The Minnesota Vikings: Will They Ever Win the Big One?

It has always been a dream of mine to one day see the Vikings in the Super bowl (BUT ACTUALLY WIN THIS TIME)! Four times in the past, though none of them recently, the Vikings have advanced all the way to the big show(Super bowl 4, 8, 9, and 11), just to fall short and lose in agonizing fashion. I know, their are many teams that have never even made it to the Super bowl to at least list that accomplishment on their resumes, but when you have been in the league as long as the Minnesota Vikings have, you must shoot higher than to just get in! Sure, only four teams have played in more Super bowls than the Vikings and to take it one step further, only the Dallas Cowboys have more playoff appearances. The emotional roller coaster that we, as Minnesota Viking fans, find ourselves on, has got to come to an end soon.

The Vikings have had great quarterbacks such as Tarkenton and Moon, excellent players on the defensive side and the offensive side. Guys like Moss, Carter, Rashad, Birk, Hutchinson, Smith, Peterson, Noga, Doleman, Pat and Kevin Williams, Ed and Randal McDaniel and John Randle you would think could guarantee them a Super bowl victory, but still the Super bowl victory evades them. They seem to be able to excel on one side of the ball but not put it all together. Maybe its the coaching staff, or lack thereof, possibly work ethics, enthusiasm, motivation, discipline or the lack of the "go get it" attitude that has plagued the Vikings over the years. Without having a solid game plan and balance on both sides of the ball, you will not be successful. Then their are the excessive, no excuse-penalty issues and special teams miscues, combined with ill faded plus and minus takeaway margins that rear their ugly heads over Viking land, that have to be tamed and addressed.

I am sure that when you add the zaniantics of Randy Moss leaving the field before the game was actually over, against the Washington Redskins a few years back or his " I play when I want to" mentality and his mopping around didn't help, or how about the embarrassing stint aboard the S.S. Brainless, where a few of the Vikings players decided to take a boat excursion with some people of the opposite sex leading to a forgettable adventure, that we as Vikings fans can surely live without. Then their are the misdemeanors, battles with traffic cops, drug and steroid use and sexual assault issues, that have plagued the team for eons it seems. These past and present players shall be not identified, though they know who I am talking about. Some of these are on field antics, but most are off the field. You wonder how much this plays a part in the teams overall chemistry, spirit, players psyche and ability to focus on the game day in and day out of the short 16 game season. With all of this crap going on, I can assure you that I would have a hard time thinking of just the game at hand and focusing on playing better and excelling as a team to capture the glory all to often attained by the Patriots in past years!

Hopefully with the change in ownership and policies from Red McCombs to Zygi Wilf combined with the head coaching change in bringing Brad Childress over from The Philadelphia Eagles and his choice of assistant and special teams coaches, these change should help. With a good drafting scheme, effective and offensive free agent attention in focusing on bringing some of the cream of the crop players to Minnesota, this will also help to ensure that the Vikings are guaranteed a better chance of winning.

The players and young talent that the Vikings have today such as rookie running back sensation Adrian Peterson, the offensive line featuring Steve Hutchinson, Bryant McKinnie and Adam Birk on the left side, the Williams tandem(Kevin and Pat) with E.J. Henderson on the defensive side of the ball helping the Vikings to gobble up opposing backs thus attaining the status of #1 against the run. If the Vikings can strengthen their secondary and pass rush to get out of the lower third of the league defending the pass, and solidify their quarterback position, the Minnesota Vikings will be on their way to another Super bowl appearance.

Some of the new players like:
Bernard Berrien(WR-Chicago Bears)
Michael Boulware(S-Houston Texans)
Thomas Tapeh(FB-Philadelphia Eagles)
Maurice Hicks(RB/ST-
Derrick Pope(LB-Miami Dolphins)
Madieu Williams(S-Cincinnati Bengals)

Should help to size up and increase the Vikings depth chart and hopefully, combined with the players that the Vikings select in this years 2008 college draft should offer Vikings fans a great chance of getting to the Super bowl, instead of just watching other teams play in the big game, while the Vikings(and their fans) fall painfully short once again.