SB Nation User Blog: Gonzo

One. . .MILLION. . .Hits!

Gonzo — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:37:54 -0000

Yes, I knew Gonzo way back when this site was only getting a few hits a day. It was the Diet Coke of Vikings' websites. Now it's practically its own brand, like RC Cola or Sam's Choice.

View full size photo uploaded July 1, 2009

At 5:28 PM Central time, this site welcomed its one millionth visitor.

One million. Good lord, that's a lot.

When I was first blessed with the opportunity to run this site nearly three years ago. . .our third birthday is a week from Friday, if you're scoring at home (or even if you're by yourself). . .I never in my wildest, craziest dreams thought that it would ever grow into something this size. I had no idea that a website that I was the driving force behind could ever become what I think is the standard-bearer for the Minnesota Vikings' corner of the blogosphere. Really, there are so many things that are going through my mind about this at the moment, but I'm so completely humbled by the size of this that I really don't have the words to express them all.

A little more than three years ago, I came across SBNation. . .and more specifically Windy City Gridiron. . .while I was looking for stuff about the NFC North. As I read WCG, I said to myself, "You know, I think I could do something like this." Not because I thought I was a better writer than the guys at WCG, mind you. . .they've done outstanding work over on their site. . .but because I thought that I was the sort of passionate fan that could talk about the Vikings pretty much all year, on just about any topic that related to the Beloved Purple. So I found a contact address and asked if they had any interest in a guy that would love to do a Minnesota Vikings' blog for the network.

Tyler, one of the head guys at SBNation and the founder of SBNation's first ever blog (Athletics Nation), wrote me back and asked if I had anything that I could submit as sort of a writing sample. And so I had to turn to my personal blog, which I had been toiling on in relative obscurity, to see if I had anything. I had put together a lot of rants about the Vikings on that site, but I wasn't sure if I had anything that was worthy of something as big as SBNation. I dug through my archives, and I found this story about my reaction to learning that Daunte Culpepper had been carted off the field in Carolina. It wasn't a very long story, but I thought it pretty well summed up how I felt about the situation.

After a few days, Tyler wrote me back and told me that they were willing to give me a shot. On 10 July 2006, I made the first post on this website. This was followed by the first actual Vikings post on the morning of 11 July.

And now, the odometer has rolled past the one million mark. It's mind-blowing. I really have no other way to describe it.

There are so many people that need to be thanked at this point. I didn't get here by myself. . .after all, I'm sure that no more than 500,000 of those 1,000,000 hits belong to me.

The first would definitely have to be my wife Casey. . .who I lovingly refer to as Mrs. Gonzo around these parts. . .who has given me more encouragement to pursue this website than anybody. I couldn't ask for a more wonderful, understanding wife than her. Three full seasons of my ranting and raving about the Vikings. . .she actually hears the ranting and the raving, while you all get the benefits of getting to read my thoughts in relative silence. And, yet, she puts up with me anyway. She truly is something special, and she deserves every bit as much credit as I do for this site being where it is today.

I have to thank Tyler and the rest of the folks behind the scenes at SBNation. They took a chance on some guy who had no more formal writing experience than writing for his school newspaper in high school and his ranting and raving on his own personal website, and gave him the keys to the car, the gas to get to where he needed to go, and money for munchies along the way. There is not a better company on the internet to work for than SBNation, and anybody that's spent any length of time on any of the 201 sites that make up this network would likely have to agree.

I need to thank the rest of the SBNation writers, and in particular the ones that comprise SBNation's NFL community. From e-mail exchanges to rivalries with other sites to discussions about football in general to podcasting and everything in-between, the people that write for the other 31 NFL blogs in this network make up the most talented group of individuals that I've ever been associated with. Having managed to stumble my way into this group of people is akin to Zach Morris pulling a 1502 on his SATs and actually getting into Harvard.

(Yeah, a Saved By the Bell reference. Yeah, I'm old. I've learned to deal with it.)

I need to thank all my co-writers that have contributed to the site to this point. Eric, Andrew, Mike, and Anthony have all done outstanding jobs to this point. Sadly, other opportunities have opened up for Andrew at this point, and he will no longer be a contributing writer to the site. Well, it's sad for us, I mean, but it's great news for Andrew, obviously. However, Anthony, Eric, Mike, and myself will continue to carry the flag for this site for as long as SBNation will have all of us.

Most of all, I need to thank each and every one of you readers out there. Everyone that's ever put up a FanPost. Everyone that's ever typed up a FanShot. Anyone that's sat here with us through the 49 game threads this site has seen in three seasons of Vikings football. Anyone that's ever commented on any other story on the site. Heck, anyone that's even just lurked here and read what we've had to offer. Every single one of you is what makes this site what it is. Your praise, your criticism, your feedback. . .those are the things that make a blog great, and you guys come through in that regard every single day. From the bottom of my heart, thanks to each and every one of you for making this possible.

I've been told that the first million hits are the toughest to get. The road to the second million has already started. And I hope that each and every one of you out there will help us get to that point.

Thank you again, Viking Nation.

The Sunday Viking Vegur, "It's Freaking Hot Outside" Edition

Gonzo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:17:09 -0000

Yes, it's 9:15 AM on a Sunday morning, my grass needs to be cut, and I'm already looking at 86 degrees here along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but according to Accuweather.com, it already "feels like" 105 degrees. For the last week, the heat index in the afternoons has been anywhere between 105 and 110 degrees, which is not terribly conducive to. . .well, anything, really.

And did I mention that it's only 9:15 AM as I type this?

Eh, I guess it could be worse. . .I could be standing out there in my ceremonial Honor Guard uniform like I have on a few other occasions this week. Don't get me wrong, I love my role in the Honor Guard and everything, but wearing wool from head to toe (along with black patent leather shoes) in this sort of heat is not the formula for making yourself feel peppy and energetic over the long haul.

So, in the interest of getting myself outside before the lawn just spontaneously combusts like a drummer for Spinal Tap, here is the Vegur for this week.

--Our first entry comes from YouTube, where a U of M sports management professor discusses the impact of Brett Favre on the Minnesota Vikings from more of an off-field standpoint.

--Vikes Geek has somehow managed to get behind the scenes and deliver us a transcript of exactly how it came to be that Brett Favre wound up in Minnesota.

--Speaking of videos, the folks at VikeVision have put a couple of interesting ones on their site.

--Grants Tomb discusses a recent article from Michael Lombardi about our own Brad Childress.

--Capital J outlines one of the big battles that will take place in training camp starting next month, that being the fight for spots on the depth chart at CB.

--The Viking Age questions the credibility of one Bus Cook as it relates to the entire Favre situation. "I can't imagine why anyone would do such a thing," he said sarcastically.

--More Favre, as the Purple Buckeye discusses one of my favorite concepts. . .that being schadenfreude. . .as it relates to the Vikings signing the former Packer and Jet QB.

--Last, but not least, Defensive Indifference takes a look at the impact that Brett Favre will have on Adrian Peterson, and vice versa.

And that's the Vegur for this week, folks. Stay tuned this next week as, barring something completely crazy happening, this humble little website will see its one millionth visitor! I'd gush more, but I'm saving that for after it actually happens. Enjoy what's left of your weekend, ladies and gentlemen. . .and don't forget to hydrate and stay cool!

The Other 20 Worst Things to Happen to the Vikings

Gonzo — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:26:15 -0000

The Other 20 Worst Things to Happen to the Vikings

In the "Favre Stages of Grief" article from this weekend, I opined that the Vikings signing Brett Favre wouldn't even be one of the 20 most disappointing things to happen to the Minnesota Vikings.

And now, thanks to Nate Sager, I have proof. Check out his write-up. (And I apologize to Nate if I spelled his name incorrectly.)

Favre Will Be at Vikings' Training Camp

Gonzo — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:54:08 -0000

So sayeth WCCO's Mark Rosen, who is getting his info from the ever popular/dreaded "source":

Barring some unforeseen major physical setback, Brett Favre will be at training camp in Mankato when they open up the end of July, a source has told WCCO's Mark Rosen.

That source said that Favre and the Vikings have indeed come to a contractual agreement, with heavy incentives. The Vikings equipment manager has already ordered number 4 purple jerseys with his name on it.

Well, then. . .only about a month until Training Camp. That should leave everyone plenty of time to get the proverbial popcorn ready.

More Favre: Has the Inevitable Already Happened?

Gonzo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:25:56 -0000

If a certain internet website is to be believed, it's quite possible that it has.

Pro Football Talk is reporting/suggesting that the Minnesota Vikings might already have a signed deal with Brett Favre, and have given the green light to the making of #4 jerseys with Favre's name on them.

Man. . .John David Booty is gonna be pissed.

On the one hand, this IS PFT, and so it's necessary to take this news/rumor with as much NaCl as you deem fit. On the other hand, if it is true, I really don't think it will surprise anybody. I hope that it is true, not just because I've already expressed my belief that Favre is an upgrade for this team, but because it would mean that the entire drama would be over for a month or so.

Of course, this is just the side show. The full circus is coming to Winter Park next month. Hey, you never know. . .maybe the folks from ESPN will actually kiss Minnesota's butt for a change rather than crapping all over the Vikings like they usually do. Stranger things have happened.

The Favre Stages of Grief

Gonzo — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:45:40 -0000

You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking over the past couple of days, most of it relating to our Beloved Purple. And I tried to figure out exactly what it was that my fellow fans might be going through as it pertains to the whole saga that we've watched unfold with Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings over the course of the past month and a half or so. We've all followed this entire thing with baited breath, wondering what this is going to bring to our favorite club as we prepare for the 2009 NFL season, and I wasn't quite sure how to express that.

But, thanks to the good people that make the hilarious Cartoon Network show Robot Chicken, it appears as though I've found what I've been looking for.

In her book On Death and Dying that was published in 1969, Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross introduced to the world what has come to be known as the Kubler-Ross model, or more simply the "Five Stages of Grief." Now, while Kubler-Ross used this model in terms of people that are dealing with a tragedy in their lives, such as a terminal illness or the loss of a family member, and our friend the giraffe over there on the right is using it in regards to a bit of a predicament of his own, I believe that the process also describes how many Viking fans have felt about the entire Brett Favre to the Vikings drama that has been presented to us recently.

Keep in mind, I'm not meaning in any way, shape, or form to mock anyone with this post. If anyone is offended by my using something that is, indeed, usually used in connection with tragedy in some way as a basis for this writing, I apologize in advance. I have been through the grieving process a number of times myself over the course of the last 32 years, and mean no ill in any way as a result of this post.

Stage One - Denial
-Denial is usually only a temporary defense for the individual. This feeling is generally replaced with heightened awareness of situations and individuals that will be left behind after death.

Now, while the "after death" part certainly doesn't apply to an NFL football team in any tangible way, I'm pretty sure that this is the first thought that hit all of our minds as soon as the Jets released Brett Favre a few days after the 2009 Draft.

"Nah, there's no way the Vikings are bringing Brett Favre to Minnesota."
"The Vikings just dealt for Sage Rosenfels. He and Tarvaris Jackson will have an open competition for the QB job."
"Didn't you see Favre at the end of last year? Why on earth would the Vikings want to deal with that?"

When this whole thing first started, nobody believed that it was true. Nobody thought that there was any real way that this could even remotely happen after the Jets crashed and burned at the end of 2008 with Favre at the helm. Now, I don't really believe that there are a heck of a lot of people that are still in this stage. Not after all the back-and-forth between the team and the media and Favre and Brad Childress and everything else that's taken place since late April. I'm sure that there are still a few holdouts that are at this point, but many of them have moved on through the process.

Stage Two - Anger
Once in the second stage, the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue. Because of anger, the person is very difficult to care for due to misplaced feelings of rage or envy.

Of all the stages, I believe that there are a fairly significant number of Viking fans that are in this stage of the process. For example. . .

"Why the hell doesn't (Peter King/Mike Florio/ESPN/insert target of choice) stop talking about Favre? Nobody cares!"
"I don't want that damn lawn-mowing redneck cheesebilly on our team!"
"I swear, if the Vikings bring Brett Favre here, I'll (cancel my season tickets/cancel my Sunday Ticket/stop watching games) and never support this team again!"

And, frankly, that's understandable. I say that because I spent a pretty fair bit of time during this process in this stage myself. As someone that's been running this site for almost three years, part of my job is to rip on this team's rivals, and for 16 years, Brett Favre was the face of one of those rivals. I've copped to the fact that I have said a great deal of unsavory things about #4 in the past, and I have no problem admitting that. I also understand the fact that no matter what should happen before, during, or after the time that Brett Favre puts on a Minnesota Vikings' uniform. . .and I'm not going to insult your intelligence by throwing the "if" disclaimer out there, because I'm pretty sure that it's a done deal at this point. . .many people will never get past the fact that he wore that green and yellow jersey for all those years on the eastern side of the border.

What I fail to understand is why anyone would stop supporting the team as a result of the acquisition of a player whose biggest crime was playing for the Green Bay Packers for 16 years. Hell, we're not talking about O.J. Simpson or Rae Carruth or Michael Vick here or anything. . .those guys are outright scum. While I've never been Brett Favre's biggest fan, I wouldn't ever put him in the same category as those three guys. And bringing him to Minnesota certainly wouldn't be enough to cause me to stop cheering for the team I've been a fan of for 25 years. Like I said, I went through the anger stage for a while, too. . .but I couldn't see myself stopping at that stage. I hope that a lot of you out there won't, either.

Stage Three - Bargaining
The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow postpone or delay (the inevitable).

This is the one stage that doesn't seem to fit in quite as neatly. The Kubler-Ross model talks tells us that this is usually a person telling whatever higher authority they believe in that they'll start doing something if they're allowed just a little more time on this mortal coil. In the case of the Favre Stages of Grief, however, it more or less means that Viking fans are trying to convince themselves that bringing #4 to Minnesota could be a good idea. . ."bargaining" with themselves and their beliefs as a fan, more or less.

"Well, he's played pretty well the past couple of years when he's been healthy."
"Man, could you imagine the look on the cheeseheads' faces when Favre walks into Lambeau Field in purple?"
"Really, if we brought him in, we'd be upgrading our entire QB depth chart, not just our starter."

There are any number of ways to get through the bargaining part of the process. It could be to look at the stats that Favre has put up when healthy over the past few seasons, it could be going back and watching the playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles this past January, or it could just be sitting back and visualizing a Vikings' team with Brett Favre at quarterback. This is also sort of a turning point in the process. . .a person can either accept this and move forward in the process, or they can get even more ticked off and backslide into Stage Two. In either case, the stay at Stage Three is usually a relatively short one.

Stage Four - Depression
. . .the individual may become silent, refuse visitors, and spend much time crying and grieving. This process allows the individual to disconnect themselves from things of love and affection.

Again, the Kubler-Ross description is a bit more harsh than what we need to describe how a football fan connects this to their team. This is another point that many fans have come to at this point, in my opinion. They're facing the fact that, barring something crazy, Brett Favre will be the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings on Opening Weekend 2009. This could cause their enthusiasm for Viking football to significantly diminish, and they may fear that they'll no longer recognize their favorite club if Brett Favre is leading them into battle.

To be honest, when I wrote my piece that I put together a month ago about finally being okay with the entire Favre situation, I might have actually been straddling the line between this stage and Stage Five. I had faced the fact that the Vikings were more than likely going to have #4 in the fold by the time Training Camp got underway, but I wasn't completely "at peace" with the idea. There was still that little part of me that wanted to hold on to the dislike and ill will that I had projected towards the guy for all those years he was in Green Bay. But, eventually, I got through it, and moved myself along to. . .

Stage Five - Acceptance
This final stage comes with peace and understanding. . .

I am quite proud to say that, after all these weeks of conflicting stories and debate and everything else, that I am firmly entrenched in this stage of the process. While I'm not a fan of Favre per se, and probably never will be, I have come to the conclusion that my being a fan of the Minnesota Vikings is much, much bigger than one player, and it has been for as long as I've been a fan of the team. The Minnesota Vikings were here long before Brett Favre, and they'll be here long after. Regardless of who this team runs out on the field in a weekly basis, whether it's this year or any other year, I'll be cheering them on every bit as much as I have every other season.

I'm not surprised that more Viking fans aren't in this stage with me, based solely on what I've observed, but I will say that I'm a bit disappointed by it, and saddened by the divide that it has caused within the fan base. You can be a Viking fan without being a Favre fan, on one hand. . .and on the other hand, you can be a Viking fan without having to name your first born after Brett Favre or offer to bear his children or anything like that.

I really, truly hope that if you're reading this, that you too have come to the realization that one or two seasons of Brett Favre in Minnesota in no way tarnishes nearly fifty years of Vikings history. As a group, we've been through way more than this, and we've been through way worse than this. . .and we've managed to persevere for this long. To be honest, I'm not even sure if "signing Brett Favre" would crack a list of the Top 20 most disappointing things to ever happen to the Minnesota Vikings.

Our team needs our support in 2009, regardless of who's calling the signals or taking the snaps. Join us. . .won't you?

Poll

Based on this article, which of the Favre Stages of Grief do you find yourself in?

Follow-Up to the Promotion Post from Yesterday

Gonzo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:41:08 -0000

Okay. . .I said I'd explain how the Air Force promotion process works, and rather than edit the previous post (in the thoughts that nobody will see it anyway), I'll just put a separate explanation over here.

Basically, everyone that's selected for promotion to TSgt (or any other Air Force enlisted rank) is given what's called a "line number." The line numbers are largely based on time in service, with the folks that have been in longer having lower numbers and those with less time in having higher ones. According to the statistics that were released, 7,724 E-5's were selected for promotion to E-6 (out of 37,172). Each of those people have a line number from 1 to 7,724.

(That's a promotion rate of 20.78%, which is a higher rate than the 18.5% that were promoted in 2008).

Starting on 1 July, the Air Force will start promoting those 7,724 people a little bit at a time. In theory, they'd promote an equal number of people each month. If it came to be exactly equal, they'd promote approximately 644 people a month for the next 12 months. So, in July, the people with line numbers from 1 to 644 would get promoted. In August, the people with line numbers from 645 to 1,288 would get promoted, and so forth until everyone with a line number moved from E-5 to E-6. The number does tend to fluctuate a little bit from month to month for various reasons, however.

My line number is 4,164, which is pretty much right in the middle of the pack. So, depending on the different fluctuations, I'll start wearing my new rank of TSgt on either 1 January or 1 February. My squadron commander told me yesterday at the party the base had for the selectees that he would anticipate February, but we'll see what happens.

So yeah, there's the explanation for that. I think I pretty much covered everything. . .and if I didn't, I'm sure some of our resident Air Force veterans will have no problem chiming in with details.

I'll hopefully get something else knocked out later on tonight for everyone's reading pleasure. If I don't get it out there tonight, it will definitely be out tomorrow. So, stay tuned for that, and keep enjoying your Friday!

The Universal Football League is Here. . .Feel the Excitement!

Gonzo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:01:55 -0000

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, professional football's latest attempt to compete with the National Football League will be kicking off their season in October 2009, and they held their premiere draft for the league last night. Each of the four franchises (Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, San Francisco) selected 24 players to build their franchise around, and there are a few names on the list that should be fairly familiar to Vikings fans.

If you want to base your NFL cheering preferences on which team has the most former Vikings on the roster (at this point, anyway). . .it looks like the Orlando franchise is the one for you. Among their new additions are QB Brooks Bollinger, S Mike Doss, and TE Jermaine Wiggins. They aren't the only Viking alumni in the new league, however. Former Vikings' coach Denny Green will be the head coach of the San Francisco franchise, and former Vikings' defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell will be the head coach in Las Vegas (Jim Haslett and Jim Fassel will coach Orlando and Las Vegas, respectively).

The other former Vikings player in the UFL at this time is DB Oliver Celestin, who I know spent a season or two on the practice squad with the Vikings, but I'm not sure he ever made the big club. Marcus Fitzgerald, the younger brother of Larry that the Vikings took a look at after the draft, is a member of the San Francisco roster. With only about half of each team's 50-man roster filled out to this point, I'm sure we'll be seeing more Minnesota alumni popping up in the league as they progress towards their kickoff in October.

I'm not sure how wise an idea it is to try to go head-to-head with the NFL during their season, but the UFL might be worth a look. With only four teams for now, there won't be a lot of match-up variety or anything, but if they're successful in their first season, I'm sure there will be more to come. No other league has been successful in America, however (see also: the USFL, the XFL, the WLAF), and the odds are certainly against the UFL at the start.

Non-Football: Guess Who's Getting Promoted

Gonzo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:24:26 -0000

Hey, remember a while back when I talked about how I was testing for promotion and that I was waiting to hear back about the results?

Well, today was the big day. . .the results are in, and yours truly is going from E-5 to E-6. Woo-hoo!

I'm not sure of the exact date I'll be sewing on or anything yet. Once I get home from work, I'll expand this post further to give an explanation of how the promotion system works. But I thought I'd just get this up here now.

Now I suppose I can stop worrying about whether or not I'm getting promoted and get back to concentrating on Vikings' football, eh? Yeah, that would probably be for the best. (-:

Thanks to everyone out there that wished me well and supported me during the past few months when it came to this. This is pretty huge for me, and I couldn't possibly be happier.

This was sent to me by Mike, one of our readers. I believe that somebody once said, "I don't care...

Gonzo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 03:03:52 -0000

This was sent to me by Mike, one of our readers. I believe that somebody once said, "I don't care who you are. . .that's funny right there!"