Keep the Vikings

If you are a Vikings fan and want to keep them in Minnesota, watch this video!
Christian Ponder photograph above, thanks to Zimbio.com/Christian Ponder photos!

I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about the Minnesota Vikings before, but today is the day!
by Charlie Leck

I’ve got a good blogging friend, Tony Rugare, in Cleveland. Tony has a sharp wit and a good mind. His bogs never go on and on. He gets right to the point and those points are nearly always sharp. Among other things, Tony is also a terrific sports fan and devoted to his Cleveland Indians. The fact that he can think well about national and world current events and local muddles there in Cleveland AND sports makes him, I think, a well rounded guy. He doesn’t over-do it with his sports detours, but one feels his passion when he does. [Check out From Tony’s Keyboard]

I should like to know from Tony what the atmosphere must have been like the day it became clear in Cleveland that their professional football team, the Browns, were headed for Baltimore, leaving heartbreak behind them.

Now here’s the reason I ask…
I’m a hopeless Minnesota Vikings fan and have been since the team came into existence in 1961. Now, there is a danger that we will become another Cleveland – broken hearted lovers who have been left in a lurch by the one over whom we have poured out so much affection and emotion.

The Vikings have made it clear that they can’t compete with the other guys with the stadium they have. To pay the price of the best players these days, a team needs first class practice facilities and a first class stadium to play in. The old Metrodome isn’t that place. The Vikes have made it clear that they will contribute nearly 500 million dollars to this stadium that will we owned by the state and will be used for many other community events – concerts, entertainment galore, high school football and soccer championship games, national collegiate championships in football and basketball and on and on….

The team’s lease runs out this season – in February. There are other towns (the City of Angels, for one), courting our team. Can you imagine the Vikings of Los Angeles? It doesn’t make sense.

I’ve contacted my State Senator (Gen Olson) about this and also my District Representative (Steve Smith). I’ve had a good response from Smith, a Republican, who says he’s on board for getting something done that will help the Vikings get a new stadium. Senator Olson hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I’ll keep bugging her.

Here’s a very cool and heart-tugging video the Vikings have put out and asked their fans to spread around. I’m easy! I know that! I have strong emotional ties to the Vikings. Sure they’ve broken my heart a number of times. It’s so hard getting over those four (4) – yes FOUR – Super Bowl losses; yet, they are still my team – my one and only team and I’ll pull for them forever – at least for as long as they’re in Minnesota and I’m still kicking.

If you’re a Vikings fan, be sure to watch the video. If you remember Bill Brown, Chuck Foreman, Karl Kasulke and Jim Marshall, you’ve just got to. Our state will lose so much if we lose the Vikings. It would be one of the most foolish things we’ve ever done. Don’t let them do it!

If you're hooked on the Vikings also, you might want to take a look at the web site Save the Vikings.

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