vikings/nfl
Rand: Fierce rivalries great for fans, but not when they turn violent
- Updated: December 3, 2012 - 11:24 PM
We love rivalries. We love good-natured trash-talking between educated fan bases -- groups that know that, at the end of the day, they really aren't that different.
- 5
- comments
resize text 
- buy reprints
We love rivalries. We love good-natured trash-talking between educated fan bases -- groups that know that, at the end of the day, they really aren't that different. They just grew up in slightly different parts of a huge world, cheer for teams that wear different-colored laundry and therefore must taunt each other mercilessly with facts, half-truths and even tipsy monosyllabic shouts.
This is all part of what makes sports fun. We understand it and we participate in it. To reiterate: we love it.
What we could never grasp, however, are the stories like the one out of Green Bay on Sunday, where fans take good-natured rivalries and turn them into something worse. There were reportedly several incidents in bars near Lambeau Field surrounding the Vikings/Packers game -- more fights between fans, apparently, than usual. The one that received the most media attention was reported by the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
That one reportedly involved 20 or 30 people in the parking lot at the Sideline Sports Bar, and while officers didn't say whether it involved the 23-14 Packers victory, it's not much of a logical leap considering the timing of the incident (3:36 p.m. Sunday), the fact that a Minnesota resident and Wisconsin resident were reportedly involved and the proximity of the bar to Lambeau Field. There was also this line from the story: "Police radio broadcasts during the incident said authorities were seeking a man wearing a purple sombrero."
It's an amusing detail, but again we circle back to the original point: It's one thing to embrace a rivalry. It is the lifeblood of sports to root hard for a team and to talk trash -- again, good-naturedly -- with rival fans. If you are a Vikings fan, you had better have thick skin and a witty comeback to any comment about Super Bowls.
But to let anything rooted in a sports rivalry escalate into real violence? Sorry, but even if we "get" how it happens, we'll never understand it.
MICHAEL RAND
- 5
- comments
- resize text
- buy reprints
explore the Vikings/NFL
ADVERTISEMENT
| Baltimore - WP: F. Garcia | 6 | FINAL |
| Toronto - LP: R. Dickey | 5 |
| Cleveland - LP: V. Pestano | 4 | FINAL |
| Boston - WP: J. Tazawa | 7 |
| LA Angels - WP: B. Buckner | 7 | FINAL |
| Kansas City - LP: J. Guthrie | 0 |
| Colorado - LP: R. Betancourt | 5 | FINAL |
| San Francisco - WP: S. Romo | 6 |
| Minnesota - WP: P. Walters | 3 | FINAL |
| Detroit - LP: D. Fister | 2 |
| Chicago Cubs - LP: T. Wood | 2 | FINAL |
| Cincinnati - WP: H. Bailey | 5 |
| Pittsburgh - WP: J. Locke | 5 | FINAL |
| Milwaukee - LP: M. Fiers | 2 |
| NY Yankees - WP: I. Nova | 4 | FINAL |
| Tampa Bay - LP: J. Lueke | 3 |
| Atlanta - WP: A. Varvaro | 7 | FINAL |
| NY Mets - LP: B. Lyon | 5 |
| Philadelphia - WP: C. Durbin | 5 | FINAL |
| Washington - LP: D. Storen | 3 |
| St. Louis - LP: S. Maness | 3 | FINAL |
| Los Angeles - WP: P. Rodriguez | 5 |
| Miami - LP: R. Webb | 1 | FINAL |
| Chicago WSox - WP: J. Peavy | 2 |
| Oakland - WP: A. Griffin | 11 | FINAL |
| Houston - LP: L. Harrell | 5 |
| Atlanta - WP: M. Minor | 6 | FINAL |
| NY Mets - LP: D. Gee | 0 |
| San Diego - WP: A. Cashner | 10 | FINAL |
| Arizona - LP: W. Miley | 4 |
| Texas - WP: D. Holland | 5 | FINAL |
| Seattle - LP: F. Hernandez | 2 |
| San Antonio | 104 | FINAL |
| Memphis | 93 |
| Philadelphia | 3 | FINAL |
| Montreal | 5 |
| Portland | 2 | FINAL |
| D.C. | 0 |
| Toronto FC | 0 | FINAL |
| New England | 2 |
| San Jose | 0 | FINAL |
| FC Dallas | 1 |
| Chicago | 1 | FINAL |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 |
| Chivas USA | 0 | FINAL |
| Colorado | 2 |
| New York | 69 | FINAL |
| Connecticut | 81 |
| Tulsa | 81 | FINAL |
| Atlanta | 98 |
- Scoggins: E.J. Henderson at peace with post-football life
- Anderson: Fire singes Bud Grant's dream
- Adrian Peterson delivers ear-catching remark on gay marriage
- Vikings' Allen confident going into a contract year
- New Vikings stadium unveiled
- With contract issues on hold, Jared Allen aiming to have big 2013
- Souhan: Urlacher knew only one way: the Bears way
- Scoggins: Turns out, $1 billion will buy quite a bit
| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| 2013 preseason | ||||
| Aug 9 - vs. Houston | 7 pm | |||
| Aug 16 - at Buffalo | 6 pm | |||
| Aug 25 - at San Francisco | 7 pm | |||
| Aug 29 - vs. Tennessee | 7 pm | |||
| 2013 regular season | ||||
| Sep 8 - at Detroit | Noon | |||
| Sep 15 - at Chicago | Noon | |||
| Sep 22 - vs. Cleveland | Noon | |||
| Sep 29 - vs. Pittsburgh (in London) | Noon | |||
| Oct 6 - Bye | ||||
| Oct 13 - vs. Carolina | Noon | |||
| Oct 21 - at. NY Giants | 7:40 pm | |||
| Oct 27 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 pm | |||
| Nov 3 - at Dallas | Noon | |||
| Nov 7 - vs. Washington | 7:25 pm | |||
| Nov 17 - at Seattle | 3:25 pm | |||
| Nov. 24 - at Green Bay | Noon | |||
| Dec 1 - vs. Chicago | Noon | |||
| Dec 8 - at Baltimore | Noon | |||
| Dec 15 - vs. Philadelphia | Noon | |||
| Dec 22 - at Cincinnati | Noon | |||
| Dec 29 - vs. Detroit | Noon |
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters