SB Nation Minnesota: All Posts by Eric Thompson

Vikings Defenders Prove The Harlem Shake Isn't Dead Yet

2013-05-22T20:01:42Z

It's the middle of May. If you haven't noticed, actual NFL news around these parts has been awfully slow since the post-draft hype settled down. Brian Urlacher officially isn't going to be a Viking, but we already knew that. We're still months away from training camp, the preseason, or any other football of real significance. It's tough to keep busy as an NFL fan this time of year.

So what do NFL players do to keep themselves entertained during the doldrums of the NFL schedule? Well, apparently if you're a defensive player for the Minnesota Vikings, you inexplicably resurrect an internet meme that has been played out for months.

And you do it in a sauna.

Vikings safety Jamarca Sanford tweeted this out Wednesday afternoon:

@mistral_raymond @harrismith22 @b_felder31 @boogieman90 @asendejo HARLEM SHAKE IN THE SAUNA #skolvikings yfrog.com/nr92iwlmwgfrrt…
— TreyTrey (@sanford33) May 22, 2013

Naturally, I was intrigued. The Harlem Shake? You mean the annoying internet meme that reached overnight popularity this past February only to fizzle out just as quickly as it came? Surely Mr. Sanford couldn't possibly be referring to that! So I clicked the link just to make sure that he had made some sort of mistake.

Nope. It wasn't a mistake. They were actually doing the Harlem Shake. In the sauna.

If you dare to click the link, Sanford's Twitter tags appear to be correct. Joining him in the sauna video were fellow defenders Mistral Raymond, Harrison Smith, Bobby Felder, Fred Evans, and Andrew Sendejo.

Hey, don't blame me for posting about this. Blame the ridiculously slow news cycle...and of course the guys who actually made the video.

Vikings Release Chris Kluwe

2013-05-06T16:31:02Z

It's not like we didn't see it coming, but it still feels weird to say goodbye.

We speculated on Saturday that Chris Kluwe's days with the Minnesota Vikings were numbered. It turns out that number was two; Kluwe was officially released by the team on Monday. Kluwe cordially confirmed his departure by a series of tweets because of course that's how Chris Kluwe would confirm his departure.

So long, Minnesota, and thanks for all the fish!
— Chris Kluwe (@ChrisWarcraft) May 6, 2013

Thank you to all the fans, my teammates, and the Wilf family for the past 8.5 years. I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
— Chris Kluwe (@ChrisWarcraft) May 6, 2013

And thank you everyone for your support. Remember, one label does not define who you are as a person :)
— Chris Kluwe (@ChrisWarcraft) May 6, 2013

The Vikings basically sealed Kluwe's fate when they drafted Jeff Locke in the 5th round just over a week ago. We have seen this story before--in 2012 the Vikings drafted Blair Walsh and quickly released popular kicker Ryan Longwell well before Training Camp. While Kluwe holds sentimental value for many Vikings fans, the team's decision to let Kluwe go right away is admirable. Kluwe now has maximum time to catch on with another squad before the 2013 season begins.

As Fearless Leader alluded to in his post on Saturday, this was a business decision by the Vikings. Kluwe's very outspoken and often controversial views on off-the-field issues shouldn't have factored into this decision. In my opinion they didn't. Kluwe was due about $1.5 million this season, which was a pretty steep price for a punter that has been middling in most statistical categories for the past few seasons.

If Jeff Locke performs anything like Blair Walsh did in his rookie campaign, the Vikings will once again be applauded for a shrewd special teams move. But I think we all know that there's no way Locke will be anywhere near as entertaining as Kluwe was throughout his tenure with the Vikings. (Unless of course Locke plays guitar in a rock band, is an avid gamer, becomes a figurehead for important social causes, completely masters Twitter, and comes up with incredibly creative uses of swear words in Deadspin posts. Maybe it's a UCLA punter thing? Nahhh.)

We at Daily Norseman wish nothing but the best for Chris Kluwe in the future. His one-of-a-kind personality will truly be missed in Minnesota. As he mentioned in his tweet, one label could not possibly define him. Kluwe's unique take on life as a professional athlete is truly refreshing.

I usually un-follow Vikings players on Twitter after they have left the team. But with Kluwe, you better believe that I'm making an exception.

A New Little Vikings Fan

2013-05-05T23:22:05Z

I covered the entire 2012 NFL Draft directly from Vikings headquarters at Winter Park. It was an amazing experience. Ted and I infiltrated the Sid Hartman Media Room and rubbed elbows (figuratively and literally...there wasn't much space in there) with the regular Vikings beat writers and covered all three days like bona fide media members. We had unprecedented access to press conferences for coaches and draft picks alike. Last but not least, we got all sorts of free food.

After the weekend wrapped up, I told Ted how excited I was to cover the whole thing again next year. Nothing would get in the way of me returning to Winter Park in 2013.

I didn't return to cover the draft from Winter Park in 2013. Something got in the way.

But in my defense, it was a pretty big something.

I had to bow out and let Arif cover solo on behalf of Daily Norseman this year because my wife was due with our first child on April 25. Due date and Draft Date on the same day? Not ideal. (Obviously I need to plan better next time around.) But our daughter arrived right on her due date at 1:54 PM. What did we name her?

Gemma Adrian Thompson.

Yes, her middle name was inspired by a certain member of the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, Gemma's mom is awesome for letting me choose that for her middle name. Yes, I got to watch the entire first round of the 2013 NFL Draft with my newborn baby girl in my arms. I was blessed enough to welcome the newest members of the Vikings--Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, and Cordarrelle Patterson--mere hours after I welcomed the newest member of my family.

Daddy Daughter Draft Day!

After last year, I thought nothing could top my NFL draft experience.

Boy was I wrong.

Former Vikings QB Brad Johnson Feeling Effects Of NFL Career

2013-04-24T16:04:56Z

Being a writer for Daily Norseman definitely has its perks. I get to share my opinions about my favorite team for a sizable audience of like-minded fans. I have been fortunate enough to cover drafts directly from Winter Park and training camps directly from the sidelines in Mankato. But I think my favorite part of my time with DN has been the opportunities I've had to interview current and former Vikings players. It's still a little surreal when a run-of-the-mill fan with a ho-hum day job like me gets to put a microphone in front of these guys and talk football. If I was able to go back and tell nine-year-old Me that 31-year-old Me would get to do this, he'd be totally psyched. (He'd also think that "The Internet" was probably some fancy Nintendo game from the future that you could update using Game Genie.)

One of the most memorable interviews I have done for this site was with former Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson in August 2011. Johnson was candid, cordial, and a lot of fun to talk football with. What stood out most about my discussion with Johnson was the off the record thoughts he shared with me after the interview. If I could share his Brad Childress stories with you, I would in a heartbeat--they were outstanding.

During my interview with Johnson we discussed concussions (he was there promoting the PACE, or Protecting Athletes through Concussion Education, at the time) and how his body was holding up post-NFL. He explained that his body had taken quite a beating during his career but he was OK with how everything turned out:

I've put in my time. Seventeen years, that's a long time. You wish you could still play, but physically, you just can't play. My knees are shot. I mean, my knees are shot. So I got nothing left as far as that goes. I played as hard as I could, and I don't hold any regrets.

Johnson knew that football had beaten him up pretty good but he seemed to be moving around fine a little less than two years ago. If there was a hint of a limp in his walk, it was very faint. I remember thinking that Johnson seemed to be in pretty good shape for a guy that had played that long in the NFL.

But lately, that doesn't seem to be the case. Robert Klemko of USA Today Sports recently caught up with Johnson and his physical condition seems to be significantly worse these days. Johnson is happy with his life and keeps busy coaching and mentoring football players. His mind is in a great place. However, his body isn't. Here's a telling excerpt from the article:

"I go down one step at a time with two feet. One step. One step. One step," the 44-year-old former NFL quarterback says. "My 73-year-old dad was visiting and I told my son to help him get his suitcases up the steps. He walks slow and he's got a bad knee. He starts walking and my son turns to me and he says, 'Dad, he walks just like you.'

He's only 44. Having your gait compared to your elderly father has to be disconcerting. Klemko goes on to explain Johnson's heavy use of pain killers during his pro career, including the now-controversial drug Toradol:

Johnson's pain could be classified as chronic as early as 2002, when he says he started receiving injections of the painkiller Toradol before games.

Commonly used in operating rooms, Toradol is a non-narcotic approved by the FDA in 1989. The drug is not physically addictive, but it was the subject of a lawsuit filed in 2011 in which a group of players said NFL teams inappropriately administered the drug en masse before games while neglecting to tell players it could mask their ability to self-assess injuries, such as concussions.

Johnson says he needed the drug to numb pain from tendonitis in his throwing elbow and shoulder, as well as three major injuries.

While Johnson doesn't seem to be suffering from any long-term brain injuries (yet), I did find one part of the USA article a little troubling. From Klemko's article:

As more than 2,000 players fight a court battle with the league over head injuries, Johnson says he has never had a concussion, but he describes scenarios that say otherwise.

And here is a direct quote from Johnson during our interview in 2011:

I personally had two concussions. I had one when I was playing basketball at Florida State and one in the pros.

Perhaps Johnson was over-selling the PACE cause when I interviewed him, but I still find it odd that he would backtrack on admitting to concussions. Either way, it's disheartening to see yet another former football player battling with chronic pain at such a relatively young age.

Of course, this is basically what you sign up for when you play in the NFL--Johnson says as much in his USA Today interview. Professional football is a high risk/high reward endeavor. The money, fame, and glory often come with a steep price of pain, complications, and doctor bills. The NFL has made some important strides for former players suffering from neurological and cognitive diseases, but there still isn't much support available to former players with ailments like Johnson's.

Brad Johnson's story is a sobering reminder of what hundreds of young men are eager to sign up for during tomorrow night's NFL draft. All the best to the longtime Vikings great down the road.

New Vikings 2013 Uniforms Leaked

2013-04-23T20:07:37Z

The Vikings weren't supposed to unveil their 2013 uniforms until Thursday. As any regular reader of this site will tell you, we have diligently followed along as the team revealed four weeks worth of uniform "teasers" over at VikingsUniformInsider.com. The last three clues were released this past Thursday; we thought we'd have to wait a full week until we could see the entire uniforms in all of their splendor.

Turns out that the waiting period was two days less than we anticipated.

Paul Lukas, purveyor of Uni Watch and regular contributor to ESPN about all things uniform related, tweeted this photo on Tuesday afternoon:

CONFIRMED Minnesota Vikings uniform leak: twitter.com/UniWatch/statu…

— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) April 23, 2013

If Lukas claims that something uni-related is confirmed, you can pretty much be assured that it's correct. This picture is a close-up of the unveiling that included the new uniforms for the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.

If you go through each facet of the new Vikings uniform, they match up with what we knew was coming based on the "insider" clues they've rolled out over the past month. The shoulder and pant stripes, the gloves, the wordmark on the chest, the cleats...it certainly appears to be legit. Let's take a brief look at the overall update.

Helmet: The new duller matte finish looks great. It doesn't look like they messed with the iconic horn or coloring much if at all. It's a new spin on a classic, which was the theme of the updates all along. I think a grey facemask might look better than the black, but that's nitpicking on my part.

Jersey: Most of the new jersey is exactly how we had pictured it based on the clues. The not-all-the-way-around shoulder striping, the removal of the ugly yellow collar (hooray!), the less busy look, the slightly darker shade of purple--all wins in my book. I'll admit that I'm not thrilled about the number font (cleverly called "Horn Serif" by Twitter user Josh Olson). Nike seems to think that every team needs their own numbering. But it still looks fine and doesn't take away from the overall aesthetics of the jersey.

Pants: I'm guessing that this will be the most divisive new aspect of the uniforms. Not for the design--the simple, non-truncated side striping will appeal to most fans--but the coloring. Specifically, the purple pants. Personally, I think the white pants look better with both the white and purple jerseys. But with much less gold in the uniforms, I'd still be OK if the Vikings rock the purple pants with their white road unis as shown in the picture. As long as they NEVER, EVER, EVER do the all-purple look, I don't think the Vikings can go wrong with the other combinations.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the new uniforms. They're a lot like what I had in mind after closely following the hints for the past month. The "Modern Throwbacks" look pretty darn sharp if you ask me. I'm sure we'll get a much more detailed look with lots more angles when the official unveiling happens in two days at the official Vikings Draft Party. But for now, what are your initial reactions? Let us know in the comments.

Your 2013 Minnesota Vikings Schedule

2013-04-19T00:09:11Z

The National Football League, after a couple of days of delay, has released their 2013 schedule. Here is how the schedule looks for your Minnesota Vikings. All kickoff times are in Central time.

Week	Date	Opponent	Kickoff	Network
1	8 Sep	@ Detroit Lions	12:00 PM	FOX
2	15 Sep	@ Chicago Bears	12:00 PM	FOX
3	22 Sep	Cleveland Browns	12:00 PM	CBS
4	29 Sep	Pittsburgh Steelers (in London, England)	12:00 PM	CBS
5	BYE	WEEK	BYE	WEEK
6	13 Oct	Carolina Panthers	12:00 PM	FOX
7	21 Oct	@ New York Giants	7:40 PM	ESPN
8	27 Oct	Green Bay Packers	7:30 PM	NBC
9	3 Nov	@ Dallas Cowboys	12:00 PM	FOX
10	7 Nov	Washington Redskins	7:25 PM	NFLN
11	17 Nov	@ Seattle Seahawks	3:25 PM	FOX
12	24 Nov	@ Green Bay Packers	12:00 PM	FOX
13	1 Dec	Chicago Bears	12:00 PM	FOX
14	8 Dec	@ Baltimore Ravens	12:00 PM	FOX
15	15 Dec	Philadelphia Eagles	12:00 PM	FOX
16	22 Dec	@ Cincinnati Bengals	12:00 PM	FOX
17	29 Dec	Detroit Lions	12:00 PM	FOX

We'll have more of an analysis of the Minnesota Vikings' 2013 schedule coming in a little while, but for now feel free to use this area to discuss what you like/don't like about the schedule and that sort of thing.

Some very fast first impressions:

The Vikings play in the Metrodome only once in the first five weeks
They have three primetime games in less than four weeks--one on Monday Night (@ Giants), one on Sunday Night (the very next week vs. Packers), and one on Thursday Night (11 days after that vs. Redskins).

Start planning your road trips and pilgrimages to the Metrodome/England now!

Final Vikings Uniform Clues Revealed

2013-04-18T15:24:09Z

My Great Minnesota Vikings Social Media Binge of 2013 is finally over. The four long weeks of arduous hashtagging and re-tweeting on Twitter, liking and commenting on Instagram, and checking into places I wasn't really at on Four Square is finally complete. But as tedious as whoring myself out on social media for a month was, providing all of the latest Vikings uniform updates to you, the faithful reader, was totally worth it.

The Vikings rolled out the final three uniform teasers on Thursday morning on VikingsUniformInsider.com, capping off their four-week campaign of rolling out an even dozen clues as to what the 2013 uniforms will look like. The picture you see in the headline wasn't part of today's clues, but it was featured on the Vikings.com site so it's definitely legit. For those of us that wanted to see more of a classic look, this numbering couldn't be better. The clean, crisp, simple numbering does away with the gold outline around the numbers that the 2012 uniforms had. The numbers look like they did on the throwback jerseys and in my opinion that's a huge step in the right direction. One interesting thing about the numbers picture is the color of purple; it seems to be a bit lighter than the rest of the uniform shots we've seen over the past few weeks. Of course that might just be lighting or photo effects, but it's worth noting.

Moving on to the other clues the Vikings revealed today, the first one (and tenth overall) doesn't show the uniform at all. It's a quote from Todd Van Horne, the Global Creative Director for Football from Nike:

This quote is more or less just a bunch of marketing buzzwords mashed together, but it does stick with the "simplicity" theme we've seen throughout the other clues. Let's get to the actual uniform pictures.

The second clue is a lot like one of last week's clues--an extreme closeup of some sort of striping:

My guess is that this is probably a closeup of the new shoulder stripes. The stitching seems to be consistent with other Nike designs and the jersey coloring we've already seen in previous clues. In fact, Twitter user Jared (@TheJrad) put his PhotoShop skills to use and combined this new picture with the collar picture from two weeks ago:

That might not be exactly how it fits together, but it looks legit to me. Thanks to Jared for passing that along. I wish the shoulder stripes went all the way around the sleeve like the old 70's jerseys did, but the way jerseys are designed these days makes that pretty much impossible. It's still a clean, simple look, which is an improvement in my book. (Assuming that I'm actually correct and the stripes are indeed part of the shoulder.)

For the final clue, the Vikings saved the best for last. None other than Adrian Peterson shared his thoughts about the new uniforms in a short video.

I love what I'm hearing yet again. According to AP, the simplicity of the design really makes it stand out.

It's not too much, but it's enough...it's plain, it looks sharp and crisp...I love it.

And if Adrian Peterson loves it, who the hell are we to argue with him?

Overall I have to say that I'm pretty damn excited about what the new uniforms should look like. I'm sure not everyone will like every facet of the new unis, but it definitely looks and sounds like the 2013 uniforms are going to be very aesthetically pleasing. I added today's new pictures to the picture that SWFLSkol started last week and made a side-by-side summary of all the confirmed changes:

We're exactly one week away from seeing the real deal at the official Vikings Draft Party. According to Corporate Communications Director Jeff Anderson, the uniforms will be revealed about 45 minutes before the draft starts next Thursday.

Important to note even though #NFLDraft begins at 7:00 p.m. next Thurs., uniform unveiling to take place at 6:15. Doors open at 5.
— Jeff Anderson (@andersonj) April 18, 2013

It's good that the new uniforms are coming soon because Vikings CB Brandon Burton appears that he is in dire need of something to wear. I won't post his tweet here because it's kind of NSFW, but click this link if you want to see way more of Mr. Burton than you bargained for. (When will people learn that mirror pictures like that are NEVER OK to post?! Or even take in the first place?! Sheesh.)

UPDATE: Burton is claiming that he was hacked and took the original tweet down. Still doesn't excuse him from taking the picture to begin with!

If all this uniform news wasn't exciting enough, the full NFL schedule is getting released tonight at 7:00 PM CT. Stay tuned for much more later tonight!

New Vikings Uniform Clues Revealed

2013-04-11T15:59:30Z

We're still exactly two weeks out from the Vikings officially unveiling their new uniforms for the 2013 season at their official draft party, but three new clues were released today on Vikings Uniform Insider. As you probably know by now, the Vikings are releasing exclusive clues to people that earn points via posting and hashtagging on just about every social media network you can think of.

It seems simple enough to do. But let me tell you, it's a lot of work. You have to be at 8,000 points to have all nine clues unlocked. At only 50 points per tweet and 75 points per Instagram like and/or post (maximum of 3 per day), it has been quite an effort to get there. But I'm doing it all so you don't have to! Here are the latest teasers from the Vikings about the new uniforms. (To get caught up, take a look at the post Chris and I collaborated on last week.)

Gloves

The gloves you see in the headline picture are the first clue that the Vikings released today. The logo-on-the-hands look is nothing new when it comes to Nike gloves, but the coloring and pattern are definitely something I haven't seen before. With the black shoes that were posted last week, it's a bit odd to see gloves that are so heavy on the white coloring. Compare the new gloves with the older design:

I personally like the old ones better, especially with so many other aspects of the uniform pointing to go in the darker direction. But gloves are a pretty small part of the overall look so I think it's hard to get too worked up about them either way.

Equipment Manager Dennis Ryan

The next clue was a video of the longtime Vikings equipment manager giving his take on the new uniforms. Everything Ryan has to say about the new unis seems to scream "traditional" and "throwback". As Ryan explains, it sounds like the Vikings have listened to the fans' demands for the old school look. A new take on the old look? I like what I'm hearing.

I apologize again for the sound not completely syncing up with the video. It's the best my recording software could do. (If anyone has any Windows programs they could suggest that easily captures video better than this, I'm all ears. I'm currently using SnagIt. As you can see, it works, just not that well.)

The Mysterious Stripe

The final clue of the week is a little tough to decipher. Here's the small glimpse the Vikings gave us:

As you can see, it doesn't show much. If I had to guess, this is part of the pants stripe. If you look at this breakdown of the Rams uniforms over at SB Nation St. Louis, it matches the pattern of what they have on the pants. If the Vikings are going back to the basic pants stripe, I'm all for it. Their current pants were too busy in my opinion--the tapered stripe that was supposed to resemble a Vikings horn never really looked like a Vikings horn.

That concludes the official updates from the team, but I'd like to pass along two other pictures I received today. The first is a picture of the updated belt line for the uniform:

Nothing too exciting here, but it does correspond with the coloring of the possible pants stripe pictured above. Again, I'm not 100% sure this is accurate, but it seems to mesh with the other updates we've received.

UPDATE 4/11/13 11:24 AM: Turns out the belt picture is definitely legit: It's straight from the Vikings website.

The second picture is a bit more...interesting. This was tweeted to me by someone on Twitter and I have no idea where he got it, so take this with a HUGE grain of salt. But here it is:

Um, yeah. I don't think that design would go over too well with most fans. The glittery horn and...whatever the hell purple pattern that is...are away too fancy for my taste. The Vikings helmet is iconic and has barely changed over the years--hopefully this is NOT what Jared Allen was talking about when he saw the new helmets a couple weeks ago.

That picture does not seem "tougher" in any sense of the word. I feel like I should reiterate this in big bold letters: the helmet picture is just something I received and is probably not what the new Vikings helmets look like. I just wanted to show it to everyone to get their reaction.

That's all for this week--be on the lookout for three new clues next Thursday followed by the actual unveiling during the draft in exactly two weeks. Follow me on Twitter for all the updates as soon as I get them. Let us know what you think about the new teasers in the comments.