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St. Cloud State University
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Sports
Vikings obsession is getting annoying
By Adam Czech
Published:
Monday, September 15, 2003
In a recent column, Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune reported that from May 1, to Dec. 31, 1,054 articles in the Star Tribune contained information about the Vikings.
Even though the Vikings play only 16 games that actually mean something (a couple more if they make the playoffs), the amount of articles written about them far outweigh the need for game coverage.
Can you say obsession?
Minnesota has been obsessed with the Vikings for a long time, but as I get older, I'm beginning to realize how silly the obsession really is.
If a Vikings player stubs his toe on his way to the bathroom at 2 a.m., we want to read about it. If Dennis Green eats eight doughnuts for breakfast instead of 10, we want a 30-second report during the 10 p.m. news.
Once Vikings training camp started in August, what did I get to read about every day when I opened the sports section? Maybe a game story and a little notebook on the Twins, who are in the middle of a pennant race. Possibly an update on the Timberwolves, who are finally doing something in the off season to try to improve and actually get past the first round of the playoffs.
But what I really got to read about was the Vikings. We got the inside scoop on the battle for the second-string free safety position, or who would step up to be the team's best back-up offensive lineman.
Then there were the stories about Randy Moss and how he has changed this season, becoming more mature and more of a team leader. These stories are similar to the almost weekly stories we used to read about Chris Carter and how great of a team leader he was. Those stories quickly changed during Carter's last season. After a few sideline blowups, we were fed the weekly story about how Carter might not be that great of a team leader after all.
The whole thing is more annoying than a ticket-happy cop on move-in day.
I don't like columns where the columnist tries to tell you to go out to watch a particular team or a particular sport. If you would rather watch cartoons on a Saturday instead of going to a SCSU football game, that's fine with me.
But please, please, stop being so obsessed with the Vikings.
Turn on a Twins game, join an intramural team, check out anything else sports related besides the Vikings. Maybe even try going a couple days without paying any attention to the Vikings. Don't even be the Vikings when playing your roommates in Madden on the Playstation.
I know the withdrawal symptoms may be tough to cope with at first, but it's a lot better than reading another story about Chris Hovan calling Brett Favre names.
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