Week in and week out, people call up radio talk shows, claiming to be fans of the Vikings. They call to talk about the past weekend's game, next week, who sucks, who gets game balls. But do any of them ever consider who really sucks? Don't go throwin' stones just yet, Vikings fans.

I've been a Vikings fan since I can remember which pegs me an ardent supporter of the Purple for over 40 years. Nothing irks me more than atrocious showing of team spirit and loyalty by Vikings fans at the Dome. Fans are encouraged to make noise, become the 12th man on the field.

This past week at the Sunday game against Jacksonville someone started the wave. Pretty cool stuff unless your team is on offense. Anyone with a nominal sense of the game of football knows that when the offense takes the field one sits their butt down and feels guilty if you are breathing too loudly.

Why is it that fans cheer when the home team is on offense? Football fan etiquette dictates that you are as loud as possible on defense, and silent on offense. Cheering after and between plays is acceptable, but you don't start a wave when the offense takes the field. You don't chant "Let's go Vikes!" when Daunte Culpepper is barking a cadence at the line.

As if that weren't enough, why do fans start pouring out the exit gates at the beginning of the 4th quarter? Go to Green Bay, New England, Chicago, or New York. Not only do the fans stay until the end, but they're on their feet, screaming for their team for 60 minutes of play. What is it about Minnesota fans that make them so different? Is it that important to be first in line to get out of the parking lot?

So what is your responsibility as a fan? Ever wonder what fans are supposed to do? Well, allow me to spell it out for you:

Go to the game: Don't make the TV station buy out the tickets the Friday before the game so you "fans" can watch it on TV. If you call yourself a fan and don't make an effort to get out there and support your team, one should question your true level of devotion. Yes, the vikes have sold out for a few years now but I recall the days when breaking 40,000 in attendance was a good day. When General Mills had to buy out seats just so the game was televised locally. What goes around, comes around.

Cheer: Make noise when your team is on defense…LOTS of noise! Not only does it cause the opponent to false start, it sometimes causes them to burn timeouts. Not to mention that the defense feeds off of crowd noise. Ever see the defensive backs dancing on the field during TV timeouts? That's their way of firing up the crowd. Stand up if it's a critical game situation. Stop being so lazy, and get off your ass and cheer!

Shut Up: When your team has the ball, shut your pie-hole. Sit on your hands, and make sure you can hear the guy in the 19th row bite into his nachos. The offense relies on audible signals, and fans making noise only make it difficult (this includes you idiots who wait till we have the ball to start the wave).

Stay till triple-zeros: You're not going anywhere. What's your hurry? All you're going to do is sit in your car in the parking lot rather than sit in the seat in the stadium. There's nothing worse than looking around at the end of the 4th quarter seeing nothing but people heading for the exits, no matter the score.

The fans of a football team have the sole responsibility of bringing the home-field advantage to the home team. That doesn't happen often enough. Maybe it is because most of them aren't hardcore. Maybe it's the people who don't really follow football, who don't know how to behave at a game. I can't figure it out. Neither can Mike Tice.

Tice said after yesterday's game, "Can you believe they did a wave when we were on offense?" Tice said of the home crowd. "I love the excitement and everything, but we could use that when we were on defense. I think they booed me when I asked them to stop doing it."

I think you lose your season tickets if you start the wave when the Vikings offense takes the field. Period.

Posted by maasx003 at November 29, 2004 01:31 PM