Skoldier

Skol: good health (a drinking toast)
         from Danish skaal, bowl

Minnesota Vikings rookie linebacker Michael Mauti is going to be a fan favorite. He's just about there now and he's still rehabbing a torn ACL. An injury that he suffered at the end of his final season at Penn St. He's yet to really practice with the Vikings and the team will likely be careful through training camp. Torn ACLs were a problem for Mauti in college. This last one was his third. Ouch. If not for those torn ACLs, he would likely have been a first or second round pick. The Vikings selected him in the seventh round. In a draft that brought in three first round picks, this seventh round pick could eventually have as great of an impact. He could soon be the Vikings middle linebacker and defensive leader.

Michael Mauti is an instinctive, intense football player. His leadership held the Penn St. football team and maybe even the campus community together through a dark period that few can imagine. Mauti's teammates honored him by wearing his #42 on their uniforms after his last knee injury ended his Penn St. football career. It's impossible not to like this kid. Now, he's warmed himself to the Minnesota people by coming up with the greatest name for the Vikings faithful that I've ever known. Skoldier.

I'm actually a little surprised that the term had never been presented before. It seems so simple. So perfect. Skol, like "cheers" in other parts of the world, has long been a part of the Norse culture. So, it, of course, became a part of the Minnesota Vikings. "Skol Vikings" is the team's fight song. Skol is a greeting and a bid farewell. It's heard throughout most Vikings conversations. Skoldier is simply perfect. I'm not surprised that a football player and person like Michael Mauti would come up with it.

It sounds like Mauti will be cleared for training camp but I expect that the Vikings will take it slow just as they did with Adrian Peterson last year. With the recent addition of Desmond Bishop, the Vikings starting linebackers for the start of the season will likely be some combination of Chad Greenway, Erin Henderson, and Bishop. If Mauti can finally shake the ACL issues that have obviously plagued his football career, he's the middle linebacker next season, if not before. Until then, he'll be a special teams beast. And, a fan favorite.

Skoldier. Nice.