Hello, fellow Viking fans, as well as football fans of any other stripe that have happened by our little corner of SportsBlogs Nation!  I'm Gonzo, and I'll be skippering this ship for the foreseeable future.

(Note to self:  Cut down on boat references.)

I would like to thank the proprietors of SBNation.com for allowing me this opportunity.  I will effort to bring all you Vikings fans out there the same level of coverage that you've become accustomed to from the other blogs that comprise this site.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, let me better introduce myself.

My name isn't really "Gonzo."  That just happens to be the nickname I was given by my old T-ball coach when I was 4 years old. . .and it's managed to stick for 25 years.  I've spent the last 8+ years as an Air Force weather nerd. . .er, meteorologist. . .currently stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS, but I was born and raised in the Great White North.

I've been a passionate follower of the Vikings for almost the same amount of time.  The first season of Vikings' football I can clearly remember was the Les Steckel disaster year of 1984.  The Vikings went 3-13 that year, and to this day are the worst football team I think I've ever seen.  And yet, something drew me to this team.  Maybe it's because they were the closest team to my North Dakota home. . .maybe it's because Anthony Carter ruled the world on Tecmo Bowl, I don't know.

Whatever it was, there's no team I feel the connection with that I do to the Vikings.  Like so many of you, I endured Darrin Nelson dropping the pass at the goal line against Washington.  I endured the 1998 NFC Championship Game.  I endured the 2000 NFC Championship Game.  I endured Josh McCown to Nate Poole.  And I endured so many of the other moments that, sadly, have become the hallmark of the Minnesota Vikings.

And, like so many of you, I'll be there when this team finally breaks through and wins that big game.  It might not be this year, it might not be next year. . .I don't know when it's going to be.  But it's going to happen.  And it's going to make all the down times seem like a distant memory.

Thanks for coming aboard, folks!