Fraters Libertas

The Davenport Effect

FL reader Jack resides in Los Angeles, but lives for Green Bay. He sends in this objection to my recent laser-like focus on Najeh Davenport. Considering the Vikings performance against the Bears yesterday, we'll consider it some salty balm for the wounds:

Love the site. Love the blogs. Love the NARN. But I knew you guys would eventually show your true colors. Puhleeeeeez! If Davenport bothers you that much, we'll just bench him. Instead, we'll send Green, Fisher, Luchey, and Henderson running through your defensive backfield. You guys have bigger problems to worry about than confrontations with our serial defecator. Namely:

1) The fact that the Vikings are only required to stay in Minnesota through 2011.

2) The fact that your nitwit owner has his sights on Los Angeles.

3) That miserable excuse of a stadium you guys play in.

4) Four Super Bowl appearances. APPEARANCES!!

5) 15-1 in 1998 and nothin' to show for it.

6) Josh McCown

Just play the game. Enjoy your Vikings while you have them. You have an excellent chance of winning with Moss healthy now. Hopefully for the Packers, the game won't affect our playoff position much. Meanwhile, you guys need to think of a new name for the team the NFL is going to award you after the Vikings leave town. Here are some suggestions:

1) Chokers
2) Carpet Queens
3) Purple People Greeters
4) Doormats

I crack myself up. Hey, enjoy the attached .mp3 file [of the Vikings last second loss to the Cardinals last year]. I keep it on my iPod and blast it out my car stereo every time I drive by a Vikings fan. They look at me as if I had just pooped into their laundry basket.

Keep up the good work, A Packer Backer in Los Angeles.

Another Packer Backer, Tobin from Brooklyn Park, writes in with this observation:

Interestingly enough, today's Instant Poll on the Strib web site, about why the Vikings lost, doesn't list "Too much crap in helmets" as one ofthe choices ...

But I guess that's because Najeh was safely away in Philadelphia getting his butt handed to him by the Eagles.

Let's not dismiss the Davenport Effect too quickly here. As any student of public opinion knows, the exit polling is ALWAYS suspect. Instead of the Star Tribune's Instant Pollsters, we'll turn to someone a little more qualified to speak on the Vikings loss to the Bears yesterday. This from Jim Souhan, quoting Vikings Coach Mike Tice:

The Vikings can easily weather this, but that's not the way they should view it. This was a lost opportunity, one that could have put them a game up on Green Bay in the division and moved them to within a game of Atlanta in competition for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

"Crap" is what Tice kept calling it, inelegantly, angrily and accurately.