a baby, so I can’t really claim that. Hell, I’m even a Timberwolves fan. Through all of that, not once have I ever said I’ve deserved a championship.
Not many sports fans sit down and make the choice of who they will root for by taking the time to figure out a good, quality organization that is run by good people. Most people are born into teams. My dad was a Vikings fan, so I am a Vikings fan. My grandpa watches the Twins every night, so I started to do the same. Mr. Gotta is a Wisconsin resident, therefore he is a Packers fan.
It’s is uncalled for and unfair to blame and attack a team’s fan base over hatred for another team. I will never root for the Packers in my life, but at no point will I ever write an entire column about my hatred for them.
Instead of completing his NFC North preview, Mr. Gotta used it as a place to attack a team he doesn’t like. Not only is that lazy, it makes the rest of us look bad. Sure there is a place for biased opinions in journalism, and this website is a perfect example for that, but there is a line.
So I offer Mr. Gotta a challenge: Write an actual preview. Man up, put your bias aside, and write an actual preview for the Minnesota Vikings. Finish your project. Analyze and preview the NFC North. It would be much appreciated.
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About Drew Lange
