There was no skepticism from here over the Vikings' hire of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to run the football operation, not until he said that his goal was to lead the team in a "joyful pursuit of excellence."
That was in a media session in late March, in advance of the NFL's annual start of free agency.
This is football. It is the least joyful activity in mainstream team sports. It is legalized brutality, the level of which increases as these incredibly gutsy athletes progress, until the best of them are pounding one another in the NFL.
The one thing the NFL union, the worst in major professional sports, has accomplished in recent negotiations is to reduce the amount of time that coaches can have for hitting in practice.
Forty years ago, I recall being at training camp in Mankato, and Charlie Johnson — a veteran, much-honored defensive tackle — had gone through his first few practices with the Vikings and coach Bud Grant.
Johnson had starred for Philadelphia, a team that went to the Super Bowl after the 1980 season, and got there with Eagles coach Dick Vermeil as a believer in very physical practices — sometimes twice a day in training camp.
Charlie said being in Vikings camp was heaven for a veteran player, because of Grant's belief in limiting contact and trying to avoid getting his players beat up in practice.
Bud's theory on that gained popularity with coaches through the decades, although it was up to the union finally to negotiate strict limits on the number of practices and when contact can take place.
