Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Views and Personal Photos on the Vikes from the Inaugural Hall of Fame fan.
Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to theBreaking: This just in to the VU. Coach Brad Childress has been seen in the Swiss Alps learning special dancing techniques that he hopes endears him to the fans in 2008. Chili has been viewed as a cold fish. Take a look at this two dance segments and think again. (Note: Wait for the flash to engage..usually in just a few secs after you have clicking on these links)
This year's class at the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions in Canton, Ohio should have a distinctive purple hue to it.
At the top of the list for possible Vikings inductee's is Cris Carter who is one reception away from Canton.
Carter, 42, was named as one of 17 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. The class of 2008 will be announced Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl. Carter played 16 seasons in the NFL for three different teams (Philadelphia, Minnesota and Miami). He ranks second on the NFL's all-time list in total receptions (1,101) and receiving touchdowns (130). Carter, who was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team of the 1990s, was selected to play in eight Pro Bowls (1993-2000 seasons).
I don't see how in the world they can keep him out of Canton. The only thing that could hold Carter back is that it is difficult to be voted in during the first year of eligibility. A minimum of four and maximum of seven finalists can be chosen. To be elected, a finalist must receive 80 percent of the 44 votes from the Hall's Board of Selectors.
The other finalists are Fred Dean, Richard Dent, Marshall Goldberg, Randy Gradishar, Darrell Green, Russ Grimm, Ray Guy, Bob Kuechenberg, Art Monk, Andre Reed, Paul Tagliabue, Derrick Thomas and Emmitt Thomas, Andre Tippett and former Vikings Gary Zimmerman and Randall McDaniel.
Last year McDaniel missed the cut in his first year of eligibility. A true travesty and I look for McDaniel to be a finalist this year and be inducted this year. Gary Zimmerman did make the cut but fell short of induction. McDaniel belongs over Zimmerman in my mind.
Consider: Randall McDaniel has embodied the characteristics that define Hall of Famers. The NFL’s Record and Fact Book is 784 pages long. On Page 750, the league lists the records for the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. In the very first category, the first record listed is service (games played). One name sits atop the list – Randall McDaniel with 12 Pro Bowl games played.
While the numbers are compiled from 1971-2006 and don’t include the 14 selections for Merlin Olsen or the 12 for Ken Houston, nobody in the modern era played in more Pro Bowls than McDaniel – Reggie White was selected 13 times but played in 11, Jerry Rice was selected 13 times but played in 10 and Bruce Matthews was selected 14 times but played in 10 games.
One would think that in the only honor that distinguishes individual play, that the Pro Bowl would be the benchmark for induction into the Hall of Fame. It would seem that, like Vikings that have preceded him, not playing in a Super Bowl – a team achievement – is what prevented him from being on the first ballot.
Only seven offensive linemen have been elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot –- Forrest Gregg, Jim Otto, Jim Langer, Gene Upshaw, John Hannah, Anthony Munoz and Jackie Slater. What do they all have in common? They played in at least one Super Bowl. Coincidence? Don’t bet on it.
Of the offensive linemen that made the cut of 17, all of them share the same history of having played in at least one Super Bowl or NFL Championship Game – Bruce Matthews, Russ Grimm, Gene Hickerson, Bob Kuechenberg and Zimmerman.
While this doesn’t mean that McDaniel won’t eventually get the call to the Hall, it is disheartening to think that, of the ultimate individual honor in a team sport, that the Vikings' inability to get to a Super Bowl would be the biggest stumbling block for McDaniel to get the recognition he so richly deserves. He couldn’t have done anything more to deserve induction in his career and was acknowledged by his peers as the best guard of his era. Unfortunately, it’s going to take longer than some had figured it would for McDaniel to end up in Canton. I do think it will happen this year.
But back to CC. I remember being at the game on November 30, 200 when Cris Carter caught the 1,000th pass of his career for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions on a rare Thursday night game. Going into the game, Carter needed five receptions against the Lions to become the second player in NFL history with 1,000 catches. Jerry Rice has 1,259.
From my end zone I can still see the Vikings marching to a score on the opposite side of the field. I was nervously watching the clock tick down to the end of the first quarter as Carter caught his fourth pass of the game, and 999th of his career, at the Lions' 4 on the final play of the. That meant the team would be trying to score right in front of me as they switched direction.
The Vikings went back to Carter on the first play of the second quarter. The following play took place right in front of me: Carter beat safety Kywin Supernaw in the end zone and caught a four-yard pass from Daunte Culpepper to give the Vikings a 14-0 lead. And Carter had his 1000th catch followed by a hug from the Super Freak (Randy Moss) and a huge celebration.
In honor of that event, I was able to locate my own personal photos from that game and put together the following YouTube video:
My prediction is that McDaniel and Carter make the hall along with Green and Tagliabue. Yours? Vote for each person you think should be inducted:
Looking Like No London Game
There is a huge Vikings fan base in Great Britain. They were hoping that the Vikings might be selected to participate in a follow-up event to the 2007 regular season's game between the Giants and Dolphins held at London's Wembley Stadium. The New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10 in front of 81,176 fans on Oct. 28.
Instead of regal purple, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head a list of four teams under consideration to play in the NFL's 2008 game in the United Kingdom, a league source said Sunday. The source identified the Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks as the leading candidates for the international series game to be played in the United Kingdom, probably in October.
The site of the game is undecided as the league is looking at two or three large stadium venues, as well as Wembley Stadium. The teams, date and venue will be announced during Super Bowl week late this month or in early February.
Wembley officials weren't so ecstatic because the game, played through a persistent drizzle, tore up the field and left it in rough shape for England's crucial European Championship qualifier against Croatia on Nov. 21. The English lost that game 3-2 and failed to qualify for Euro 2008. Besides Wembley, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, is another possible venue for next season's game.
I actually would prefer Cardiff over London should the Vikes be involved in a overseas game. The Millennium Stadium is a beautiful facility and we have close friends in Cardiff as well. And Wales is simply a lovely country to travel in and visit.
Here's to hoping for a Vikes game in Great Britian in 2009.
Movie Recommendation
After watching so much football in January, you'll need to do something with your significant other. Mrs. Cheer Or Die and I watched Sweet Land this past weekend and our expectations were blown out of the water. By the end, Mrs. COD was in tears and I was a little verklempt myself. Since this movie takes place in rural Minnesota just after the turn of 1900's it resonated with us as we could have been watching a documentary on our respective grandparents. I wouldn't call this a chick-flick but it is a love story. Give it a whirl. From IMDb:
A young Inge Alltenburg travels to Minnesota in the 1920's to marry Olaf Torvik, a Norwiegan man who lives there. It is Inge's story of not being able to marry Olaf due to there different citizenship's, and not being accepted because of the war with Germany. Over time she learns English and befriends Olaf, Frances, and Frances' family. As Inge buries her husband Olaf on their Minnesota farm in 1968, we relive her life story as she tells her grown grandson about how she arrived from Germany in 1920 as Olaf's postal bride and of the obstacles they overcame in order to marry.Posted by briankeithmaas@msn.com at January 21, 2008 01:00 AM