Graphic: Sean Rogers/The Olaf Messenger
The Minnesota Vikings have had a painfully disappointing start to the 2023 season, and yet, as a loyal Vikings fan, I can’t quite put my finger on why. The 1-3 record is obviously hard to face.
The record-breaking amount of turnovers doesn’t make the situation better. The bad calls in the endzone also is excruciating to watch. Despite all of this, I still feel like the Vikings aren’t that bad, and this is where the classic Minnesota sports fan curse sets in.
Kirk Cousins, the Vikings’ quarterback, has had a pretty epic year. If the Vikings had won all three games, with the numbers Cousins is putting up he might even be in the league MVP conversation. Justin Jefferson, the Vikings’ star wide receiver, has also had quite the year. His numbers put him right up there with the league’s best, and his career is on track to continue to break Vikings records. T.J. Hockenson, the Viking’s tight end, also had a good start to the year,
coming in clutch with big catches on many Vikings’ third and fourth downs.
The problem with this picture is that it’s exactly the headlines and people that fans normally focus on. We love our stars, and we love to ignore our problems. In the world of Minnesota sports, we have been blessed with many strong teams. The Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, and yet they have one of the highest winning percentages of all time. We just can’t help expecting a little bit of greatness, and we push through the weeds to find it every season.
In reality, the Vikings are just not that good this year. We have some star players, and so does every other team. We have had bad luck, and so has every other team.
The defense has given up a lot of big plays and have missed many opportunities to turn a game around.
The offense has given up the ball, a lot. Fans like me may want a resurgence of the team that we predicted for this year, but we have to get out of that mindset. The Vikings may start winning more games and that’s fun to watch, but they unfortunately are not a playoff team this year. It’s time to start analyzing where our team has gone wrong, and with any luck, head coach Kevin O’Connell might see it too.
Vikings fans are facing a season of disappointment, which is always a tough pill to swallow. But there’s always a little bit of hope- after all, at least we’re not the Bears.
