I usually do not have time for message boards. I usually have enough time in the day to address my full-time job, my part-time job, this blog complete with podcasts and videocasts and such.....not to mention making sure my son and wife don't feel neglected. Oh, and the dogs. One can never forget ones pets!

So, I very seldom have time to read all the Vikings related message boards available. And just for the record, my favorite is the KFFL Vikings message board. I also will lurk at the Viking Update message board where the topic for today's blog entry lies.

I stumbled across this thread in which the question was posed about my good friend Syd Davy, better known as 100% Cheese Free guy:

As Posted by JackDelRio55: question for Cheesefree..others please feel free to comment
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Hey bro,
This questions isnt made to be taken lightly,and I'm sure you've been asked before but..Why the F%@K arent you our Mascot?? Ragnar is soooooooooo lame..his girly dances,lame costume is a joke compared to our old mascot who roamed metropolitan stadium which solidified our teams namesake in the cold and snowy conditions. You by far have WAY more passion for the Vikes then Ragnar, IMO you should be our new Mascott,I wish there was some way we could contact Wilf about it. I mean ,heck,everything else is new and hopefully changing for the better. I say since the old coaching staff,etc has been cut loose,its time to cut Ragnar loose too,unless of course Childress likes his hair style..anyway, IMO you would definately serve the role as new mascot,peace out Cheese..

I thought this would make a very fun and footloose entry for a blog entry. Why not discuss who would be a better mascot for the Vikings? Our very own Ragnar, whom I maintain a friendship with. Or our very own 100% Cheese Free who I’ve come to know very well over the years and have shared many a victory cigar with?

Syd is known for picking up Randy Moss like a kid and bringing him into the stands following the many Moss TD's at the Dome over the years. Syd began following the Vikes when Bud Grant left the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1967 to coach the Minnesota Vikings. You see, Syd lives in our neighbor to the north.....Canada. Syd and his wife, Susan, make the trip to Minneapolis for every Minnesota home game (save for schedule conflicts with the Grey Cup!), and sit in their same seats in the front row of the southeast end zone that they’ve had since the 1991 season. The section is 101. The same row and section as yours truly sits in. Syd and I are literally no more than a dozen seats apart and will make hand signals to each other during the game to voice our approval or displeasure with the team. Syd is the man. No doubt about it.

Syd should rightfully be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Visa Hall of Fan section with me. The Vikings and others tried for years to get Visa to exclude the exemption that the entrants had to be citizens of the United States. Since Syd is a Canuck, he was simply not eligible. A true travesty if you ask me.

And then there is Ragnar.

Ragnar is really Joseph Juranitch who currently is Assistant Dean of Students in the Hopkins School District. His first game was in August of 1994, when the Minnesota Vikings beat the Kansas City Chiefs. I really like the value that Ragnar brings to the field and have no issues with his copying the cheerleaders by grabbing some pompoms and shaking his bootie. A mascot is for entertainment value and must be able to reach all age groups and both sexes. And I think Ragnar is well received and much loved by all. I've seen him handle unruly fans with great aplomb and at the same time amuse a youngster into hysterics. And isn't that what a mascot is all about?

Ask me which I'd like to see as Vikings mascot and I can't choose. Syd is great in the stands. Ragnar is great on the field. Both are much needed at Vikings games. Put a gun to my head and I would say no one can touch retired Vikings mascot Hub Meeds, 72, who does a lot of volunteer work and lives in White Bear Lake. Meeds is the
personification of Vikings mascots. Meeds set the bar that none has been able to reach.

But, it is not for me to decide. It is for you. Pressed with the question with who you would wish to be the Vikings mascot in the 2006 - 2007 season, who would it be?

Coming Tuesday

VU Podcast Forty-Four (which one would think should be a podcast with Chuck Foreman) will be posted. I'll be speaking with fellow Pro Football Hall of Fame fan Raider Ron about the season Randy Moss had in Oakland. Raider Ron is also the present president of the Pro Footballs Ultimate Fans Association.

Oh, and for that podcast with Chuck Foreman, you can listen to VU Podcast Seven from August 8 of last year.

See you then!

Posted by maasx003 at February 13, 2006 1:12 AM