Farewell Matt Birk

For me, the best thing about the Baltimore Ravens winning this past Super Bowl was seeing Matt Birk leave the NFL on top. The former Minnesota Vikings center retired from the NFL yesterday. The only thing that was missing from his fifteen-year career was a title. No more. I obviously would have preferred for that elusive title to come while he was in Minnesota but that was not to be. It was still great to see him leave the game with that final prize.

The Vikings drafted Matt Birk out of Harvard in the 6th round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was a tackle then. The combination of Birk's work and the line coaching of Mike Tice made the position switch seem easy. Within two years Matt Birk was the Minnesota Vikings starting center. That 1998 draft is best known for receiver Randy Moss. I always found it interesting that two players so different had the same beginning in Minnesota. Birk's impact may not have been as flashy as that of Moss but it may have been as great. Birk was a leader on and off the field. Perhaps more so than any other position, the Vikings have had an incredible succession of centers. Birk only added to that line. Mick Tingelhoff started it all and he seemed to play forever. 17 years. He handed the torch to Dennis Swilley who passed it to Kirk Lowdermilk who passed it to Jeff Christy and then on to Birk. John Sullivan currently carries it very well. Six centers in over 50 years. Incredible. All six made the position a strength. Matt Birk was a fantastic football player. On and off the field, Birk made a memorable impact. He was a six-time Pro Bowler and won the Walter Payton Award for his work in the community. With his great sense of humor his interviews were always enjoyable. Humor goes a long way.

Although John Sullivan was ready to take over it was difficult to see Birk leave Minnesota in 2009. As with past Vikings greats Alan Page, Carl Eller, John Randle, Cris Carter and others, it was painful to see Matt Birk play in the uniform of another team. Despite that I couldn't help but be happy for the former Vikings center when I heard the final gun of Super Bowl XLVII.