We all knew that the old-timer would improve the team. There was no doubt about that, but the Purple look a lot better than I thought they would at this point in the season. Number 4 has impressed as well throwing only two interceptions, neither of which were his fault.

Only time will tell if he and the team will be able to keep it up, or falter near the end of the season like in previous years.

You first have to understand that I bleed purple. That is, I’m a die hard Vikings fan. I have been since I was a little boy watching the Purple People Eaters sitting on the couch next to my dad. I’ve stuck with them through the Herschel trade, Les Steckel, Denny Green, Moss and Culpepper, and Red McCombs. At the end of each season, I would inevitably mumble, “there’s always next year.”

But recent events have really got me in a tizzy. As you know, a certain quarterback is talking about coming out of retirement and the only team he wants to play for is the Vikings. Oh, yay. (That was dripping with sarcasm, in case you didn’t catch it.)

There are those who would love for him to play for the Vikings. I’m not one of them. The only reason to bring him here is to win a SuperBowl. I don’t care how good a player is, that one player will not make such a difference in one year to win it all. And, quite honestly, I don’t think he is worth his hype. Yes, he’s a good quarterback, but he’s no God as the media likes to make him out to be. He’s not the best there ever was.

But let’s set that aside for a second. Let’s say he is the best to ever play the game. He’s 40 years old and just came off of shoulder surgery. His franchise team traded him last year. They’re not stupid. There is a reason they let him go. He’s passed his prime.

But let’s set that aside as well. I also don’t want him on my team because of the future reputation of the team. If he wins us our SuperBowl, Vikings critics, especially our neighbors in Cheese-land, will say that we could only win it with him on the team. And if we don’t go all the way, they’ll say we couldn’t do it even *with* him on the team. It’s a no-win situation.

My gripe with the Vikings and professional sports in general is that they are always chasing championships for one year. Teams don’t look to build a team to win multiple championships. They are only interested in one. And because of that, talent is never really given a chance to develop.

Everybody is criticizing Tarvaris Jackson, but I see great potential in him. He has had flashes of greatness, but the coach won’t give him the playing time to let him learn and grow. Instead, T-Jack gets benched in game three of the season and doesn’t get the playing time he needs to learn. Even the greats weren’t great their first few years. Look at the guy the Vikes are chasing. He stunk the first few years.

It seems that no one wants to build a championship team, they want to trade for it.  Dick Vermeil said it would take three years to make the Kansas City Chiefs into contenders when he got there.  And in three years, they were. Nearly making it to the SuperBowl.  I’d much rather see my team build a dynasty like the Patriots that can win 4 SuperBowls in 5 years than one every 15. Building a championship team takes time.  It’s not going to be done in one year.  Or by signing one guy.