Let's consider where we're at. Spring training is in full swing. The NBA and NHL are in high season. Arguably the most enjoyable event of the sporting year, the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, is now underway. The Masters is less than a month away. So, of course, it's time to write about football.
It's an amazing thing, but the off-season maneuverings of the Vikings are crowding all the other events from the front of the local sports pages. In the past week the Purple has managed to take away the the field goal kicker from the Packers (Ryan Longwell), sign a rising young linebacker (Ben Leber), add a talented running back (Chester Taylor) and sign an offer sheet for the best offensive lineman available in the free agent market (Steve Hutchinson), then follow those moves up by trading away the player widely viewed as the franchise, Daunte Culpepper. An amazing series of events in the past four days, all brought about by a team that won't even take the field for nearly six months. If one ever doubted the level of interest in the National Football League, this off-season should blow away those doubts.
The Culpepper trade is probably the most interesting development of all. Daunte's fall from grace was almost Aristotelian in scope. The proud leader of the Vikings was brought low by poor performances, an ill-advised boat trip and a devastating knee injury during the star-crossed 2005 campaign, followed by an increasingly bizarre semi-public e-mail exchange with the new management of the team. Now he has been sent packing to Miami, leaving the ancient Brad Johnson and potentially two of Brett Favre's lesser-known caddies (J.T. O'Sullivan and perhaps the visiting free agent Craig Nall) as the only backups available. One has to wonder how that will work.
Having said that, at least the Vikings appear to be doing something. My beloved Packers have nearly as much money to spend, but have spent hardly any, only retaining the services of the diligent but modestly-talented Aaron Kampmann thus far, while losing Longwell and others. Meanwhile, all eyes in Wisconsin continue to be trained on Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where the sainted, grizzled Favre licks his wounds and ponders his future. I don't think inertia will goad the legendary competitive juices of ol' number 4 to go out there one last time, especially when Fox and/or CBS likely have a standing offer of a comfy chair in either their studios or press boxes. The 2006 season may be six months away, but our gaze remains fixed on the empire of Tagliabue....
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