Some casual fans of the Minnesota Vikings are cheering because the game against the Vikings is now delayed for more than thirty hours. This lack of insight is astounding considering that the team will have to travel to the motor city and play at play at Ford Field, the home of the Detroit Lions, and play in front of fans who are watching them for free and are not passionate to their cause.
By Patrick Herbert
The game should have been scheduled for TCF Bank Stadium. This would have allowed the organization to provide less refunds. It also allows the team to utilize the top player in their offense to a greater degree. Adrian Peterson has been the top running back in the NFL for the last few years.
The surface on the campus of the University of Minnesota would be more forgiving than that in Detroit. The controlled environment in Detroit would be favorable for New York because Eli Manning is in the prime of his career and he can connect with some prominent targets in Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith without worrying about the weather conditions.
I am aware that the league is primarily driven by television, but if that is the case why does the contest go from being the foremost option during the early Sunday time slot for Fox to a Monday night game with limited viewership? The only fans who can watch are those in the metropolitan areas of the teams and those with the NFL package. I understand that it is impossible for the Giants to drive or fly into Minneapolis in time for the Monday night game.
This is why a more creative approach should have been enacted by the league hierarchy. The game should have been even more delayed to give the Vikings the home field advantage that they are entitled to. Or, an alternative approach to transportation is an option. There are just over fifty players on NFL rosters. The problem in Minnesota is the snow that has already accumulated on the ground.
Did anyone think about a collection of helicopters?
Brett Favre will likely still make his two hundred and ninety-eighth career start even though he missed almost all of practice this week and is listed as a game time decision by head coach Leslie Frazier.
Favre does anything that he can to keep his name flowing across the crawl on ESPN. This largely includes keeping fans in limbo over the status of his plethora of ailments. He has had stitches in his chin, experienced two broken bones in his foot, and currently is the proud owner of a sprained shoulder. This doesn’t come close to listing all of the medical issues that Favre has experienced thus far in the season, but these may be publicized so much to provide excuses for his lackluster play.
His quarterback rating can also be partly blamed on the absences of Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin for a substantial portion of the season. The migraines for Harvin might even keep him out of the line-up for Monday night’s showdown.
For pictures of the Metrodome roof collapse go here