Here's a Bit of a Downer

Happy 20th anniversary of the Herschel Walker trade! (HT: Pro Football Talk)

about 1 month ago Anthony21 13 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Obviously it was a terrible trade

But at the time, I thought it was great. I mean, I was 22 at the time, and no Minnesota team, up to that point, ever made a trade for a truly marquee player. You could argue that they traded for Fran Tarkenton, but that was righting the wrong of trading him away in the first place.

Then Herschel is on the cover of SI, runs for almost 150 yards in his first game in a win against Green Bay, and everyone thinks he was the missing link for that elusive Super Bowl.

The Twins had won the World Series in ’87 and the Vikings had Herschel. It was a heady time to be a Minnesota sports fan.

"We're used to Favre-a-palooza now. We're engulfed in Favre-a-palooza. It's not even Favre-a-palooza anymore. He's family now."

--Vikings TE Visanthe Shiancoe, on Brett Favre

by MilCardFan on Oct 12, 2009 9:58 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes

People forget that he was actually OK at first. Injuries held him back more than anything. He was a worthy trade target, but they gave up too much to get him.

by KC Viking on Oct 12, 2009 10:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

that one big run...

with one shoe was awesome. too bad that was all there was.
we knew it was over when he did the ‘ballet thing’.

I BELIEVE...

by ArizonaVikingsFan on Oct 12, 2009 10:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Dallas Dynasty

The only consolation I have about the trade that built the Cowgirls dynasty is that Jerry Jones hasn’t had that kind of deal since and yet he still can’t figure out why he hasn’t had a championship since that era….poetic justice maybe?

by purplegrey on Oct 12, 2009 10:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yep

Seems so….they sure are not living up to their payroll/on paper potential down there….Sure that JJ is not a happy camper….But he DOES have a palace for his team to play in…

On our side, we suffered for that trade many years…It seemed, well, so logical when they did it…another example of statistics, etc. just not dovetailing with reality…How disappointing…

Poetic Justice Complete: Vikings finally get some new digs IN Minnesota for themselves after our deep run into the playoffs/SB W…

NOTE: Let’s hope this year’s performance is enough to convince those with the power to make this happen!

I would rather be IN the Arena than watching from the stands...That is my life!
* Read Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" if you need further explanation...

by vikingfanfrom afar on Oct 13, 2009 4:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Herschel was physically abused as a child and has dissociative identity disorder. Anyone who watched him play between the hedges as a Bulldog knew he was like a dragster with a cowcatcher on the front, the kind of player for whom you opened a hole and sent running north and south.

Why the Vikings thought you could buy a dragster to pick up groceries and get great gas mileage… well, if you can’t say anything nice, then just don’t.

Those who trade for a guy with multiple personalities and then select the one which writes poetry to play football weren’t playing with a full deck and were doomed from day one.

by Elgar on Oct 13, 2009 1:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't change the facts....

Nobody is disparaging to a large degree Walker here…the trade and the result are what is in question here I think….

If he suffered(s) from such maladies (I had not heard this) don’t you think it might have been mentioned as a part of the entire deal? Also it might have been in press releases/discussions (I do not recall any such discussions)…

Even if it had, the fact is the trade took place and was disasterous for the Vikings….No amount of apologetic verbiage or “you were stupid” talk changes that….It set us up for some lean years as a team for sure…

I would rather be IN the Arena than watching from the stands...That is my life!
* Read Teddy Roosevelt's "Man in the Arena" if you need further explanation...

by vikingfanfrom afar on Oct 13, 2009 1:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Karma

It comes around. Now we have PJ, and he is better than Herschel ever was.

http://vikingsmashfootball.wordpress.com/

by BeardedAxe on Oct 12, 2009 10:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

One anniversary I didn't need to remember

Ah, the bittersweet memories…

To make matters worse, we didn’t even use Walker correctly, and at the end it seemed more like spite than a good coaching decision.

Talk about a naive trade… if it had just been the straight-up original swap of players and picks, we would have weathered it, even when Walker didn’t pan out. But that wasn’t what Johnson had in mind and he ensured that none of the decent players he received were meeting expectation so that they all got converted to additional draft picks. We got freaking raped in that trade because Lynn gave away the farm. Johnson built his entire rep as being a super-coach off the fruits of that deal and then got out of town while the getting was good.

Oh yeah, this one still stings… taken like country rubes…

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!

by DCPurple on Oct 13, 2009 8:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Shuddering

I still get sick everyti9me I think of that or hear about that. Thanks alot for screwing us Mike Lynn.

"That is the craziest sonofabitch I ever saw, how many more like him do you think are up there?"

by VikesFaninNM on Oct 13, 2009 8:52 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

In The News...

Again.

Herschel Walker was recently in the news having signed on to be an MMA fighter with Showtime’s Strikeforce.

In light of this aniversary, I know I don’t stand alone in hoping he gets his ass kicked a couple of times!

by LoveHate on Oct 13, 2009 11:04 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Worst. trade. ever.

Will forever be a black mark in Vikings history along with the 3-13 Les Steckel era.

"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett  
—Hasta la victoria siempre ¡Patria o Muerte! –Ernesto "Che" Guevara

by less cowbell, more 'neau on Oct 13, 2009 2:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs