I'm done being nice about this, because the thought of the Vikings moving is becoming closer to reality with each passing day.
The Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate majority leader are cowards for embracing what is essentially a death sentence for the Vikings in Minnesota.
This is the bottom line. If there is a referendum, there is no Arden Hills stadium. If there is no Arden Hills stadium, the Vikings will begin to explore offers to buy the team from other ownership groups. Those ownership groups are not in Minnesota, and they will relocate the team if Wilf sells.
If you support a referendum, then you support the Vikings moving.
It's that simple. Call these people today and tell them to forget the referendum and pass the damn stadium bill:
Your senator. If you don't know who that is, you should be ashamed of yourself. Find out here and call them.
Your representative. If you don't know who that is, you should be ashamed of yourself. Find out here and call them.
Sen. Majority Leader Amy Koch:
(651) 296-5981
Speaker Of The House Kurt Zellers:
rep.kurt.zellers@house.mn
651-296-5502
I kind of put this off in the background, because I really wanted to focus on the end of the pre-season and the cuts that were coming to get down to the 53 man limit on the roster, but it can't wait.
If you support a referendum for a Vikings stadium, you are, in fact, against the Vikings staying in Minnesota.
Howl all you want about that not being the case, but it is.
Zellers, Koch, and Dayton don't have the balls to lead on this issue, and you know what, that's what they were elected to do. You see, we don't live in a mob rules democracy. Contrary to what your public school education tells you, we live in a Representative Republic, and in that form of government we send politicians to act on our behalf, and do things that are good for the state, difficult or otherwise.
Not play 'Cover Your Political Ass' and pass the buck when the going gets tough. And let's face it, that's exactly what these so called leaders are doing.
Here's the deal, and it's cut and dried. The referendum is a deal breaker, for a number of reasons. For one, the Twins didn't need one for Target Field. Why should the Vikings? Secondly, it wouldn't be voted on until 2012, the next election cycle.
The Metrodome lease runs out at the end of the 2011 season, and the Vikings will have been sold and on the way out long before the referendum came to a vote. Not only are they cowards, they're dumbasses, too. And finally, the referendum would probably fail. No one wants to vote themselves a tax increase.
But most people don't want to lose the Vikings, either.
You're hiding behind a referendum you know has no chance of being palatable to the Vikings or their supporters in an attempt to circumvent your responsibility. You can piss and bitch and moan all day that it's the law, but there is a provision in the law that allows you to bypass the referendum when it's for the greater good...which the Legislature did for the Twins stadium...and now you say you won't do it for the Vikings.
And for those of you that say 'let Wilf pay for it himself', you're just ignorant, bordering on stupid. It's not going to happen, because that's not the dynamic in 21st century stadium construction. You don't have to like it, so you can either grasp the fact that if there's going to be a Vikings stadium, the state will kick in money for it, or WIlf will do one of two things:
1) Accept an offer from another city that will kick in to pay for a new stadium and move to said new city,
2) Sell to an ownership group that has a new stadium deal waiting, and the new ownership group will move the team to the new city with said new stadium awaiting them.
The Vikings have done everything that's been asked of them in this deal, and every time they complete one task, you throw another roadblock in their way. At some point, and that point is very soon if it's not already here, the Vikings will close their briefcase, say thank you very much, and get on a plane to Los Angeles, where they will be welcomed with open arms and a financial deal that will almost double the value of the team.
The ball is in your court, and it seems like you're willing to take that ball and go home, and gamble that the Vikings won't leave.
Remind me never to go to Vegas with any of you anti-stadium people.