A Conundrum That Shouldn't Exist

As we all know, the Vikings currently sit with a 6-7 record and are still fighting for a playoff spot in the NFC.  You would think that this would make most Viking fans a happy group of people. . .but that isn't always the case.

Over the course of the past few days. . .hell, even as far back as when the Vikings were 4-5. . .the following question started being asked on some of the various Vikings' websites I participate in:

"Would it be better for the Vikings to tank the rest of their games and go for a high draft pick?"

The simple answer?  No.

The more complex answer?  Fuck no.

Seriously. . .I have very little respect for "fans" that hope the Vikings go on a losing streak or suggest that they start tanking games to improve their draft position.  In 25 years of following this team, regardless of how good or bad they are, regardless of how I feel about the coach, and regardless of what college players were going to be draft eligible, I have never once cheered for the Vikings to lose to anybody.  As one NFL coach once so eloquently put it, "YOU PLAY. . .TO WIN. . .THE GAMES!  DUH!"

Why would anyone think that tanking for draft position is a good idea?  Tony Mandarich and Ryan Leaf were once #2 overall NFL draft picks.  Do you think the Packers and Chargers, respectively, were happy that they were bad enough to end up with those two slugs?  No. . .they were too busy being pissed off at the fact that they had been terrible the year before and in a position to take those guys in the first place.  Conversely, players like Matt Birk and John Randle ended up being great players, despite being drafted extremely late (like Birk was) or not even being drafted at all (like Randle).

There's no bigger crapshoot in professional sports than the NFL Draft.  I like it that way.  And there's absolutely no point in hoping that your team does badly so that they can get into the crapshoot earlier than someone else.

And that's about all I've got to say about that.  GO VIKINGS, whether they're 6-7, 7-6, or 1-12.