Favorite Vikings Through the Years

I was lucky enough to fall for the Minnesota Vikings at the right time, the 1970s. Except for Super Bowls, they dominated. When the Vikings made it to the big game they often left their game in Minnesota. Three Super Bowls in four years. This was the time that I found them. The players in those years were some of the best in franchise history. A handful of them are among the best in league history.

Fran Tarkenton, the Purple People Eaters, and Bud Grant were what first attracted to me to the Minnesota Vikings. Being from California, the frigid cold of their Bloomington home also held an unusual fascination. That environment helped make those players seem like warriors from some other world. I was hooked. Fran Tarkenton was my first favorite Vikings football player. He was the most prominent player on the team and his scrambling was a treat. As I learned more about the game of football I grew to greatly appreciate the Vikings defense. Oh my, that defensive line . When they were turned loose it seemed like eight players were rushing the quarterback. Alan Page was in the middle and often the cause of all the chaos. It was amazing to see a football player control a game without having the ball in his hands. I soon came to embrace the running and spinning of Chuck Foreman. With Jim Marshall, I learned how important leadership can be to a football team. Marshall was the heart of those great Vikings teams. Sammie White and Ahmad Rashad started my lifelong passion for the simple, beautiful act of catching a football. Receiver was now my position. As the 1980s approached and the Vikings' brightest years started to dim and the legends faded from the game, Rashad and Matt Blair were my favorites that remained. As their careers came to an end in the early '80s, Joey Browner and Chris Doleman emerged. The '80s wasn't an especially strong decade for the Vikings but it was sure fun to watch those two play some football. Randall McDaniel eventually joined them. It's not often that a lineman, let alone a guard, is a fan favorite but McDaniel was unbelievable. From his funky stance to his devastating blocks, he was a tremendous football player. Anthony Carter brought back the Vikings grand receiver tradition. Steve Jordan, from Brown, was an exciting tight end. In 1990, Cris Carter joined the Vikings. I'd been hoping for his pass-catching skills since his Ohio St. days. The Carter-Carter receiving combination was a special one. That same year, one of the most entertaining Vikings players, ever, joined the team. John Randle. That guy was a wound-up ball of fury that was released anew on every single play. One of the most troubling and spectacular players in team history arrived in 1998. Randy Moss was so easy to love on the football field. While I think that he was largely misunderstood off the field, and sometimes on, he sure made it difficult for anyone to completely embrace him. He was the most physically gifted receiver that I've ever seen. And, I do appreciate the receivers. I try to only remember the truly spectacular things that he did on a football field but then the other stuff creeps in. I wish that the Vikings hadn't brought him back in 2010. That was truly a disaster. It makes the bad stuff even harder to ignore. Jim Kleinsasser arrived the year after Moss. Kleinsasser was simply, and completely, a football player. He did all the dirty work so that others could shine. A devastating blocker. He was key in the run game and the passing game. Antoine Winfield was the Vikings first real stab at the free agency game. It paid off better than they ever could have imagined. Like Kleinsasser, Winfield is pure football player. I've never seen another defensive player like him. At about 5'9" 180lbs, he could chop down the biggest backs in the league. His tackling should be required viewing for every single football player at every single level of the game. Next comes the players that are still paying for the Vikings today. Those start with Kevin Williams. The Vikings have a tremendous tradition at defensive tackle. Page and Randle are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Williams could join them. Like the Carter-Carter receiving tandem, Kevin Williams was perhaps at his best when lined up next to Pat Williams. No one could run on the Williams Wall. Then we have Chad Greenway. I love to see football players running around for the sheer joy of the game. Greenway's love of the game is obvious, always. The beast arrived the year after Greenway. Adrian Peterson. If he stays healthy, every rushing record may be his. He's already in the discussion of best back in league history and he's got, hopefully, many more years to go. An amazing football player. Many that know him say that he's an even better man off the field. Nice. Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin should be among my Vikings favorites but they now play for the Seattle Seahawks. That's about all I have to say about that. A trade brought Jared Allen. Like Randle, he's a character on the field and off. Like Randle, his motor doesn't stop. The recent drafts of the Minnesota Vikings have brought loads of football talent and favorites. Kyle Rudolph and Harrison Smith are favorites already. I have high hopes for Christian Ponder. Rhett Ellison seems like Kleinsasser, without the beard. Sharrif Floyd is taking the defensive tackle torch from Williams. Cordarrelle Patterson might have athleticism like Moss but without the frustration. If Mike Mauti can finally keep his knees intact, he'll be a favorite as well.

My favorite Vikings through the years can be summed up like this:

Tarkenton, Page, Foreman, Marshall, White, Rashad, Blair, Browner, Doleman, McDaniel, Carter, Jordan, Carter, Randle, Moss, Kleinsasser, Winfield, Williams, Williams, Greenway, Peterson, Rudolph, Smith....

And then, of course, the coach. Bud Grant.

There are so many Vikings players not listed that could be. The team has had so many great players, characters, and people. This is more of a listing of my favorites of my favorites. Just to show that I'm not a fan of every player that has worn a Vikings uniform, here's two that will never come close to a list of my favorite players. Dwayne Rudd and Bryant McKinnie. I'll leave it at that. One player that I do have to mention because his dedication to the team is so remarkable is Scott Studwell. He played linebacker from 1977-90. He's been in the front office and scouting ever since. 36 years and no signs of slowing.

One of the more interesting aspects of being a fan of a sports team is the ever changing business of it all. The team is different each and every year. Free agency sure speeds up that turnover. Players come and go, often more quickly than we'd like. I never want to see Adrian Peterson retire. Perhaps more than his eventual retirement, I never want to see him play for another team. I was forced to see that with Page, McDaniel, Randle, and Carter. Rice and Harvin too. Didn't like it then. Wouldn't like it now. New is exciting. But, the old is pretty special too.