Welcome to the NFL Zygi

Imagine being a prospective owner for an NFL franchise such as Zygi Wilf. Like most people, Wilf sees an NFL franchise as a way to make major coin and a start to a public profile that other business owners don’t receive.

He sees that the Minnesota Vikings are up for sale, a team that is coming off a divisional playoff birth and are expected to be a sleeper pick for the NFC title in 2005. That’s a good first reason to think about buying, but can the team make money? He then realizes that the city of Minnesota eats, sleeps and breathes football, especially the Vikings. So, not only does he have a projected winning team, but he also has a team that people will be willing to see. So, purchasing the team should be seamless, right? Not exactly.

Well, the transition doesn’t become easier when you trade away the best player on the team and also the biggest crowd pleaser on the team in Randy Moss. Say what you will about his run-ins with officials, media and even team-mates, Moss gave the Vikings an immediate threat to score a spectacular touchdown at any point in the game and he made every else on the football field that much better. His contribution allowed Daunte Culpepper to have huge QB numbers. His contribution allowed for running backs to have open lanes to run through. His contribution led to many other positives that can’t be easily replaced.

The second problem is that the running game going into the 2005 season was in shambles and was already an embarrassment. Onterrio Smith was supposed to be the incumbent for the running back position. Instead, he was caught at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with urine and a product that he later became nicknamed for called, “The Original Whizzinator”, a product designed to beat drug tests. That led to a season-long suspension.

The problems continued after the season started. The team that was supposed to be a sleeper pick actually looked asleep as they started the season at 1-3. Calls for Coach Mike Tice to be fired were heard from all across the football world. The team was in total disarray.

So, what better than to have a little party…

Let’s a have quick quiz: 1) Does it look good for the Vikings’ franchise to have their players throwing a boat party with 30 strippers? 2) Does it look good for the Vikings’ franchise to have players involved in threesomes on the boat’s dance floor?