Hi Dean,

I happened to notice your name in an article about the Vikings stadium and after a quick check confirmed you were indeed my History/Social Studies teacher at good old NL-S (Class of ’84).

It sounds like you took one on the chin from some in the party. I’d just like to thank you. I have lived away from MN since joining the Navy in ’84 and now that Mom is living full time in Phoenix, I really only have one tie left to the State – the Vikings. I know that this was a complicated vote, combining private and public money and mixing in gambling revenues just to make sure there was something for everyone to hate. I know that you had personally expressed concern over the use of public money to help further enrich millionaires from New Jersey. I get that. I suspect you probably had to hold your nose while you cast the vote.

Whatever the current political pain points may be in Minnesota, they will pass. The economy will improve. Other crisis will appear. A football team may appear frivolous compared to some of the issues you face, but whether it is logical or not – the Vikings are an enduring part of what it means to be Minnesotan. This becomes all the more real for those of us living as ex-pats. I have now lived just as long in West Michigan as I lived in Spicer – 18 years. Yet I am not a Michigander who grew up in Minnesota. I am a Minnesotan who is living in Michigan.

It is hard to explain, but had the Vikings moved to LA or wherever, that almost certainly would have changed. I would have been forced to become a Lions fan and that last defining link would have been severed. I am not alone in this. There are many ex-pat regulars on the various Vikings Fan-Blogs who feel much as I do. We may not be able to vote for you, but we sincerely appreciate it. Whatever heat you may feel from the party, your name will never be associated with having forced the Vikings out of Minnesota. For that Sir, I salute you.

On a side note: If you get a chance to trip Mary Kiffmeyer when she walks past, please do so for me. Calling John Kriesel a coward? Wow…

On a side-side-note: I may have been a lousy student in your classes but I have learned to love history. So what is my point? Well two points I guess. The first is that perhaps something good transpired in your classroom, despite my best attempts to prevent it. The second point is that although I can’t vote for you, I can and will buy your books from Amazon and will encourage other ex-pats on the Vikings Fan-Blogs to do the same. (Yeah, I know you don’t realize much profit per book, but we do what we can)

Thank you again and have a great day.

Doug Kerfoot

I told you so.

I wanted to remind you of how wrong you were. Whatever else you may think you know about football, you obviously don't know anything about what makes for a good coach.  You would have thrown Bud Grant under the bus too.

A coach adds two additional wins each of his first three years and you call for him to be fired?  Sad and wrong...

I am writing this now, because no bad coach has ever built a bad team up to an 11-2 start.  It doesn't matter if they melt down in the playoffs or the SB or even if they finally win it all.  Chilly has taken a losing, demoralized team and built it into a well respected, balanced team with both swagger AND level heads.  And yeah, a kick-ass offense.  And defense.  And special teams.  (Well that may be going to far, but wait until next year!)

So, the next time you find yourself ready to go into a negative tailspin, please think back to the way you were calling for Chilly's head on a platter and remember:  You were obviously dead wrong before and maybe, just maybe, you still don't know what you are talking about.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

From his time in Kansas City:

"The funniest story I can tell you about him is the day he came to work with a Speedo and sunglasses -- that's all he had on," he said. "Now you can imagine, Jared got out of his car that has those Texas longhorns on the front -- an old Cadillac, I think -- walks through the office, came down the elevator and walked into the team meeting. It was (head coach) Dick Vermeil's 70th birthday, and Jared goes up on the stage, grabs him and puts a kiss right on his lips. The players just went crazy. But that's him."

http://www.detnews.com/article/20091112/OPINION03/911120438/Vikings--Jared-Allen-meets-his-mentors

Pioneer Press deputy sports editor John Pluym, stated that the Vikings run defense has slipped from previous years and that Pat Williams is starting to show his age:  http://www.twincities.com/ci_13561319

I have been wondering about that myself.  We certainly haven't looked as dominant as in prior years and the run defense numbers against mediocre teams are not encouraging. I was particularly surprised at how well the Lions ran against us in the 1st half.

 How do you see it?  Is it a trend?  Does the blame fall on Phat Pat or are there other factors to consider?