FanPost

Happy ThanksVIKing, everybody!



Ahh, Thanksgiving. It is perhaps my favorite holiday of the year. Great food. Great company. Football on TV all day long. I'm not sure why, but Thanksgiving Day football always feels like a secret gift from the broadcasters directly to me. I don't have to share it with my wife and kids; it always fits; I'm always happy with it. Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day all have their strong points, but working as I do at a resort, Thanksgiving is the only day of the year that I get to completely go into relaxation mode. But I don't take it for granted at all. In fact, I spend the weeks leading up to Turkey Day thinking (yes, it's corny) of all the things in my life for which I am truly thankful.

I lost a brother this year. I fought and beat cancer this year. I had my finances turned upside down a couple times since January. But I'm still here. My wife and kids are healthy. In fact, my eldest daughter has matured finally, and is taking high school seriously and made the honor roll. I have a great job that I love. I can go on and on and bore all of you with all the things I can be thankful for.

But this is a Vikings site. And we are Vikings fans. So let's talk about what we can be thankful for as Vikes fans!

THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR OFF THE FIELD:

1. Our Players Are Good Guys, I Think - Someone probably will correct me here, but I don't believe the current Vikings have any players who have been in the news this season for driving drunk, soliciting maritime prostitutes, or (ACCIDENTLY.... ALLEGEDLY...) running down wayward meter maids. I am very thankful for this fact. When your players do something to get themselves in the news for the wrong reasons, it makes you as a fan look a little silly for idolizing them. But when their noses are kept clean, you can be proud as a fan of the players you root for. And I still maintain that a team full of good people will beat a team of thugs 9 out of 10 times. So good job, guys. I like to root for you this year.

2. Our Temporary Home Is Becoming "Home" - Last year, it seemed that TCF Bank Stadium was a bit, well... stale. It seemed like the team wasn't comfortable playing there. It looked strange on TV. It seemed like the fans were a little bit of a non-factor. Back in the 80's, the Green Bay Packers were forced - for economic reasons, political reasons, whatever - to play a certain number of games each year in Milwaukee's County Stadium. The games that the Vikings played against the Pack in that stadium just looked strange. Nothing felt right about it. I had that same feeling watching home games at TCF last year. But this year is different. It feels like we have an advantage again at home. And it seems like the players like to play there.

3. Our New Home Is... Freaking... AWESOME - When you live, as I do, five hours away from Minneapolis, trips to "The Cities" are few and far between. I grew up in the 'burbs, so I'm not UN-familiar with downtown. But not too long ago, I had the opportunity to drive downtown and because I had time to kill, I wanted to drive past the stadium just to check it out. My God. It looks like a freakin' fortress!! I'm pumped about seeing games there. I'm pumped about the fact that after twenty five plus years in the Huber H. Humphrey Metrodome, we now will have a stadium to be proud of. Honestly, I wish it was fully outdoors. I think that was an unbelievable advantage for us for many years. But I'll take what I can get.

4. Our Owners Seem To "Get It" - Whether or not you agree with publicly funded stadiums, they are a reality all around the league. It's the price we pay. Whatever. I'm fine with it. I didn't miss a meal because of it, and I'm guessing nobody else did, either. But I have also paid attention since the start of construction to the news updates on the stadium progress. And time and again I have seen reports that the Wilfs have added funding to the project for various upgrades. Make the building better. Make the fan experience better. People are paying good money to come check out your product, and this is an area where people have options. And Minnesotans by and large have many varied interests. Football isn't the only game in town (well... maybe it is these days), and the Wilfs seem to be aware that they need to put up a first rate product.

THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR ON THE FIELD:

1. Mike Zimmer's Vision For The Team - I am old enough to remember the Bud Grant era, but I grew up watching the Jerry Burns teams, the Dennis Green teams, and so on. I always had the feeling that Burnsie was a much lesser version of Bud Grant - although perhaps a much more colorful one. And I felt that Dennis Green was a somewhat feeble attempt to maybe grasp a part of the Bill Walsh mystique. Chilly? I'm really not sure where we were trying to go with that move. But Zimmer? Zimmer just feels different. It doesn't feel like Chilly, Tice, or any of the others. And while I certainly don't call myself an X's and O's expert, I can see that I like where he's going with the team. Big, fast players on defense. Smart, reliable players on offense. I get it. He has a reputation as a hard-ass coach. But I see the players having fun playing for him. I always appreciated working hard for a coach who made the game fun. I can only guess that the players see things the same way.

2. The Young Talent on The Team - Harrison Smith. Anthony Barr. Eric Kendricks. Xavier Rhodes. Linval Joseph. Sharif Floyd. Danielle Hunter. Everson Griffen. Trae Waynes. Stefon Diggs. Matt Kalil. Brandon Fusco. TJ Clemmings. Oh, and that Bridgewater fella. Here's what gets me about this group. Kalil, Waynes and Barr were high first round draft picks. Everyone else on that list came later in the draft - or in Joseph's case, through free agency. That's a pretty impressive list of very good young players! And it bodes well for the future. These aren't all high first rounders who are making an impact. The scouting department and GM Rick Spielman are showing a real ability to find talented players in the late rounds of the draft. That's what good teams do to build consistent winners.

3. The Old Guys on The Team - Chad Greenway. Brian Robison. Terrance Newman. Each of them has had somewhat of a revival this season. Greenway has taken on the role of mentor for Barr and Kendricks. Newman has been a steadying influence on the defensive backfield. Robison seems to have found his legs again after a somewhat disappointing season in 2014.

4. We Get to Watch Adrian Peterson Play - Ya know how it is when a superstar player plays in a market - or for a team - that maybe doesn't get the national coverage that media darlings like the Packers, Cowboys, Patriots or Giants get? Think LaDanian Tomlinson. Or J.J. Watt. When you finally do get a chance to see that player, you are awestruck by just how great they are. Adrian Peterson is that player. His career on the national stage has been comprised of only a few nationally televised games. Compare him to Rodgers, or Brady, or Eli Manning. All of them are on nationally televised games several times per year. But as Vikings fans, most of us get to see him play each and every week, and be able to witness what a phenomenal player he is. Some day, we will all be able to say "I was there when..." in regards to AP's career.

5. Our Quarterback Doesn't Stink - This is maybe my favorite thing to be thankful about, just ahead of Zimmer. Steve Dils. Josh Freeman. Brooks Bollinger. Tarvaris Jackson. Spergon Wynn. Joe Webb. Christian Ponder. Kelly Holcomb. Todd Bouman. Just some of the names we've been fortunate enough to call "ours" over the past couple decades. And now we have Theodore Edmund Bridgewater. Even his name inspires awe. As if he could take off his two gloves, jump into his car, head to his lair, work on a cure for cancer, then spend the afternoon exploring the Andes, looking for archaeological treasures. I've seen every quarterback in the league make bad throws. I've seen every quarterback in the league float a pass. Take a bad sack. Let the clock run down without getting the play off. Throw a bad pick. But the good ones still make plays. Teddy makes plays. He never looks like the game is too big for him. He never looks like he's confused by what he sees. I can watch the offense in relatively relaxed comfort. Well, as relaxed as I can possibly be watching the Vikes.

6. The Bears Beat the Packers. And really, the only thing better than that on Thanksgiving Day is the fact that it happened on Brett Favre's special night.

So be thankful, Vikings fans! Remember that no matter what you are going through, it could always get worse. Maybe I did lose a brother this year. I'm thankful I still have a great family. Maybe I got cancer this year. I'm thankful I live in a time where doctors can find it, fight it, and get rid of it. I'm thankful I'm alive and able to even care about football! I'm especially thankful that - with an extended family full of Packer fans - my kids have learned to hate the Green and Gold as much as I do! Life is good, folks. Be thankful every day.

What are you thankful this year? Let's hear it in the comments section!

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.