ESPN says Packers won NFC North last year; Vikings' response is priceless

Sometimes you post something on social media before you really give it a second thought (or a first fact-check).

May 17, 2016 at 5:39PM
Vikings defensive end Brian Robison
Brian Robison saw his ninth NFL regular season end with a victory over the Packers that earned the Vikings the NFC North title. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Sometimes you post something on social media before you really give it a second thought (or a first fact-check).

We've all been there.

So we can relate to whoever is running ESPN's Facebook account. In teasing to a Bill Barnwell offseason report card story (Vikings get an A-minus, by the way), ESPN asserted that, "The Green Bay Packers are defending NFC North champs. The Minnesota Vikings' offseason could change that." As of the publication of this post, it was still live.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Whoops. The Vikings, as many of you around here probably know, won the NFC North by virtue of beating Green Bay in the regular-season finale at Lambeau Field.

Vikings fans on Facebook were all over ESPN, tossing around words like "idiots" and "disrespectful."

The miscue was more tactfully and helpfully pointed out by Adam Carlson, who tweeted about it and brought it to the attention of the Vikings. Rather than just letting it slide by, whoever runs the Vikings' Twitter feed put some thought into it and came up with just the right reply: a photo of the 2015 NFC North banner with the words, "Guess we should probably return this then, right @ESPN?"

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about the writer

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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