By Mike Kaszuba
Bowing to the bitter cold, a fan group that has held two rallys on the steps of the State Capitol for a new Minnesota Vikings stadium is this time holding an "e-rally" to build support.
Starting today and running through Monday, the organizers behind SavetheVikes.org are asking fans to register online so that they can send electronic letters to state legislators urging them to make a new Vikings stadium possible during the 2010 legislative session.
The rally comes three days after the managing partner for the California-based company that wants to build a new stadium and lure a National Football League team to the Los Angeles area said the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills -- and not the Vikings -- would be the first choices. John Semcken of Majesty Realty Co. said that as long as teams like the Vikings, San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers were pursuing new stadium deals they would not be the company's top targets.
So does that news have Cory Merrifield, the found of SavetheVikes, sleeping better at night? "It's like an exhale. It's a brief relief," Merrifield said of the latest news out of California. "[But] if anything, it just shows all the more reason that we need to pursue this stadium effort."
The longer Vikings owner Zygi Wilf goes without a new stadium, said Merrifield, the more "he would get frustrated and sell the team."
