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Additional Minnesota Viking Commentary

2-1-09: Tampa, Fl -The Site of Super Bowl XLIII 
Playing in Tampa, Florida, the site of Super Bowl XLIII is now a focal point for our beloved Viking Squad ... a fortuitous event.   Way back in ought-seven, with a grandchild resting upon my knee, the G'ants were handed the opportunity of facing, and then preparing for, the then undefeated Boston Patriots ... the foe that eventually led to their destiny.  On this day of November 16, 2008, on this very field, we Vikings will face a whole bunch more that just a Buc organization and their jeering fans.  We are confronting a future of fortune, to become the dark horse, in our lofty quest in the commissioners mighty race for the NFL's ultimate price.  What lies before us begins with execution, performance, will, dominance and perseverance ... followed by the silenced ... then to turn to cheers upon this very field ... as Americans love a winner!

Observation 
Carefully observe that the 2008 Minnesota Vikings are being portrayed as the NFL's laughing stock ... the team of misfortune ... continually kicked in the sack ... and then laughed and sneered at ... but somehow we keep trudging forward like a plague.  It is the latter that is somehow being overlooked and obscured by the leagues interest.  Somehow we don't seem to fit the dress of Cinderella.  All week long the Cheese-Heads were portrayed as the elite team of our division ... with nothing but scoff and disdain for the mighty purple.  The smelly cheese was then portrayed as the team that made too many mistakes, and then lost, rather than to accurately identify it as pure unadulterated dominance entrained with some Viking mishaps. Now we are made to watch the reverence paid to the mighty G'ants ground game ... sitting amongst it's lofty perch ... and then we are told there is no one that can stand in their way.    

Cosmic Warp 
Within our realm lies a cosmic warp of sensibility ... of certain uncertainty ... manifesting itself in panic, dread, terror, horror ... and most of all apprehension ... due to fear of the unexplained ... where no axiom, no physical laws, no degree of certainty is assured.  There is absolutely no denying that it now hovers over this team ... like no other ... which has no choice but to infect our foes too.  The difference here is that it is building ... week upon week ... and that we've had a season full of having to deal with the emotions of its uncertainty ... all whilst knowing that each future foe will have no prior exposure to its building mass and enormity ... to overcome them like a massive tide ... there being no force more powerful.  On the surface, things will appears normal ... but it will be the underlying current, of a raging torrent of Viking seas, of ripping tides, that will draw the enemy fleet upon the shoals of their destruction.   Its mass is building uncontrollably and the momentum of its charges are now very apparent.  You cannot fight what you cannot sense.  It will take the courage of a mighty Berserker warrior to confront and traverse these raging seas.    

The Schedule 
The remaining Viking schedule, on the surface, looks appallingly hard but consider the following.  Teams that face sure things tend to self destruct.  Maybe these teams tend to lose focus ... or maybe they feel that all they have to do is show up and they'll win.  What is certain is that teams that are forged within the hell-fire-furnace, week after week, tend to be capable of dealing with any anomaly.  The reason, which most may never consider, is that you're always faced with having to press your skills to their limits ... and it is this never ending quest, from which, a masterpiece can be created.    

On the other hand, teams that are out of the race, as your foe, tend to focus on particular games, in the later part of the year, as if it were their playoff game or their Super Bowl ... as for them, there is no tomorrow.  These coaches, with no playoff aspirations, have nothing to lose where they will take unexpected chances, thereby catching a prime team off balance.  Players, of lesser stature ... try to make a name for themselves by issuing cheap shots, etc.  So what may appear to be a disastrous Viking schedule may in fact be a very good thing indeed.   

MEAT TENDERIZERS:
The Buc's will be feeling really good, coming off their bye, having time to let their nics, bumps and bruises heal ... that is ... right up to kick off.  You see ... feeling good and football don't necessarily go hand in hand.  In the back of these rested minds, no one will want to immediately subject and immerse their bodies back into the-feeling-pain-mode, especially after having to wait so long, just to feel good again.  It is this prime key that will immediately invoke Chucky.  Jon Gruden has absolutely no control over his indicators where he has tolerances ... but he's certainly not used to having to deal with certain issues.  If he sees something that he doesn't like ... someone whose not putting out ... issues related to dominant play ... physicality, at the point of attack ... his pressure cooker will immediately flash over from it's well concealed rolling boil ... and then his pressure cooker will blow which is  indicated in his very vocal rants.  The louder he gets ... the more he rants ... the more his team will go into the tank ... and this will be the Viking tell in Buc land.  Laughter, at its results,  just might put him into a seizure.  It will take a serious bit of Valium for Gruden to conceal his rage at his players ... better yet, you'd be better off to use a horse tranquilizer.   Every player expects to play a physical game ... but no one expects to have to confront a team full intent on meat tenderizing ... ready to lay carefully stacked wood at the drop of the coin.  The 98 Buc's provided the blue print for the dirty birds ... where the decree is that no one will dictate on Buc soil ... could payment be at hand?     

SPECIAL TEAMS:
Do you have any idea what this team is capable of? Just take a look at what has transpired.  Imagine our team being on the recipient end of 3-INT's or to have a punt returned for a touch down.  This is not to say that we need it but rather a statement on how we've consistently overcome all the adversity.  

The point is, is that our special teams plays is probably easily fixed.  The answer lies within KISS!  The units are overcompensating causing reaction rather than a clear action.  A higher punt is always better than a longer one (is your focus on a record or the ring).  A phone booth is always better than a staggered spread that becomes too vertical.  Containment is always better than flash and dash!  It's always better to cause a runner to bleed energy by having to change direction ... significant directional change versus slight changes!  Drive the hunted to the hunters.  If you're willing to sacrifice a few yards ... it's just might be a damn sight better than giving up the home run, especially if you have a defense that can shut down just about anything.        

Called Out 
Correct me if I'm wrong ... but Ryan Longwell's numbers versus the Green Bay Packers are alarming.  My suggestion to Ryan is to take a closer look at the signature on the bottom of that check.  You are no longer playing for the Green and Gold team.  Does this sound like I'm calling you out ... you'd better believe that I am.  Why ... the theme is way too redundant.  In other words ... it mattered ... again.  By the way ... there is no way that your going to replace that kid up in Green Bay so you better come to terms with it.    

Before you consider the easy way out ... the low road ... or the short cut to that pile of grease ... you'd might want to consider the following.  Sure ... you've been laying out for the team ... or better said ... were laid out making "the play" ... and your thinking to yourself ... no love ... and you've pondered the question ... exactly why ... what's the meaning of it all.  Just for a moment consider that the stitch is fleeting.  What goes on forever is the surging blood within the perilous struggles that engrains itself deeply within your conscious mind.  Deeply immerse yourself within this weeks film and take note of the divergence.  Within it is individual heart ... the never ending struggle, the surging, the perseverance of will.  Did they know?  The answer was written upon their faces ... there is no hiding from that fact. 

Their collective response to this dilemma was to dig in as a team and give a rebirth to an old axiom ... it takes 11 to execute an offense and 1 instrumental feat of excellence to blow it all to hell.  This ... on its own ... will be our guiding light for the remainder of the season.  There was no way these souls ... on this day ... were going to be denied.        

The Viking advantage is now clear.  You will have been made to face the best that the 2008 season will have to offer ... and to a man ... you all must be wondering the very same thing.  What this brings is confidence in the task at hand.

Electron Spin:
There is a very famous theorized experiment that goes something like this.  If you change the direction of the spin of an electron, then its corresponding partner electron, must also change its direction spin in that very same instant in time.  What makes this particular bit of theory remarkable and exceptional, is that these electrons can be separated by the distance of light years and beyond.  Imagine instantaneous communication with space crafts like Voyager I & II well beyond our solar system ... the proverbial tip of the ice berg.       

Do you think that it's some sort of coincidence that former Viking alum, like Hank Basket, Mewelde Moore, and many others throughout the league are playing at an exceptionally high level ... or could it be some sort of cosmic Viking alignment?  One thing is for certain is that each and every game has become beyond explanation.         

The Viking Ghost Writer
MyVikingBlood.com
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008

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