For Derek and Shane.

I live in Minnesota, where coffee shops are almost as plentiful as flannel shirts and Lund fishing boats. We like our coffee. When I’m in the mood for a hearty breakfast however, I always head over to a place called Cap’s. It’s not that the food there is significantly better than what you’d find at other coffee shops. Nor is it particularly convenient as I live in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and Cap’s is located off Hiawatha on the way to the Big Mall.

So why do I still number Cap’s among my regular haunts?

Mostly, it’s a waitress named Gemma. She remembers that I drink decaf and like my water without ice. Gemma always brings me extra napkins. She always has a smile. And she likes to talk Vikings.

It doesn’t seem like such a big deal, really. We all have a favorite restaurant or tavern or coffee shop for pretty much the same reason. The people there know us. They actually take time to talk to you as a person and not as just another number. And because they do, we have become loyal customers whose business they can count on through good times and bad.

And for Vikings fans in 2007, it has been bad.

My conversation with Gemma this week was focused on the blurb that appeared in the column of my close, personal friend Sid Hartman. Hartman had stated that Randy Moss would still be on the Vikings had the trade not occurred prior to the sale of the team from Red “Purple Pride” McCombs to Zygi Wilf and his stable of brothers.

Wilf maintains that he would not have traded Moss under his ownership. So I postulated to Gemma that perhaps Wilf is actually a pretty good guy who was just taken to the cleaners by yet another Texan. Minnesotans know all about business deals with Texans. Just Google “Walker-Lynn” to understand that.

That’s when Gemma opened my eyes with this statement. “I think if Mr. Wilf really wanted Moss so bad, he would have made a play this past off-season before the Patriots did.”

Gemma then sauntered away to pour another cup of mud for another patron, leaving me speechless.

Wilf is a successful businessman. He should have realized that Randy Moss returning to the Vikings would have eliminated the weekly threats of a blackout. Moss returning would have sold out the season for nothing more than a 4th round selection. Could it be that the Brothers Wilf were spending too much time thinking about “brand” and “identity” and not enough time thinking about their fan base?

As a sixteen-year season ticket holder, I think the Brothers Wilf ought to be organizing more around their fan base wishes and worrying less about the Vikings image. The fans would have relished a season with both Moss and rookie phenom Adrian Peterson on offense.

If the Wilfs hope to succeed in getting funding for a new stadium, then they need to work on building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. They need to show that they are fully committed to putting a product on the field first and worrying about a new stadium second. And that means taking chances on some stray sheep now and then.

For all I know, the Wilf ownership did want to pursue Moss and were subsequently overruled by the high and mighty head coach, Brad Childress, he of the “kick-ass offense”.

Chilly does not like players who challenge him through the media and behind his back. Nor does he want blue chippers who “play when they want to play”. But Chilly also needs to understand Vikings fans do not like lukewarm tea.

Lukewarm tea, you ask? Bear with me a minute.

What’s really important is taking a look at how the population of Vikings fans is different. How it has changed since that 1998 season when Dennis Green and McCombs took a flyer on a bad kid out of Marshall.

The current ownership at Winter Park needs to take a fresh look at the heterogeneity of the current Vikings fan base. It’s akin to the old idea that if you have iced tea and hot tea and average it, you get lukewarm tea. And you think that’s the optimum tea. Well, it’s not. Half the people like their tea hot and the other half like it iced.

The Vikings have done well in the past to discuss their fan base preferences. I should know as I’ve been involved in those studies, often finding myself sitting in the board room with the likes of Bill Brown and other former players. That’s how we got tailgating going back in the mid-1990’s, through one of those focus groups.

The Vikes have used every channel at their disposal, be it surveys, focus groups, Internet chat rooms, and feedback from front line employees. I’m just not sure they are studying those results as closely as in the past or taking the feedback to heart. They seem to be focusing their marketing efforts on the narrowest niches that are the most economically feasible. Not necessarily placing the best product on the field because it will upset the “iced tea” customer base while making the “hot tea” base ecstatic. Instead, the Brothers Wilf has been serving us lukewarm tea.

That is why it is essential for the Wilf Brothers to get over the mindset that they are selling their product to an “average” consumer. That animal simply does not exist in the world of professional football.

There is no need to try and make the entire fan base happy. They’ll all respond when the organization shows it is fully committed to putting the best team on the field, whether that necessitates upsetting the “iced tea” crowd by bringing back a bad apple, such as Randy Moss. Or upsetting the “hot tea” crowd by retaining a veteran backup quarterback who can actually hit the open receiver, such as Brad Johnson.

Gemma assures me that lukewarm tea is not on the menu at Cap’s. And as long as waitresses like Gemma remain attentive to their customers’ desires, the tea will be served hot or cold, with a smile and plenty of napkins on the side.

If the Vikings will only stop serving lukewarm tea, there is every reason to believe that there will be many regular customers for the Wilf brothers for many years to come.

Jottings: No, this does not mean the VU is back and up. This was written for a couple of Vikings friends who wanted me to write something....anything....on the state of the current season. Lukewarm Tea is exactly what I feel about this season. I hope you enjoyed it. I may occasionally write other things when the opportunity presents itself. That's why this blog has never totally gone away. Just too much history here to throw away.

Posted by maasx003 at November 13, 2007 07:32 AM