Longtime readers know that this writer is a long-suffering Viking fan. Indeed, there may be no other kind.
I also have a terrible track record: as soon as I buy a jersey, the player is toast. As a child, my first Viking jersey was that of Herschel Walker. More recently, the very thought of purchasing a Randy Moss jersey for my dog resulted in his immediate trade for a rookie WR from a running conference and (I think) Jon Heder. I completed the trifecta by purchasing a Culpepper jersey in the 2004 offseason.
To be fair, Culpepper seemed like a safe choice at the time. He had a long-term contract, was the face of the franchise, was a high-performing player, and seemed like a decent human being. There was no indication that he would be caught receiving fellatio playing craps on a rented orgy boat; that his on-field performance would plummet, only to hit bottom when he suffered a terrible injury; and that he would later talk his way out of town, robbing my team of an elite quarterback and leaving them with a pick sometime in the 340th consecutive hour of Mel Kiper Hair Coverage (Glued Up by Elmer’s) on ESPN.
This offseason, I entertained the idea of getting a Tarkenton or (Cris) Carter throwback. I figured that neither was particularly likely to demand a trade any time soon or (absent an Orenthal-style ex-wife-slicing or Namath-style Kolber-groping) tarnish his legacy with some off-field stupidity. Furthermore, since I live in Wisconsin, I’ve gotten used to football fans who live in the past — why not join them? I didn’t buy a throwback, though. I thought: perhaps some current player in the undistinguished, star-free field of Vikings will distinguish himself and become strongly associated with the team!
One candidate was a young receiver who, like Cris Carter, presented a feel-good story of a talented young man haunted by demons and shamed in his first NFL city — only to seek and find redemption with the Vikings, picking up a hefty contract along the way. (Astute observers may see where this is going.) No, I didn’t buy a Koren Robinson jersey, but I have an idea for how I’d get one made:
