Why Vikings Fans Want a QB So Badly

After reading several comments telling Minnesota fans to stop writing about Jay Cutler, I thought I would take a minute to explain why we are giving it so much attention.

In 1961, the Minnesota Vikings entered the league as an expansion team. They were blessed to have the great Fran Tarkenton behind center from 1961-66 and then again in 1972-78.

Since that time, the team has struggled to replace him by either bringing in young undeveloped quarterbacks or ones well past their prime.

The Vikings had high hopes for Rich Gannon from 1990-92, but it wasn't until later in his career when he excelled. In 2001 and 2002, he earned consecutive MVP awards with the Oakland Raiders.

In 1993, the Vikings brought in Jim McMahon to see if he could do a re-make of the Super Bowl shuffle. He proved to be too far past his prime.

Following that experiment, the team brought in a slue of washed up quarterbacks including Warren Moon, Brad Johnson, Randall Cunningham and Jeff George. The most successful was Cunningham, who stepped in for the then-injured Johnson and took the team to an impressive 15-1 record. Sounds good, right?

They lost in the first round of the playoffs and Cunningham proved to be a one-hit wonder for the Vikings.

Then in the 1999 draft with the 11th overall pick, the Vikings picked Daunte Culpepper. He became the starter in his second season and immediately proved his worth. 

He seemed to be everything that the Vikings wanted and needed, but he went down in 2005 with a devastating injury to his knee. The Vikings released him the next season. I heard that he is now playing in Michigan for a minor league team called the Lions.

The Vikings went back to Johnson in 2006 and drafted Tavaris Jackson in 2007. Brad Childress took his time nurturing Jackson into becoming an NFL quarterback. At times he has looked good, but generally has shown a lack of consistency necessary for the position.

The Vikings were picked to be a serious contender in 2008 and fans screamed for a quarterback. What they got was 99 year old Gus Frerotte and the promise that Jackson had matured.

Here we are in 2009 and again, fans are begging and pleading for a quarterback. Childress responds by signing the most expensive backup in the league, Sage Rosenfels. Great—now we have two backups competing for a starting spot.

It has been a wild ride of lows and lows when it comes to the Minnesota Vikings' quarterbacks. Maybe Rosenfels is the answer, but if history repeats itself, we are pretty much screwed.

So next time you see Vikings fans getting excited about the slightest possibility of getting a quarterback, just remember what we have been through. In fact, we are even accepting donations at this time.