Since we have an extra day before our game this week. . .and since even I'm starting to get overloaded by all the talk of the Vikings being the team that "nobody wants to play in the playoffs". . .I thought I'd do a post that I've been meaning to do for quite some time.
Now, I'd like to think that The Daily Norseman is something of a standard-bearer when it comes to Vikings blogs on the internet. . .before I was given the opportunity to do this site, Vikings blogs were kind of hard to come by. There was Mr. Cheer or Die's Vikings Underground (which, upon further review, appears to be back up. . .I was unaware of this), but prior to The Daily Norseman hitting the scene, that was about it.
(If I'm wrong on my timeline here, somebody please feel free to let me know.)
But now there are lots of great blogs out there devoted to coverage of the Beloved Purple. You guys all know about Access Vikings and Vikings Now. Those blogs have the "big boys" (aka the Star-Tribune and the Pioneer Press) behind them. In this post, I'm going to highlight the little guys down in the trenches, much like myself. You can find links to all of these sites over on the right hand side there, and they're all pretty much worth reading on a daily basis. So, without any further ado, here's the roll call.
PV's Sports Toothache - Probably my favorite non-Daily Norseman Vikings' blog. The trio or writers over at the Sports Toothache always seem to have a different perspective on things, whether it's pulling obscure stats from somewhere or quoting Dostoevsky or something like that. A definite must-read.
The Ragnarok - I believe that this was the first independent Vikings' blog I linked to after this site went online. TBird is a guy that dislikes the Packers as much as I do. . .and after listening to the crap that got spewed on his blog when Deadspin picked up one of his posts, it's easy to see why. . .and I really like the hockey-esque "Three Stars" he does for every game. Good stuff.
Vikes Geek - Vikes Geek used to write on the aforementioned site published by Mr. Cheer or Die. What I am to positivity, Vikes Geek tends to be to negativity. For every silver lining, Vikes Geek has a tendency to find a dark cloud. I don't find myself agreeing with the man very often, but damned if he's not thought-provoking and well-spoken in his own contrarian manner.
Skol Vikes - Skol Vikes is alright. He's still under the impression that Daunte Culpepper had something to do with Randy Moss being traded in 2005 (he didn't), and he might take the Vikings a little too seriously, but overall it's a good site. Hell, I can't think of a "bad" Vikings blog, to be honest. . .the more Vikings perspective we can get, the better.
Vikings War Cry - You know, the more I think about it, this one might have pre-dated this site, too. Part of one of the major sports blogging networks, they usually have a pretty good perspective on things.
The Viking Age - An up-and-coming site, they have a bit more of a comedic edge than a lot of the other Vikings' blogs out there. Just like a lot of comedians, sometimes they miss. . .but they hit a lot more frequently than they miss.
Purple Kool-Aid - OH YEAH!! (Don't groan, you saw that one coming.) A very homer-ific Vikings' site. . .but those are the best kind. They went for a few weeks a while back without updating, but they seem to be back on track again.
Grant's Tomb - Who's buried in Grant's Tomb? Well, nobody. . .to our knowledge, anyway. Some pretty good game breakdowns to be found here, too.
Vikings Gab - This is a relatively new site. . .it looks promising, but there's not really a whole lot to say about it yet. That doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out daily, though. . .heck, you should be doing that with all these sites. Bookmarking them, even.
Vikings Vixen - The female perspective on the Beloved Purple. There used to be another female Vikings blogger (at a site called Vikings Frenzy), but that site seems to have disappeared. If you can get through the overabundance of pink, it's a pretty fine website.
I believe that's the entire list. . .those are all the ones that I've discovered, anyway. As I mentioned, if you're a Vikings' fan, you should be bookmarking all of these folks and checking them out on a daily basis.
If anyone knows of any Vikings' blogs that I'm missing, leave them in the comments section. Hell, if any of YOU folks decide you're going to start a Vikings' blog (or a website, or a message board, or anything else), drop me a line and I'll add you to the links. The Viking fan community out there can't possibly be too large.
That's all for tonight, folks. . .back to actual Vikings/Bear stuff tomorrow.