Hello, I have been a Vikings fan from a young age, when the Purple People Eaters era was over, and Bud Grant was still coaching. I've seen the Vikings achieve a lot, and face a lot of adversity over this time. The Vikings have been excellent this year. Now, with recent events, and hearing and reading reactions to the Cardinals game, I feel the need to address my fellow fans.

We are Minnesota Vikings fans. As fans, we don't have a direct effect on how our team plays. Our only effect on the Vikings is indirect, through supporting and encouraging our team, and also crowd noise.

Yet, at this particular point in time, it is more important than usual how we react to the current situation. We need to face the adversity of the moment in the most effective manner possible. Attitude determines what will happen next, and if our team takes anything from us the fans, we want them to take something positive.

The loss to the Cardinals on Sunday Night Football was an emotional one. The injury to EJ Henderson horrified us and made us direct prayers and thoughts to him and his family. The pain our defensive co-captain suffered was palpable. We could almost feel it ourselves. Other players were also injured in the game: Phil Loadholt, Bryant McKinnie, Cedric Griffin, and Tyrell Johnson. Two starters missed the game completely due to injury: Antoine Winfield and Anthony Herrera. While the Vikings continue to lead the NFC North, the game has raised questions about the direction of the season.

In his press conference, Brad Childress said that he takes the blame for not having the team prepared. The Vikings lost, Childress said, because they were "out-tempo-ed." Let's give credit to the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals for a well-played football game. The Cardinals played the kind of game that any fan would like to see their team play, and the kind of game that the Vikings have played at times this year.

The Vikings are engaged in a competitive struggle in which only one team will hoist the Lombardi trophy. At the beginning of the season, we expected to face adversity. We knew it would happen, but not exactly how. Now we know what that adversity is. There will be more challenges ahead. If we fans could look to one source of inspiration at a time like this, we might consider the credo of the British Royal Marines. They are a commando unit that is asked to undertake seemingly impossible missions. They succeed because of their attitude. Their credo is:

Courage, determination, resourcefulness, and cheerfulness in the face of adversity

We fans can look to the Vikings for inspiration that fits that successful template.

When EJ Henderson was injured last year, he faced the end of his season and surgery with courage. He came back this year and continued to play with everything he had, the same as always. Last night, EJ was taken down a new road--a different, worse challenge. Considering the situation, EJ will need to display a lot of courage to go through medical treatment and recovery. We all want the best for EJ and his family. If there is one man on the Vikings who has the courage it will take, he is EJ Henderson.

Yesterday in the game, after suffering a shoulder injury, Phil Loadholt went to the locker room, and then displayed his courage by going back out on the field and finishing the game. Visanthe Shiancoe played the game with a rib injury. Other Vikings played with injuries, too. These men displayed their courage.

Throughout the entire game, Pat Williams played with intense determination. Regardless of the situation, Pat Williams' determination made play after play. Pat Williams showed us what determination is.

On the game's opening drive, displaying resourcefulness, Benny Sapp forced a fumble by the Cardinals' running back. Tyrell Johnson displayed resourcefulness by recovering the fumble. Later, in several situations, the Vikings' defense displayed resourcefulness by holding the Cardinals' offense to three and outs, and at other times forced field goals instead of touchdowns.

It's that kind of courage, determination, and resourcefulness that anyone needs in order to succeed in a difficult challenge. We fans should take inspiration from the Vikings for these qualities.

The other quality that we need to display right now is cheerfulness in the face of adversity. Yes, our team is facing adversity. That does not mean anything more than that, however. What happens for the rest of today, tomorrow, and the days to come is open to change. The best and most effective approach in the face of adversity is to maintain cheerfulness. It helps everybody be calm so that they can do their jobs right. The only thing we fans can control is ourselves. We can't control how we feel inside, which is bound to be pretty bad today. We can control our attitude--how we project ourselves to the world. A winining attitude is critical right now, and if we fans display cheerfulness in the face of adversity, maybe some of it will rub off on our Vikings, and maybe they will get inspired by us, just as we are inspired by them.

It's the job of fans to support their team. It's our job to support the Vikings. We know our team is facing adversity right now. Let's keep things positive and cheer our Vikings on.

So, old chap, keep your head up. Where there's a will, there's a way. Go Vikings!