So, the last time the Vikings played Arizona, there was a head coach about to be fired, it was just after a major holiday, and a recovered onside kick led to improbable 4th down conversion and victory from the jaws of defeat for a team from the desert.

Yesterday was about as close a case of Deja Vu that one can get. It wasn’t Josh McCown to Nate Poole, instead it was a rookie QB phenom who lead a team of celler dwellers from a 31-13 deficit to a near miss, 31-25 miracle finish. This time, the Vikings dodged the comeback bullet. But this time, the future looks much brighter for the losing team, than it does for the purple. I thought I knew who I thought we were, but it turns out I am as clueless as a Dennis Green cliche.

I started thinking about things that Cardinals have, that I wish our had, and it bums me out that their future is brighter than our immediate season. Consider the following:

1. Who would you rather have QB right now, Matt Leinart or Brad Johnson (with Travaris Jackson in the wings?) After watching the game yesterday, I would pick the rookie with a Heisman Trophy, several magazines covers, a storied college career at USC, and the whole football pedigree. His future is so bright that he HAS to wear those Hollywood shades!

2. Which Receiving Corps would you rather have right now? Larry Fitzgerald, Anquin Boldin and Bryant Johnson, or Marcus Robinson, Troy Williamson, Travis Taylor, and Bethel Johnson? Gee, that’s so funny, I forgot to laugh. Easily the Cardinals, WR corp is about as close to the “Three Deep” Moss, CC and Jake squad of the record setting Vikings as can be. They might even be better? .

3. Which Stadium would you rather have as your field? Hmm.. Metrodomeor University of Phoenix Stadium? Gee I dunno, a brand new State of the Art Facility in Glendale Arizona, or the Rubber-filled-fun-house in Minnesota? Okay, I love the Metrodome, and I hope that a new Vikings stadium will be built in downtown Minneapolis, but that thing in Arizona has a retractable roof, a moveable playing field, and a full tailgate lot to honor their fans. In Minnesota’s tailgate lot, we get a view of the Target Center and free shuttles for a Two-Mile trek to the Metrodome that take a 1/2 hour. Once we get to the dome, we get an indoor only view. That is great on bone-cold chilling days, but on days like yesterday, when it’s beautiful and sunny in November, it’s downright depressing.

4. Immediate Future: Cardinals Fire their head coach, and have a Top 5 Draft Pick, Vikings, Keep their Promising Coach, and Look for Talent who can help next year? I always like the chances of picking a super impact franchise player, but I think the Vikings have upper hand here. My only concern about the Vikings landing the right talent for the team’s new system, would be if owner Zygi Wilfe sours at the fickle public’s lack of desire for a new stadium. I am serious, if this state ever approves a new Vikings stadium, I will be surprised. Of course, I never thought we’d see Gopher Football on Campus, or a Twins downtown stadium either.

I guess overall, I am jealous that Cardinals are exactly what we expected them to be.

I found this on armchairgm.com, and thought it was cute seeing how Chicago White Sox fan really viewed Brad Radke.

by user ChicagoSportsFanDrew

Dear Brad Radke,

I have hated/admired you for a long time now. Earlier this year when your arm was falling off, I became excited. Excited that one of the great White Sox killers of all time would finally let me sleep at night. But what did you do? You decided that no matter how much pain you were in, you were still good enough to ruin another White Sox season, as you have so often done in the past. I was terrified during every one of your 2nd half starts against the White Sox, as you proceeded to run up your career stats against us. Now that you have finally decided to call it quits(hopefully for good), I must admit that I will be able to sleep more soundly at night knowing a great bane on the White Sox is finally vanquished. Now if only we can do something about Johan Santana, C.C. Sabathia, Mike Sweeney, the entire Twins organization outside of the 2005 team, Francisco Liriano, any left-handed pitcher facing Jim Thome with runners on………….

See you in hell,

Drew

It all started last summer, when I read an e-mail from a company in New York who had an “Offer I couldn’t refuse!” and was too good to be true. From the newest sports-theme leather recliner manufacturer, the
Dreamseat company offered us a chance to help with their grass roots promotion of the coolest furniture that any diehard fan could ever want. The custom made Vikings chair would soon be rolling off the production line and they wanted our tailgating team to be the first in Minnesota to show it off to the Vikings fans in the tailgating lot.

Starting on Monday October 30th for the Patriots game, our lot will now feature the Vikingstailgate.com Goalposts, the Battlewagon, the Kansas Vike’s Breakfast Burritos and the Dreamseat. More about the company is included in this Blog entry below. I will be adding pictures/video of tailgaters using the leather recliner to a new DREAMSEAT page as the season progresses, so stop by, check it out and check out the site to see your picture.

DREAMSEATS INFO:

Our Mission

Dreamseats^TM provides the highest quality themed recliners to homes, offices and stadiums. We are dedicated to delivering 100% luxurious seating comfort while showing your team colors. Your Sport, Your Team, It’s Your Dream.

Products and Services Overview

• Dreamseats^TM are available in all NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL teams.
• Autographed, Special Collection and Limited Edition Championship Dreamseats^TM are available.
• Dreamseats^TM licenses custom company recliners.
• Provide dealers and service throughout the entire US and other parts of the world.

Company Story

Originally, Dreamseats^TM were designed and test marketed for on-field VIP seating at NFL games. The interest in sports-themed luxury recliners was immediately apparent from the reaction of the fans. In early 2006, Dreamseats^TM was officially licensed by MLB and the NFL. Shortly after that the NHL and NBA joined the Dreamseat team and the licenses for all four major sports were obtained by June 2006. Since then, word has rapidly spread about the product and Dreamseats^TM have been a part of the 2006 ESPY Style Studios, MLB All Star Festivities and is being enjoyed by many top name athletes and celebrities. Scott Suprina, the creator and founder of Dreamseats, wanted to create a high quality, comfortable recliner that allowed sports fans to show their devotion toward their favorite team.

Community Involvement

Dreamseats is always ready to help within the community and we carefully evaluate sponsorship opportunities at all levels. We currently work with the BEF (Boomer Esiason Foundation) for Cystic Fibrosis in addition to many other charity events.

Okay, I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot about Cedric Griffin when he was drafted by the Vikings in the 2nd Round of the 2006 draft, and my reasons for becoming a fan have been pure selfish, but here goes.

Cedric’s brother is Anthony Noble, a part-time tailgater with our Vikings tribe, who met the Battlewagon Boys (Doug and Terry) at Summer Camp, and shows up to hang out with us from time to time. Just last week for the Lions game, Anthony made his 2nd appearance of the year and made a huge splash in our tailgating lore.
It’s a fun story. I just had given away my ticket to the game to “Black Betty”- a rookie Tailgater in her own right, and was resorted to enjoying the game with the other outdoor tailgater with a satellite TV connection. Out of blue, young Mr. Noble came walking up asking where everybody was.

“It’s game time man, they are taking the shuttle up to the dome.”

Without blinking an eye, Anthony offered me up his extra ticket for the game and pointed at the buses,

“We can take my limo.”

I just sort of chuckled, seeing him point to the buses that everyone else was boarding,

“Ya, bro that’s my limo too.”

As we got closer to the bus stop, I kept walking, but he stopped when a very suave driver hopped out of a black limousine that was parked near the buses, and opened the door for him.

“Where are you going Mookie?”

I was flabbergasted.

“Are you serious? This is REALLY your limo?”

In complete disbelief, and somewhat influenced from 3 hours of “power” tailgating, I hopped in the limo and off we went. We chatted about the Longhorn/ Buckeye game that I attended a month ago (see stories elsewhere in this blog) and he explained that he had just flown in from Austin, and the first place he headed to was Rapid Park to find his Minnesota tailgater buddies.

“Yah, we were very lucky to find the lot, ” affirmed the driver.

We were dropped off in the players lot, and escorted to the friends and family will call both. Anthony got the tickets, made arrangements for pick-up later in the day (presumably with his brother joining him after the game). We walked into the game and headed for Section 114.

Well, this was too good be true, and I was completely in no condition to mingle with the friends, kids and families of the Minnesota Vikings. We watched the first quarter and then I apologized to Anthony because I had to leave out of respect to the people who were seated near us. I wasn’t belligerent, but I was “drunk clumsy”, and I did not want to risk the embarrassment that is commonplace in most other sections of the Metrodome. It was like that Mr. Rogers song, “one of these things is not like the other, ” and was the one thing.

Anthony was very respectable of my situation, and said that he would excuse me on two conditions,

“One, you buy me a burger, because I’m starving, and have no money on me, and two, you get me your phone number so we can do this up proper next time.”

I had no problem with either request. We went up, bought the food, exchanged contact info, and off I went.

I write this column as an apology to Anthony, because if I had known that I would end up in the seats that he had been gifted from his NFL brother, I would have certainly taken a more professional approach to my game day preparation. Chalk it up to a lost opportunity, but an unforgettable moment in my tenure as Vikings fan.

But most important, I have to just write that I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity. For a rube like myself, who has spent his life cheering the Vikings from afar (upper deck, TV and tailgating lots), it was a rare chance to see the game from a new perspective, and l was an idiot for not being in a position to take full advantage. I certainly do hope that Anthony can give me another chance somewhere down the line. I do know that he is always welcome in our tailgate lot, and that we will always have a spot on the back of the F-150 in reserve for him in the lot.

On the occasions that I have had to interact with Anthony, I have to say that he is a good guy, eventhough he has had some bad luck in his day. He is very fortunate to have a classy brother who seems very intent on taking care of his family. It’s a quality that is admirable, and should be ingrained in the type of NFL player that Vikings really need as they rebuild the image of their organization.

I think # 23, is the type of player that the Vikings should always strive to acquire. I have done some research on his playing career (more to come- maybe even a first ever one on one interview for vikingstailgate.com?) and the following are snippets of what has been said, and what I have observed:

From Mackbrown-texasfootball.com, a story titled “Cedric Griffin- Breaking Barriers” Sept. 2005:

• “Cedric is one of the toughest guys you’ll ever try to get to know, but I think that once you do, you’ll be very happy with who you meet…”
• “Trust and loyalty are two of the biggest qualities in getting to know Cedric Griffin. It was engrained at an early age as he ended up doing much for himself because of strained relations with his family, most of which is in southern Mississippi.
• “If you’re his friend, you’ve got a friend for life. He’ll go to bat for you, he’ll go fight for you, and if he hears someone saying something about you, he’ll step right up and straighten that out quickly.”
• “Since he was a little kid, Cedric’s been committed to football. Whatever he puts his mind to, that’s what he does. From Pop Warner to middle school to high school, he’s excelled at it, and it’s what he’s always wanted to do. Now he wants to go to the NFL, and that’s his next step.”

From Vikings Update Magazine, October 2006, a story titled, “Self-Made Man- Rookie Cornerback Cedric Griffin overcame a difficult childhood to become a winner in football and life:

• “Cedric has a tattoo on his arm that reads, ‘Self Made Man’
• “I used my own wisdom, learned from my own mistakes. I take responsibility for what I do- I still listen to other people’s advice, but I want to learn from my own mistakes and go through life on my own knowledge.”

From You Tube:Cedric Griffin had a fantastic interception of a Jay Cutler pass in the end zone in the Senior Bowl

Watch # 8 lighting it up on a Texas Football highlight reel with Michael Huff (now on the Raiders)

Cedric politely disrupts Ohio State’s National Title Hopes in 2005

• Rumor has it from various internet sources that Griffin was the guy who approached Vincent Young after the Longhorn’s Defense stuffed USC on 4th down in the 4th quarter of the National Title Game- just before the infamous TD winning drive, and said the inspirational line “Now what are YOU gonna do?”

So far, Griffin has been playing tough minutes for the Vikings, learning the game behind Antoine Winfield and Fred Smoot, but it won’t be long before people in Rapid Park, the Metrodome and Mall of America are wearing #23′s jersey. I know for fact that my first jersey in the new style will be a #23 with “Anthony’s Bro” on the back.

Why Not?

The last three homegames have featured three regulars from our Tailgating neighborhood. This season one of the features in every home game edition of the Minnesota Vikings Gameday Magazine, a unique Tailgating Ritual is highlighted. The fans who are selected from written submissions, are given Metrodome Field Passes, Extra copies of the Magazine, and VIP seating for a taping of the Vikings Gameday Faeture Show on a Thursday evening at the Mall of America.

So far this season, Battlewagon Doug was featured for the Ravens preseason game, Kansas Viking was chosen for the Panthers game, and Mookie was selected for the Bears game.

“It’s a cool thing to try, but I really like the view from our section best,” commented Mookie, “The one thing I did learn is that the Cheerleaders actually work their butts off the entire game. I mean, they really go all out, and take their job seriously. It was really cool to see how they work the sidelines, but I missed alot of the game because we had a bad angle. Ya, that’s it.”