Fans of the Minnesota Vikings are not happy with the way that this year’s version of the Christmas Story is playing out. The “Baby Jesus”, or Brett Favre, is beginning to let everyone know who is really in charge. The “Three Wise Men”, Zygi, Brad and Rick Speilman, have recently proven that they may not be as shrewd as we once thought. Furthermore, it is clear that a level of hubris at Winter Park has been reached comparable to that of what we see only in New England. The main difference is obviously that one side has three Super Bowl rings while the other has a new and unexplainable five year “marriage” contract. Ragnar and his fellow braid wearing and sword swinging brethren are still uncertain what they will find underneath their tree this season. The opportunity for Minnesaota fans to dream about a championship is all we can guarantee. Purple stockings could be filled with lumps of coal or the diamond studded rings of Super Bowl champions that have eluded this “storied franchise” since its inception. In order to help illustrate the mess that the Vikings organization is in, I will shift from the Christmas story to one of my favorite stories of all time that was played out in five chapters. Still looking for that perfect Christmas gift? Head to Best Buy and purchase the underappreciated mini-series, “The Wire” for anyone over the age of 16. A blend of the characters from this Baltimore based drama can be seen in many of the millionaires and billionaires who run and work for the 2009 NFC North champions.
Proposition Joe, “I treated you like a son.”
Marlo, “I wasn't made to play the son.”
These words could have been uttered on the sidelines this past week in the third quarter of the Vikings/Panthers game in what I will argue will be the defining tipping point of the Vikings season. I do not know which way it will tip but things are not looking good especially when you consider the following pieces of information that are being leaked from the Vikings locker room. Before the incident there was an apparent halftime rant by the head coach. A rant can have multiple purposes. If however, those in which the rant was directed at, find it to be “entertaining” you probably missed your mark. Brad seems to want to play the role of the father and it appears that he has succeeded, at least to this extent. Players off of the record have come out and compared to the half time speech this past Sunday night to that of a parent chastising a teenager. Coach Childress is treating the players like they are his children. Unfortunately, in return he is getting about as much respect that a grown man will give his dentist. They may listen to his advice and go to him for assistance on how to take care of their teeth, but if they are chastised and made to feel like they are twelve they will simply stop listening and never return.
Proposition Joe to Stringer Bell, “The feeling is it ain't right for you to be at the head of our table, when you can't call off your dog. Call it a crisis of leadership.”
A simple definition of leadership is that it is the art of motivating a person or group of people towards achieving a common goal. In addition, a leader is to be inspiring and the director of the task at hand. A leader possesses the skills and personality that allow others to want to follow in their direction. Sunday night we saw that the so called leader of the team was clearly missing his most crucial follower. The reason this follower is important is because he plays a very similar role as the head coach but he does it on the field. Once he is under center it is out of the coach’s hands and if the two individuals are not only on different pages but almost refusing to agree out of pride and spite, well then there is what Proposition Joe would call a crisis in leadership.
Burrrell, “What makes you think they'll promote the wrong man?”
Daniels, “We do it all the time.”
Those in support of the contract extension that Brad Childress received last month when the team was 8-1 and still in the hunt for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, point to his improving record over the last four years. 6-10, 8-8, 10-6 and anything from 11-5 to 13-3 this season. On paper, this makes sense. However, when one factors in the 5-9, 2-12, 6-8, 6-8, 1-13, 5-9, 9-5, 8-6, 7-7 and 7-7 records of this season’s opponents it is hard to imagine a team that is this loaded doing any worse. The morning the contract was signed they had 22 players on their roster who are in the top five in fan voting for the Pro Bowl. Combine that with the fact that Minnesota has played one of the easiest schedules in the history of the league and you really shouldn’t have expected anything less.
D’Angelo, “Yeah, but, Stringer, if you don't pay a n****, he ain't gonna work for you.”
Stringer Bell, “What, you think a n****’* gonna get a job? You think...you think it's gonna be like, 'F*** it, let me quit this game here and go to college'? No, they're gonna buck a little, but they ain't gonna walk. And in the end, you gonna get respect.”
Why extend the contract in the middle of the season? What was the rush? Was Zygi worried that Brad wanted to take his “kickass” offense down to South Bend so he had to lock him up? I am continuously amazed as to how owners who are apparently savvy enough to make more money than 99.99% of the world, make decisions that make no sense logically speaking. We all had an idea before that the players did not respect the coach. Now we know. They were winning in spite of the lack of connection between their leader, who clearly is an intelligent man that works as hard as any coach in the league, but is missing the intangibles that we see other successful coaches have. Bill Belichick may be a jerk to the media, which is in part being a jerk to his fan base, but there isn’t a guy on that team who wouldn’t lie down on the railroad tracks for him. Conversely, it appears that in the Twin Cities, players will not only refuse to lie down but some are shoveling the coal in to the train, adding the dangerous fuel to the rapidly growing fire that is spreading through the facilities.
Cutty, "The game done changed.”
Slim Charles, “Game's the same, just got more fierce.”
The game is fiercer than ever before on so many levels. The amount of money that the NFL generates is mind-boggling. With the exception of a few terrible sports towns that have a pathetic team to support, stadiums are sold out on a weekly basis during a recession that has almost every other industry struggling to keep their heads above water. For many Americans there are two seasons. Football season and the rest of the year. And the rest of the year has become part of the season as well. This recent chapter of the Favre saga would not be playing out like it is if it weren’t for the events that took place and dominated ESPN the months leading up to the start of training camp. Brad Childress may have lost the locker room this weekend but it started to slip away when he made it clear that the rules didn’t apply to the guy that has been doing it his way his entire career. The rest of the players went along with it because they knew the predicament that they were in. Vikings fans heard and embraced the term, “final piece of the puzzle.” Everyone knew that #4 was needed to help the team achieve the ultimate goal. Both sides had a mutual understanding but when the deal was made, one side had the advantage and he is now showing who truly is boss.
Stringer, “This here game is more than the rep you carry, the corner you hold. You gotta be fierce, I know that, but more than that, you gotta show some flex, give and take on both sides.”
When I look at a head coach, I try to imagine him holding up the Lombardi trophy at the end of the year. Often times this is easy to envision (Mike Tomlin, Tony Dungy, Brian Billick) and yes, I intentionally mentioned only Vikings coordinators of the past. Other times it nearly impossible to see certain head coaches on the podium with their wives and telling Jack Buck’s kid how special this group of guys was (Mike Tice, Romeo Crennel, Jim Zorn). I honestly have always had a hard time picturing Childress in the winner’s circle. However, I do not think it is impossible. I knew that despite having some decent teams, Mike Tice would never be a Super Bowl winning head coach. And up until this season I knew that Brad Childress would never be a Super Bowl winning head coach. That is, until I saw that final piece of the puzzle ride into Winter Park. Can I picture Childress alone holding up the most coveted trophy in America? No, but I can picture him up there with the guy who helped him get that contract extension. If Brad and Brett can “show some flex, give and take on both sides” together they still have a chance to raise that silver football high in the air on a balmy Sunday night in six weeks in Miami. Brad will just need to know when to take Brett’s cue and allow the leader of this team to grab the microphone to thank his Vikings teammates, fans and owners for helping him win his team its first Super Bowl ever.