Minnesota Vikings: Which divisional opponent do you have the most respect for?

There are clearly rivalries amongst sports teams where both absolutely dislike each other, or both show the upmost respect towards one another. Same goes for the fan base, some hate the other team and its fans, but some fan bases represent their teams well with good sportsmanship.

For example, The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox is a rivalry where each fan base absolutely hates each other. But, at the same time you might respect the rivalry because of the atmosphere it creates. Same goes for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers, it’s always a rowdy environment with those two teams. But, without those matchups, honestly the game wouldn’t be the same without that history.

That’s how I look at our division, as fans we may not like another divisional team, but we probably respect that team because of the history it created with Minnesota, or because of the teams overall history in the league.

Now, all three current NFC North teams all have tremendous history with one another. However, some people like certain matchup more than others, but what team do you actually have the most respect for?

Honestly, as a Vikings fan, I despise the Packers. I think mainly because Green Bay is the closet divisional team, but the history the two teams have shared has been nothing short of physical footall.

The Bears are “mehh” to me, Chicago is probably the most neutral team in the North. Growing up I had a rivalry with one of my teachers, Marcus Moten who is a die hard Bears fan. Whenever the Bears lost, you knew it was going to be a rough next day for everyone, sometimes I even remember him “catching a cold,” at times. But, it was all fun and games.

I grew over this past season to gain some respect for Chicago, they went out and took a dive on Mitchell Trubisky a couple years ago. I sort of admire Matt Nagy and really like what he’s doing in Chicago, I like his offensive mind.

It may come as a surprise, but the team I respect the most is probably the Detroit Lions. Three names come to mind when I think of Detroit and that’s Barry Sanders, Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and Matthew Stafford. I’m young, I’m only 22, so I’m going to stick with the people who I actually know. I have the upmost respect for Stafford, he’s a tough, consistent quarterback and doesn’t seem to complain like Aaron Rodgers does.

I get that the Lions have a horrible win/loss record against Minnesota, but it’s been since 2011 where Detroit has always given the Vikings a run for its money. The Lions are 9-7 against the Vikings, with a lot of back and forth wins for both teams.

Since 2011, Detroit based on records have competed with Minnesota the best in terms of entertaining football. The Lions have a 6-9 record against the Packers and a 9-5 record against the Bears.

Overall, I’d like to hear who you respect the most, so please tell me why in the comments!

Skol!