How many of you remember the 1975 NFC Divisional Playoff game between The Dallas Cowboys and

The MN Vikings? Well folks that is where it all started! The CURSE!! Let me refresh your memories It is the 4th quarter 1 minute 51 seconds left on the clock. Dallas has the ball on their own 15 yard line. The Vikings led 14- 10 . Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach manages a nine yard gain, to mid field. Now the clock is at 24 seconds. Who in Minnesota is not on the edge of their seats? We are going to do it! Dallas cant score against the best defenses in the league, in our house, in 24 seconds! Staubach lines up in shotgun formation, the ball is snapped, Staubach pump fakes left, turns right, and throws the ball trying for Drew Pearson who is being covered by cornerback Nate Wright, oh no Wright falls and Pearson is able to trap the ball on his right hip and backs into the end zone. As Pearson crosses into the end zone free safety Paul Krause complains to field judge Armen Terzian that interference should be called on Drew Pearson. At the same time an orange is thrown by a fan in the stands it whizzed by Drew Pearsons head at the goal line, and is mistaken by the Vikings defense as a penalty flag. You can see the orange on NFL Films. Defensive tackle Alan Page argued with officials with the result of a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty it was assessed on the kick off. Vikings have the ball and 14 seconds left on the clock. And out of the stands comes a Corbys whiskey bottle it hits referee Armen Tezian in the head. He was knocked out and he had to have 11 stitches. *note after game when interviewed Roger Staubach told reporters that he said a Hail Mary closed his eyes and threw the ball praying Pearson would catch it. Hence the HAIL MARY PASS Cowboys win 17 to 14. There is no excuse for throwing stuff onto the field. And I hope the person reasonable for the whiskey bottle was held accountable. Vikings lore says that this is where Terzians Revenge started. And when refs make bad calls against the Vikings it is Terzian Revenge! But I wonder if it isnt more like a curse? Its hasnt been just bad calls that has put us in last place in our division. Have you ever noticed that on NFL Films when they show a team doing an awesome play it against the Vikings? When they show a team breaking a record it is against the Vikings? I hate watching NFL Films cause of that! Howard Cosell never liked the Vikings; some say it was because a Viking pulled his toupee off during an interview. Some people have no sense of humor. Cosell called Fran Tarkenton Sir Francis, and that is the only respect he gave the Vikings. We had the first Scrambling quarterback, Fran Tarkenton. He was a great quarterback, in my opinion. And Bud Grant one of the best coaches ever! We had the PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS. We went to the Super Bowl 3 out of 4 years. With all of that we never won when it mattered. The Curse? Why does it take like forever for MN Vikings to get into Hall of Fame? And some still havent made it. Like Joey Browner. He was a strong safety for MN Vikings from 1983 to 1991. He had a Hall of Fame Career. He had 40 interceptions for a total of 505 yards. 1100 tackles caused 18 fumbles; recovered 16.He holds the NFL Pro Bowl record with 3 fumbles recoveries returned for touchdowns. He made the All Madden team 4 times. He Was in 6 Pro Bowls. He still is not in the Hall of Fame. And I am telling you if he got a hand on you, you were going down. He was said to have the strongest hands in the league!

The Vikings have had one of the highest winning percentages in the NFL. They are also one of only five NFL teams to win 15 games in regular season. They have made it to the playoffs 24 times 3rd most in the league. Remember Les Steckel ? Coach for the 1984 season. That year we were 3 wins 13 losses. The Curse? Then Jerry Burns. He was better than Steckel. Oh wait he did the infamous Herschel Walker Trade in 1989. I still have a hard time not going off the deep end every time I here Herschel Walkers name. The Curse strikes again? Denny Green, steps in as coach. His record as head coach of the Vikings is impressive 101-70-0. But really the guy could not manage the clock. And he puts out a book in the middle of the season that upsets everything. That was selfish, and not good for team morale. He had really bad timing! But the guy could spot talent. I think we should have kept him for a scout. I would really like to know who made the bone head decision to let Tony Dungy go to Tampa Bay. He was MN Vikings Defensive Coordinator 1992 1996. His defense was rated number 1 in the NFL. The Curse at work or bad management? Next for head coach Mike Tice. He lost more than he won. I really do not have anything to say about the guy. I do have a question why was he here for so long? The Curse ? 2006 new head coach Brad Childress. I really thought he might be the leader we so desperately needed. I was wrong. He was a better coach then Mike Tice.His only claim to fame as head coach of the Vikings was when in 2009 Bret Favre became a MN Viking! Bret is a leader and he loves the game. He pulled the team together, and showed them what they were capable of doing. But a team cant win turning the ball over 4 times in a playoff game. Could someone tell me why Childress kept Jarvis Jackson and let Rosenthal go? I mean come on Jackson sucks! Sorry Jarvis I call it how I see it .And another thing why trade Chester Taylor? Yes I know we have great running back Adrian Peterson, and now that he holds onto the ball , he has gone from great to awesome. But think about what you can do with 2 very good running backs. Both are good blockers, both have good hands, both run good routes, both are smart, both want to play and win! And Chester was our 3rd down running back. 2010 season. Bret Favre is back as starting Quarterback. I dont have a problem with that. Bret is smart and is well liked by his team. And he loves the game. Even when he was quarter back for Green Bay Packers and kicking our butts I liked him because you could see how much he loved to play football! He was a team player and a good team leader. Ok so now Childress has Bret back, good deal right? Should have been, but wasnt! Why you ask? Because the offensive line could not protect him! How can a quarter back do his job when he is hurried, or sacked every other down! I do not care how good of a quarter back you are, you cannot do your job without the rest of the team doing theirs. When Vegas is making book on wither or not your pro bowl left offensive tackle( McKinney) will actually make a tackle in a game what does that tell you? Poor Bret he was beat up all season. Then one of Brets favorite wide receiver Rice is hurt and there goes our passing game. And the defense keys on Adrian Peterson. Boy sure would have been nice to have Chester Taylor now! So what does Childress do? He decides to go get a wide receiver. And he gets one of

the best. Enter Randy Moss. We here in Minnesota know Randy, as he started his pro football career here. Denny Green drafted him. He had some problems in collage and teams were wary of him because of it. But he is, was, a very talented Wide receiver. It was his people skills that were lacking. So Childress brings him back why? Some say it was because Bret Favre wanted him. I have also heard that Bret had wanted to play with Randy for a long time. Be that as it may, it was a bad deal. Bad for Randy Moss and bad for the Vikings. To use a wide receiver you have to be able to throw the ball to him right? It is hard for a quarter back to throw the ball when he has the defense in his face all the time. Childress knew his offensive line was not doing their job. And if he didnt he was a worse coach then I thought. And we know Randy wants the ball. We know from past experience that if you do not give Moss the ball, he is going to react badly. And isnt that why he was here to catch the ball. Guess not because he was not really used. That was not his fault that is all on Childress. What a waste. But as far as I am concerned Childress did not know how to use the talented players he had. I am glad Childress is gone. Today 10-2-2011 I tried to keep an open mind about our new head coach,Lesly Frasier. But after losing our first three games, I fear we are in big trouble. We had the lead in all three games at half time, only to lose in the end. Why because of The Curse or bad coaching? I know football is big business now, not just a sport. I also know it needs to be run like a business. We have an owner who is willing to pay the big bucks, we have the talent on our roster, but we do not seem to have anyone to put it all together! Like last Sundays game, we were in the red zone 4th down and a foot to go. Coach sends out the kicking team and Adrian Peterson waves them off the field. We did not get the 1st down .The defense did their job and we got the ball back in field goal range. But wait a flag on the kick return, and of course it is against the Vikings and now we are out of field goal range. Detroit wins by 3 in overtime. I think Adrian Peterson is awesome, love to watch him run. And I agree your offensive line should be able to push the defense back a yard, but the coach called for a field goal and he should have made it clear he calls the play. Not waffle, and allow a player to counter his call! Every winning team I have ever seen has had good leadership in certain key places. It seems that has been missing for a long time in the ranks of the Vikings. Not that there have not been men who were leaders just that they could not do so because of the indifference of others. Men like Jared Allen, Adrian Peterson, Brett Farve, there are more of course but you see the point. These are men who are leaders, and love the game. Who give it their all, all of the time! They earn their pay checks, and then some! I may be all wrong but its my book so here is how I see it. It all starts with the coach. The coach like a manager of a business has to know the business inside and out. He has to know his players (employees). He has to hand pick his asst coaches (management team). He needs a game plan with some kind of vision of not only this season but the next one too (business plan). He has to be a leader of men. Versatile would be good. And I say versatile because if your game plan isnt working CHANGE IT!! If it worked for the first half great! But by the time the second half starts the other team has broke it down, and is now ready to close your game plan down! Remember the buck stops at THE COACH! Right? Penalties happen. But offensive penalties really piss me off! How can the offense not know the count? The Vikings have too many penalties,

and turn overs. IF I WAS A COACH If I was a coach first I would go back to basics. If someone jumps off sides over and over, it is time to find out why, and fix the problem. If your players are missing tackles because they do not wrap both arms around the player with the ball, time to work on how to tackle! Basic football 101! Contracts, everybody has one right? Coaches, stadiums, players, even the guys in the booth, have contracts. The way I understand it is, a player gets bonuses for exceptional performance on the field. Does he lose money for performing badly? If I was a coach I would make it clear in said players contracts that they were under contract with my team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days of the year. When they are on the field and off. That they are expected to be a positive role model at all times. If a player were to tell the media that they did not want to play on my team, for any reason I would not use that player I would get rid of him as fast as I could. I would not even want that person sitting on my bench. And I am sure others players wouldnt want this kind of player around either. If a player on my team said he only played when he wanted to, he would not be a member of my team. If a player caused the same kind of penalties over and over again I would fine him. Each time the price would go up. And he would go to basic football 101. I lived in Bloomington, Mn in the 70s. So I spent a good amount of time at the Met. I went to see the Vikings play, and the Twins, also the North Stars. There were some awesome concerts there too. Then they decided to build the Dome. I thought that was ass nine. At the Met, parking was good, tail gating was the bomb, the airport was right there, and plenty of hotels. So I wore bomb the Dome shirts, and laughed until I cried when then Dome collapsed before anyone ever played a game there! Did you know there was a fun tax on us to help pay to build the Dome? I do believe it is still in place. It was out dated the year it was built. I have boycotted the Dome, meaning I refused to ever go there. And you know what? I have yet to hear a good thing about being a fan in the Dome. I have a problem with fans booing their team. Why did you buy a ticket? To support you team right? Then how can you boo them? Booing defeats the purpose of being in the stands. And shows that you are a fair weather fan. So now the Vikings need a new stadium. I am all for that. But how are we going to find the money to do so? With the way the season is going, and no real hopes for anything to change next season, I am worried that the people of the great state of Minnesota will not vote to build a new stadium. And then Zygi will have no choice but to look somewhere else. I do not want to lose the Viking I think we have a great owner in Zygi. He is willing to do what it takes to have a winning team. I dont know if he makes the decision on who to have as head coach or not. But we really really need one! Please Zygi find a coach who knows how to win! Maybe if we had a good coach people will vote to build a stadium to house our Vikings. Maybe we have to really shake things up, think outside of the box. It is a new day. Make sure TheTerzian Curse is just an old fairy tale, and has no hold on us anymore! Ok so I will never be a coach. But maybe .. I could be of service in another way? I would love to be the Vikings granny on the side lines! I would have my Get out your check book slips (fines for penalties) my purse filled with slips of paper filled with

plays that are based on thinkingoutside the box. And some that are old school too. Just in case the coach doesnt know what he is doing! To encourage my team to never quit. Do you remember when you were a kid, and you were being a jerk .You would have a feeling that shit was going to hit the fan? You turn to see where the trouble was coming from, and find your mother giving you that hard cold stare that said she saw that and boy are you in trouble? Well I have a stare that my grown sons can still feel across a crowded room! I would use that too as the Vikings granny!! And those guys that call the game on TV and radio, not guys like Terry Bradshaw, guys who call the game and tell you what the players are thinking, but they have never met the player, and they have never played football. Those guys better look out for granny! Cause she will be on the lookout for them! Granny would always say it how it was. If a Viking messed up on or off the field Granny would be there to put him in his place! I could go on and on, but I am sure you get what I mean. When I started writing this I thought it would be book size. But I cut a lot of things out. Who wants to hear a bunch of stats from the past? Or excuses about why we have never won the big one. The future is what is important. Will there be a MN Viking team here next year? Will we find the coach we need so very much? Will we learn from past mistake? I also decided to shorten this so I can get it out there now not later. In the hope that maybe by writing this I have opened the eyes of the people in the front office of THE MINNESOTA VIKINGS. Yeah right like old lady could ever make a difference or impress anyone in the big business of Professional Football. Oh well I tried. I am a Vikings fan! I have been for as long as I can remember. My kids are Vikings fans, and my grandkids will hopefully have the chance to be Vikings Fans. OMG! This season keeps getting worse by the minute! Does anyone out doubt that we need a COACH! Oh and we could use a Quarterback too. It would be great if we could get Bill Cowher as coach. Ok I want Bill Cowher ! He is the kind of coach we need. Wouldnt that be awesome to finally have a real coach? Lets put some money out there for a coach. A coach is just as important, if not more so then players. Besides we have lots of talented players. We need someone to put it all together and come up with a new game book!! And yes it would be nice to have a quarterback that can throw a pass, and wants to win games, not just collect a pay check. Every thing I have written here is my own opinions. When I have said anything about owners,players,coachs,refs , it is how I see things.