So we know how some of you love the "inside journalism" stories (and presumably some of you don't). Here is one of them, used as a prelude to a couple of talking points: On Thursday, a planned Q&A fell through. That left us scrambling for a subject at the start of the day Friday. We consulted with the Vikings writers over here, wondering if there might be a player being honored as part of the 50 Greatest Vikings who might be available. The two names that came back at us were Daunte Culpepper and Tommy Kramer.
We contacted Sacramento of the UFL and had an e-mail address for Daunte by about noon. We already had a phone number for Tommy. At that point, we drafted an e-mail to Daunte that included a list of questions. Then we waited. And did other work. And waited some more. Our cut-off time was 5 p.m. At that point, we still hadn't heard from Culpepper (not that we should have expected to, but we couldn't wait forever), so we called Kramer. After a couple of rings, he picked up. Fantastic. He was already in Minnesota. Sure, he'd be happy to do the interview. And we were on our merry way.
But in the midst of the conversation, he became a little hesitant to have it put out there Sunday that he was part of the 50 greatest Vikings celebration because the list wasn't supposed to become public until later Sunday. We started wondering how we were going to shape an interview that was based on that honor without specifically mentioning that honor. But literally in the midst of the Kramer interview, Culpepper e-mailed back to say he'd be happy to answer the questions, saying he was thankful for the opportunity and that he would get them back to us via e-mail ASAP.
Troubles? Over. In fact, now we had an embarrassment of Q&A riches -- which is so often how it happens in life. All or nothing. So we ran Daunte on Sunday (he had already made it public that he was on the 50 greatest team) and Kramer on Monday.
As a start-of-the-day talker, before the snow hits and the outdoor fun begins, we offer up what we consider the most interesting parts of both Q&As:
Culpepper:
Q The Vikings seem to be back to Square 1 when it comes to quarterbacks -- and they haven't had a long-term plan at that position really since you left. Do you ever reflect back now on the way it ended for you in Minnesota?
A I never wanted to leave Minnesota. Coach [Brad] Childress really jumped the gun in my opinion in terms of evaluating my ability to be his quarterback. For the last two offseasons I have tried to get him to consider giving me an opportunity to prove that I could help the team, but he had other plans. I respect his decision, but I do disagree with how things ended.
