The Vikings players, who rented a chartered boat and planned a night of partying and sex, returned this afternoon from Chicago where they and laid down to the Bears 28-3.
Laying down with other highly-paid professionals has been a source of distraction for the Vikings in the last couple of weeks, and will continue to be so.
The boys in purple fly back to Minnesota to find themselves adrift in the murky waters of legal wrangling and public ridicule. Will they confess their transgressions publicly, or will
they feel a case of amnesia coming on when law enforcement officials ask for details, names and pictures
Unacceptable behavior by one person is, well, unacceptable. Unacceptable behavior by a gang of professional athletes creates the perfect setting for melodramatic theatre where the
villains receive no sympathy or mercy.
Minneapolis-based writer and creative professional Gary Pettis puts his spin on this melodrama that is about to become a statewide and national sports obsession. Pettis offers commentary
on the failure of players to step forward and put this scandal to rest by telling all quickly and offering an apology.
He comments about the mystical place that the scandal-stained players create for themselves where there are no consequences or judgments when they live above the law and basic codes of
public conduct. False assumptions about what is "cool" and what is not often bring penalties that are greater than 10 yards.
He also feels like booing, as he writes, "Booing is the perfect release for people who wish for fair play and common sense in this world yet see pervasive evidence of the complete
opposite. If only a brave but scandal-stained Viking stepped forward to play a scowling Snidely Whiplash, giving voice to the scoundrel deeds and to the nonsensical reasons."
In the end, new owner Zygi Wilf now has the task of salvaging the Vikings brand and his team's reputation.
To read this commentary, visit http://www.pettiscreative.com/pages/comm_vikings.html