My proudest day as a fan

As a sports fan there are not many times when you can actually be proud of your fan base. The overwhelming amount of joy or anguish you experience comes from your team’s performance on the field. Today though, is a day where I couldn’t be more proud to be a Vikings fan because of what the incredible fan base has made happen. Only three weeks ago it looked like the Vikings’ stadium deal was done and it was only a matter of time until they followed the Lakers to LA. But thanks to a visit from Roger Goodell, Governor Mark Dayton’s tireless efforts, Senator Julie Rosen’s hard work, and the incredible support from Vikings fans, the Vikings are going to stay in Minnesota for at least another 45 years. At one point, anti-stadium politicians said that the majority of Minnesota was against this bill, this was until Viking fans got going and started emailing, calling, and writing state legislators to get the deal done.
Many senators and house members said that they were being contacted over twenty times by people supporting the stadium for every one person arguing against it. All of the loyal fans who went to the capitol every day to support a deal were instrumental. Even Adrian Peterson, Chad Greenway, and others went down to the capitol to lobby lawmakers. Cory Merrifield, the founder of SavetheVikes.org did an incredible job helping to keep this team in the Twin Cities. As important as the fans were, all Vikings fans owe a huge thank you to owner Zygi Wilf.

Zygi easily could have jumped at the chance to move to LA and used the slow movement on the stadium front as an excuse. But he stayed committed to the land of ten thousand lakes and even upped his share of payment to ensure the bill would pass. Some details still need to be worked out like whether the building will have a retractable roof and exactly how long they will need to play at the Gopher’s TCF Bank Stadium. For all the heartbreak Vikings’ fans have had to go through on the field, (4 Super Bowls, 98, 09) there is no replacement for an NFL team to put your heart and soul into every Sunday. I was so sick of every time talk of an LA stadium came on the news getting a giant knot in my stomach. There are some teams that have too much history and too good fans to move, unfortunately it still happens (Sonics, Browns, Whalers) which is why I was so concerned for the Vikings. Of course other times it is almost a necessity to move a team (Thashers.) I’m not actually sure if any of what I just wrote actually made sense but I am too happy to care. Now that we have this deal done though, about that team….

SKOL!!!!