I've been a Vikings fan since 1968...and...

[SaveElmer]

If the organization had any self-respect left whatsoever, they would release every player involved in that despicable episode on the lake cruise...no matter who it was!!

I don't know what it is, but the team of Alan Page, Fran Tarkenton, and Jim Marshall...has turned into the team of Larry Flynt, Jerry Springer , and Ron Jeremy!!!

I can't see myself rooting for them for quite some time!!!

[KitchenWitch]

1. I know how you feel!

:grr:

[JVS]

2. What happened?

[SaveElmer]

3. Read the sordid details here...

http://www.startribune.com/stories/510/5665213.html

[JVS]

5. Cool! Degenerate football players.

Keep this up and you'll be the next Dallas Cowboys!

[KitchenWitch]

6. argh!

[mattomjoe]

32. yeah, except without the winning....

[XNASA]

25. "You have to purify yourself in Lake Minnetonka."

[KitchenWitch]

37. OH FUCK!

:rofl:

[Oeditpus Rex]

4. Joe Kapp went to my junior high school

My first "scoop." I was sports editor of the school paper when I learned this. Wrote him a letter c/o the Vikes and he wrote me back.

Gawd, that was cool. :7

[SaveElmer]

7. Yeah I did the same thing when I was a kid...

This will tell me if you were a true fan...I got pictures back of Alan Page, Gary Cuozzo, Ed Schrockman, Gene Washington, and Roy Winston...not household names now (except maybe Page)

Boy how they have fallen!!!

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. I didn't get a picture

But I got my first "big story." :woohoo:

[GrpCaptMandrake]

8. Can you imagine what would've gone down

if Randy Moss was still with the team? Hell, the Grand Jury would've had to be called into special session!

[SaveElmer]

9. Moss is starting to look like the reasonable one...

Jeez...how sad is that!!!

I frickin hope they go 1-15

[jobycom]

10. Yeah, I'm sure Alan, Fran and Jim never did ANYTHING like that.

[SaveElmer]

12. Sexually molesting women on a boat cruise...?

I don't think so. Not all sports figures are pigs!!!

Alan Page went to law school during the off season and is now a highly respected and popular supreme court justice in Minnesota.

Fran Tarkenton is a respected businessman in Georgia, and Jim Marshall has been a community activist, rallying athletes to help under privileged children.

No I am certain they DID NOT engage in this type of activity!!!

[KitchenWitch]

13. Hear Hear, SaveElmer!

All of them are Class Acts

As is Carl Eller...who kicked addiction and formed a foundation that helps teens with addictions.

[SaveElmer]

14. Exactly...

Should have mentioned him...

You know its sad how some liberals are so careful (an rightly so) of stereotyping groups of people, but when it comes to professional athletes, seem perfectly willing to tarnish them all with the misdeeds of a few!!!

[WeRQ4U]

29. In the article it seems like Eller was in full "blame the media" mode...

I hate that crap. If you don't get into stupid situations, then the media doesn't have the opportunity to air your laundry.

[enigmatic]

19. I waited on Fran's Mom in Athens, GA

Man, this is becoming my Athens, GA reminiscing night...

Anyway, she used to come to the Holiday Inn in Athens where i was a server every Sunday and was the sweetest woman I've ever met; hugs for everybody, smiles and big tips. I loved the Vikings as my second favorite team as a kid, and both Fran and Chuck Foreman were my heroes; when Fran came in w/ his Mom one Sunday she made it a point to introduce me to him and he was as nice as his Mom..

[SaveElmer]

20. I met him once too...

At an auto dealership opening in Minnesota. He was really nice to the kids who gathered, and signed autographs for at least 3 or 4 hours!!!

Shows not all Republicans are bad guys!!!

[jobycom]

21. No, I'm sure Tarkenton and Page and Marshall were completely

above all such drunken parties, never witnessed a drunken or drugged up teammate groping a woman, never took a couple of drinks themselves. They were born mature, and remain that way today. It's only every one else's favorite celebrities that have done those types of things.

[SaveElmer]

22. Typical response...

Tarnish all with the misdeeds of a few....

Not a SCRAP of evidence, not even a whiff of it for Tarkenton, Page or Marshall...but because you can't apparently let go of your worship of these guys on the boat you try and bring down others.

The fact is Alan Page went to law school during the offseason, and is now a highly respected and popular Supreme Court Justice in Minnesota, an elected post. Page is the most popular (by %) officeholder in Minnesota.

Fran Tarkenton is a respected businessman in Georgia. And Jim Marshall has spent his time since football using his connections to get professional athletes to help underprivileged kids.

Even Carl Eller, who had drug problems has cleaned himself up and is now a highly respected community activist.

Why is it we get our panties in a bunch (as we should), when people are unfairly stereotyped...except when it comes to athletes?

[jobycom]

24. You are as bad at reading me as at reading them

I don't even know who was on the boat, and I don't care at all about the Vikings. Until I read the article i probably couldn't have told you who their coach or their quarterback was.

My response is based on talking to sports reporters, witnessing NFL training camps, and hanging around a former NFL player for a while. I've witnessed these types of parties. I've seen cops walk into rooms full of prostitutes and cocaine and really, really big name NFL players about whom no evil is spoken, and walk back out. I've read reporters talking about who all they have covered for, what all they have seen, what the locker room code is.

Reporters see this kind of stuff all the time, they don't report it because they want access to the players and teams. I've seen some of the big name reporters ignoring it, personally. The only times players get caught is when someone has it in for them. Like Michael Irvin getting caught in a hotel room with coke and a stripper. I've worked in hotels where I've seen dozens of players in rooms with coke and strippers. You can call the cops, usually they will ignore you. No one wants to get involved in a mess like that. Too much money, too much publicity, too many lawyers, and in the end no one is getting hurt. Michael Irvin was turned in by a hotel manager with a grudge against him (maybe not football related, maybe the manager didn't like his attitude). The reason the police responded was because they didn't know it was Michael Irvin until they got there, and there were too many witnesses to let it go. And of course, some cops react differently than others.

This was a typical NFL party. Some players went to far, made someone angry, and got reported, Maybe. Heck, maybe it was the backup of one of the players who reported the incident, hoping to get promoted. Maybe it was the girlfriend of a player seeking revenge. Maybe it was a rabid fan hoping to get Tice fired. But the only thing unusual about this party was that you heard about it. Being a pro athlete superstar is little different than being a rock superstar. Even the most respected rock stars did this stuff. Why do you think athletes are different? Heck, look at the era Tarkenton and Page played in. The standards were wilder in general than now.

[Divameow77]

34. I have to disagree

You mention how all these other examples happened in "rooms" with willing participants.
Well the Vikings were doing it out in the open on a boat and were treating the employees, who were not willing participants, with complete disrespect and harrasement.
I could care less what these assholes do in their own homes or hotel rooms.

[SaveElmer]

36. Still does not negate my point...

FIrst of all this is your statement..

"It's only every one else's favorite celebrities that have done those types of things."

Well since I was attacking the despicable actions of these particular players, it was natural to assume they are who you were talking about.

Just because you have allegedly witnessed these things, has no bearing whatsoever on Tarkenton, Page, etc. You have no information, nor has there ever been any information to indicate these players engaged in anything of the sort.

You are painting a broad brush on all athletes because of the actions of those you have supposedly witnessed. Like in any walk of life there are those who display these types of reprehensible behavior, caring for their own gratification above all else. But that does not mean that all or even close to a majority are engaging in it

No one is perfect, and I really don't particularly care what a person does in their private life, but these players were doing this stuff in public. I don't know if you have ever been to Lake Minnetonka, but it is in a residential area. There are kids and families around. And from what I understand, several of the female employees on the boat were harassed.

It was despicable, and should not be condoned because of who they are, how rich they are, or how many others have done the same thing. And I don't think it is fair to implicate others who have led, from all outward appearances, exemplary lives, simply because you want to excuse the behavior of these few!!!

[JVS]

11. This is HUGH!!!!!!!!111!!!!

[Robeson]

15. You know, if they'd put as much emphasis on their on-field activities....

...as they do their off-field activities, they'd be unstoppable. There seems to be a "culture of not giving a shit", which permeates our team.

[KitchenWitch]

16. And it starts at the top!

As in our head coach...I actually think Zygi cares, but Tice is an asshole.

[Robeson]

18. You're exactly right. And there is going to have to be a house cleaning..

...primarily, from the top, and his staff. A real bonafide GM wouldn't hurt.

[Divameow77]

35. Maybe they should not be allowed to have sex

until they start winning.

[SaveElmer]

23. Here is a brief synopsis of Viking misdeeds since Bud Grant...

Between 1986 and 1990, nine Vikings were arrested for drunken driving, and receiver Buster Rhymes was treated for cocaine dependency.

• In 1988,, citing "overwhelming negative response" from the public, the Vikings released convicted sex offender Mossy Cade.

• In 1995, running back Keith Henderson pleaded guilty to three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

• In 1995, quarterback Warren Moon reached an out-of-court agreement with a former team cheerleader who alleged that he forced her to have sex with him and harassed her. Moon had denied the allegations and prepared a countersuit.

• That year, Moon allegedly struck his wife in the head with an open hand and choked her to the point where she almost passed out, according to police in Missouri City, Texas.

She did not press charges and, although the case went to trial anyway, Moon was found not guilty.

• In 1995, the Star Tribune reported that the Vikings paid $150,000 to head off a sexual harassment suit against Vikings assistant coach Richard Solomon, coach Dennis Green's closest friend on the staff.

• In 1999, safety Orlando Thomas was disciplined by the NFL after pleading no contest to the misdemeanor charge of simple battery on his wife.

• In 2002, receiver Randy Moss knocked a traffic cop to the ground with his car, then was charged with drug possession. He later reached an out-of-court settlement with the officer.

• In 2002, two women claimed to be sexually assaulted at the team's Arctic Blast fundraiser.

• In 2004, linebackers E.J. Henderson and Michael Nattiel and tight end Steve Farmer were arrested after officers said they saw the players assaulting a man outside the Tabu nightclub in Minneapolis.

• In 2005, running back Onterrio Smith was suspended by the NFL for a year for violating the league's substance abuse policy, two months after being caught at an airport with The Original Whizzinator, a kit designed to circumvent drug tests.

• Also in 2005, coach Mike Tice was fined by the NFL for scalping Super Bowl tickets, and defensive tackle Kevin Williams was arrested on charges of domestic abuse.

• Last week a contingent of Vikings chartered two boats, then allegedly engaged in such lascivious behavior that charter employees feared for their safety.

Yes, the Vikings have spent the past 20 years orchestrating what appears to be a highly organized campaign to ruin their image and disgust their fans.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/510/5666275.html

[HuskerDU]

26. As a Bears fan, I loathe the Vikings.

However, guys like Tarkenton and Allan Page are good citizens and role models from every scrap of evidence I have ever known. (Page was a Bear too) To say otherwise without evidence is kinda slimey.

[no name no slogan]

30. Alan Page is now a MN Supreme Court Justice

talk about an upstanding citizen!

I could never see any of the current crop of ViQueens doing much of anything that prestigious.

[UrbScotty]

27. Time to root for the NFC North leaders!

Go Lions!

[WeRQ4U]

28. I agree.

I loved what one season ticket holder said when interviewed:

"My wife and I talked about it, and it's over," Burniece said. "Back in 1985, tickets were $18. Now it's $98. I can deal with that as long as I'm being entertained and I feel the guys are trying and I think they care. I don't think they do. They get their clock cleaned in three of four games and this is what they did on their off-week? If they don't care, I don't care."

Couldn't have said it better myself. The wheels are REALLY coming off the team now..........maybe that's why they took the boat. Badump, bump.

WHole article here http://www.startribune.com/stories/510/5665213.html

[sasquatch]

31. I thought that was a Matcom led DU gathering at first

:D

[mattomjoe]

33. in the paraphrased words of the Joker:

This team needs an enema!