Greatest Viking Of All Time Tournament: (1) Cris Carter vs (3) Jim Marshall

We've moved to the second of our four Elite 8 match-ups in our Greatest Viking Of All Time Tournament, ladies and gentlemen. In this match-up, two men from the same alma mater battle it out for the right to advance to the Final Four of our tournament.

Cris Carter

Alma Mater: The. . .dramatic pause. . .Ohio State University
Acquired by Minnesota: Acquired on waivers prior to the 1990 season
Seasons in Minnesota: 12 (1990-2001)
Position: Wide receiver
How He Got Here: Defeated John Sullivan 137-7 in Round 1; Defeated Matt Blair 217-17 in Round 2; Defeated Paul Krause 115-99 in Round 3

The waiver claim the Vikings put in on Cris Carter likely represents the smartest $100 the Minnesota Vikings franchise has ever spent. He leads the Minnesota Vikings in every significant receiving category, having hauled in 1,004 passes for 12,383 yards and 110 touchdowns. (Yes, those are just his numbers as a member of the Vikings.) Rated by the NFL Network as having the best pair of hands in the history of the league and possibly the best "boundary receiver" the league has ever known thanks to his ability to use the sidelines, Cris Carter is truly among the all-time greats. After being passed over a ridiculous five times, Carter will finally be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Jim Marshall

Alma Mater: THE. . .dramatic pause. . .Ohio State University
Acquired by Vikings: Acquired via trade with Cleveland Browns before 1961 NFL Draft
Seasons in Minnesota: 19 (1961-1979)
Position: Defensive end
How He Got Here: Defeated Blair Walsh 181-8 in Round 1; Defeated Scott Studwell 141-47 in Round 2; Defeated Randy Moss 193-72 in Round 3

The NFL's original iron man, Jim Marshall played in a record 282 consecutive games, including 270 consecutive starts. All of the starts came in Minnesota. His streak overcame such things as injury, being stranded during an off-season snowmobile trip (during which Marshall, literally, burned his money to survive), and a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Yes, the man shot himself in the side while cleaning his gun during the week and played for the Vikings that Sunday. He is unofficially the Vikings' second-leading sack artist with 127, holds the NFL record for fumble recoveries with 30, and his #70 is one of just six numbers that have officially be retired by the Minnesota Vikings. He also holds the record for the NFL's shortest play at negative-66 yards for that one play that we've all seen a million damn times (and is, unfortunately, in the video below). The fact that Jim Marshall is not in the Hall of Fame is a travesty, to say the least.

If you need a primer on how the voting for our contest works, we have one for you at this link here. Remember, rec the comments to register your vote. Putting "Vote - Name" in the subject line of a post does not count.

If you want to vote for Cris Carter, rec the comment that says "Vote - Cris Carter"
If you want to vote for Jim Marshall, rec the comment that says "Vote - Jim Marshall"

Also, in light of what happened in our first Elite 8 match-up, please do not reply to either of the first two comments in the thread. Those comments need to remain together and not have one get pushed down the comments section.

Voting is open for 24 hours, just like always, folks. Have at it!