“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself,

“It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than selfish and worry about my liver.”- Jack Handy

This quote above reminds me of the conversation that I had with John Randle back in 2007. I was attending the Matt Blair Celebrity Golf Tournament for Special Olympics at Hazeltine, and I got the opportunity to chat with both Randle and Randall McDaniel during the event.

I was their to volunteer for my company (the name sponsor) by assisting with coverage for use in our internal communications. We were video taping the various athletes and celebrities for “on the record” comments about our company, the Olympians, fund raising, and other “yadda, yadda, yadda” type spin.

Off the record conversations were much more fun, and when the camera was off “Big Dog” and I chatted about Vikings football, jersey sales and fans who tailgate in parking lot. I remember telling Randle that I wore his jersey from time to time, that I was big fan, and always enjoyed his funny commercials, and style of play.

He thanked me, but noted that I was dating myself,

“Man, that number #93 belongs to another guy now,” he stated, referring to defensive tackle Kevin Williams. Somehow we got to talking about tailgaters, drinking beer and watching Vikings games. I remember him alluding to how big of a business that had evolved into, with NFL “official” beer sponsorships, commercials, and the corporate money machine.

“Well ya know,” he said, “the beer doesn’t drink itself.”

Then, like Jack Handy himself, I looked at myself in the mirror and reflected on the comment.

Think about it.

There is no doubt in my mind that Randall McDaniel is the greatest Viking of all-time; both on and off the field. I recently met Mr. McDaniel at Matt Blair’s Celebrity Golf Outing at Hazeltine for the benefit of Special Olympics. He was imposing, cordial and and just a class act in general. He should be going into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

The Hall of Fame is the greatest individual honor any player can achieve. Because of this, the special club often looks to stars, big name type players that put the ball the endzone. Quarterbacks & Running Backs and even Wide Receivers seem to get all the glory and recognition, but there is no way in hell they could ever score if they didn’t have the “grunts” do their part.

Fortuantley, the NFL has a system in place that helps recognize individual talent at every position. It’s called the Pro Bowl. Every year players at every position are selected by one’s peers to be honored in this game. It could be considered the best measuring stick of playing-day dominance. Randall McDaniel has been selected to play in this game 12 times. This is an ALL-TIME NFL RECORD.

But on his first change to get in to the Hall of Fame laste year, Randall was slighted. This year that must be corrected. It seems that voters can’t recognize individual greateness of offensive lineman when they are supposed. The only way an OLineman gets into Canton is if they were part of a Super Bowl team. Case in point, only seven offensive linemen have been elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot — Forrest Gregg, Jim Otto, Jim Langer, Gene Upshaw, John Hannah, Anthony Munoz and Jackie Slater. They all played in Super Bowls.

While it is always stressed that football is a team game, the Pro Bowl honors individual achievements. To that end, there is little more McDaniel could have done.

From Patrick Reusse’s Star Tribune Column December 15, 2006 – 10:45 PM

…Mike Tice once described Randall McDaniel as the Vikings’ “first Randy Moss.” What he meant was getting McDaniel with the 19th overall selection in the 1988 NFL draft was the equivalent of landing Moss with the 21st a decade later.
Tice was McDaniel’s line coach in January 1999 when he said: “Randall was passed over by a lot of teams. He came in and started dominating. The only difference between McDaniel then and Moss now is that Randall plays an unglorified position.”

Left guard.

“He’s the best to ever play that position,” Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson said.
Johnson wasn’t talking about McDaniel as the best to play left guard for the Vikings. He wasn’t talking about McDaniel as the best he has seen in 15 NFL seasons.

“Best ever … all-time,” he said. “Couldn’t have been anyone this good.”…

Considering that he not only was a great player but a model citizen as well, seeing players like Michael Irvin get their day in Canton makes me sick.