- !!!Indoor Freaking Football!!!
- The Sympathy Card?
- Patrick Ramsey
- The Deets
- Opposition Research
- Throwback Thursday
- Happy Birthday
!!!OUTDOOR FREAKING FOOTBALL!!!
While it apparently isn’t officially official yet, all signs point to the Vikings hosting the Bears outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium on Monday night.
Yeah, boiiii!
According to the Strib‘s Judd Zulgad‘s report, the players aren’t thrilled with the idea of playing outdoors on Monday. That’s not surprising, given that they’ve been playing indoors for all of their home games for all of their Viking careers. They cite safety but I suspect it has much more to do with the fact that the temperature at game time will be near zero.
But who cares about that, really?
I’m with Zygi; I’m completely psyched to see outdoor professional football return to Minnesota. It’s the way the game’s supposed to be played.
THE SYMPATHY CARD?
A community buried in snow. It’s football stadium snowed in and torn asunder. Forced to play on the frozen tundra…without a home.
Fade in the plinky plink piano as the tear-jerking human interest story plays before each game as the Minnesota Vikings capture the nation’s collective heart; the media falling all over itself to praise our courage and determination.
Do you think we’ll be able to play that sympathy card next year? Do you think we’ll be able to milk it into the NFC Championship game for a few non-calls on our way to a Super Bowl title?
Do you think?
Naaaaaahhhh.
PATRICK RAMSEY
The Vikings signed free agent quarterback Patrick Ramsey yesterday because they needed bodies. Joe Webb will get the nod if Brett Favre can’t play on Monday and Ramsey will serve as insurance, should Webb get injured. Remember, Webb has been battling a hamstring pull of late.
Ramsey stands 6’2″ and weighs 225 lbs. He was a first round pick (32nd overall) of the Washington Redskins in the 2002 draft. Ramsey played four years for the Skins, stating 31 games. He threw one pass for the New York Jets in 2006 and played in three games for the Denver Broncos from 2007 to 2008. Ramsey has also been on the rosters of the Tennessee Titans, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, and most recently, the Miami Dolphins, from whose roster he was released in November.
According to the superb Pro-Football-Reference.com website, Ramsey has a career passing rating of 74.9, has averaged 156.1 yards per game, and his completion percentage is 56%.
There are not many video highlights online of Patrick Ramsey, but what there are I’ve cobbled together for you. [WATCH.]
THE DEETS
The Vikings host the Chicago Bears at TCF Bank Stadium on Monday. Kickoff is at 7:30 PM CST and the game will be broadcast on ESPN nationally and KSTP TV locally.
Your play-by-play guy will be Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski and John Gruden will be your analysts with Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya serving as the sideline “reporters.”
The radio broadcast is on KFAN-AM 1130/KTLK 100.3-FM locally with your usual crew of play-by-play guy Paul Allen, analyst Pete Bercich and sideline reporter Greg Coleman. Pre-game shows starts at 5:30 PM CST.
OPPOSITION RESEARCH
We got your back, as usual. All the links you’ll need to scout out this week’s Hated Opponent can be found at Minnesota Vikings Chat’s Chicago Bears News page. [RESEARCH.]
THROWBACK THURSDAY
For your Throwback Thursday video today, in honor of the return to outdoor professional football in Minnesota after nearly 30 years, I’ve got some old skool footage for you of the advantages the Vikings had when playing at the Old Met Stadium. [WATCH.]