Perhaps we should judge owners the same way we judge minor-league baseball players.
Owners, like 21-year-old rookies, stumble into the light unprepared for the speed, the scrutiny, the pressures of big-time sports. They hone their skills in relative anonymity and then one day they arrive in the big time and for perhaps the first time in their lives their flaws become more notable than their accomplishments.
In the year after Zygi Wilf bought the Vikings, he proved to be an awkward public speaker who looked amateurish in his firing of Mike Tice and his hiring of Brad Childress. He came across as the stereotypical new owner -- eager, emotional, ill at ease and desperate for validation.
Since then, though, Wilf has learned his craft and become an almost ideal owner, and tonight he will show off his newest prize when Brett Favre takes the field at the Metrodome.
Wilf rescued the Vikings from Red McCombs' cheapness, refurbishing Winter Park. He placed the organizational emphasis on winning with class, and, while no 53-man football roster is going to be without its problems, the Vikings have become a likeable team that last year went 10-6 and won the NFC North.
Most of all, though, Wilf has proved himself to be one of the most aggressive owners in the history of Twin Cities sports.
The trade for Jared Allen required high draft choices and lots of cash. Wilf ponied up. Even if Allen had failed, the move would have been impressive as a display of aggressiveness. As it is, Allen has become a dynamic and vital player at one of the most important positions in the NFL.
When the organization has recommended the signing of a player to a long-term contract, Wilf has ponied up, most recently signing cornerback Antoine Winfield.
