Is The 2009 Season Being Set Up For Favre & The Vikings?

Historically, the Minnesota Vikings are losers.  The franchise has never won a championship.  They are tied with the most loses in Super Bowl history.  They are not, nor have ever been considered one of the NFL's premiere franchises.

Six weeks into the 2009 season, the Vikings appear unstoppable.  Led by the ageless Brett Favre, the Vikings along with another consistently hapless NFL team, the New Orleans Saints, seem to be at the very least playoff bound.

How far they ultimately go remains to be seen.

But is there more to the Vikings success than just good play on the field?  Could the NFL not just want, but need the Vikings to win?

Coming into the season, the Vikings franchise was actually on shaky ground.  Symptomatic of this fact was the team's lack of a stadium deal post-2010.  The city of Minneapolis shelled out over half a billion dollars for a new outdoor baseball stadium for the Twins.  That came on the heels of a brand new football stadium for the University of Minnesota.

Where does that situation leave the Vikings?  Trapped in the poorly aging HHH Metrodome.  A stadium they desperately want to abandon but cannot leave without the city's financial help.  In this economic climate, however, the city of Minneapolis cannot afford to push another massive stadium bill upon taxpayers.

The threat exists for the Vikings to leave Minneapolis for greener pastures.  The NFL would hate to see a 50-year-old franchise leave its home—not because its cares about its fans (see Houston with the Oilers and Cleveland with the Browns as recent examples)—but because of the bad publicity such a departure induces.

But would the city abandon a winning team?  A Super Bowl team?

The Vikings were a playoff team last year.  They possessed the one of the NFL's latest poster-boys in Adrian Peterson.  Peterson is undoubtedly the best running back in the league.  He's also being pushed as the "next big thing" and used throughout the league in any and all NFL-related promotions available.

But they still fell short in the win column in 2008.  On top of that, two of the Vikings best defensemen—linemen Pat and Kevin Williams—tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and were handed the mandatory four game suspension for these violations.

The Williams boys sued the league, and managed to get their suspensions lifted (although this case is still not 100 percent closed).  For some, questions still surround these two players who anchor the Vikings defense.

On offense, the Vikings seemed to be lacking a solid choice at quarterback heading in the 2009 season.  Many pundits felt that the gaping hole at this position would keep the Vikings from improving from their 2008 season.

So, too, did fans.  Ticket sales were lacking, leading to further questions about the Vikings status in Minnesota.  What would help boost sales?

Hello, Brett Favre.

The Vikings and their fans pinned their hopes on the seemingly ageless quarterback.  Favre, however, had "retired."  The Jets cut him from their roster, giving him the freedom to join the Vikings which was a scenario many assumed was a lock.

But Favre initially rejected joining the Vikings.  He claimed retirement finally suited him.  Surprise.  A two-year, $25 million contract later, and Favre was on the plane to Minneapolis.

Was it possible that Favre, having suffered through the second half of the 2008 season with an undisclosed throwing arm injury, had really had enough?  Could he have meant it this time when he said he was done?

If so, perhaps the league sweetened the deal to bring Favre to the Twin Cities.  Perhaps the league loved the national attention Favre was generating and hated to see him leave with gas still in his tank. 

Perhaps the league guaranteed him and the Vikings success.

To me, the NFL is unscrupulous in its business practices, willing to do anything including fixing games to insure high ratings.  Favre's return to the league instantly boosted season ticket sales in MN.  That initial joy increased ten-fold with the success "his" Vikings are currently enjoying.  The numbers the team are bringing in both in the Metrodome and on TV are huge.

As the team continues to win, the city of Minneapolis becomes more and more energized behind "their" team.  If that joyous feeling reaches a fever pitch, perhaps brought on by a Super Bowl appearance, would the citizens forget the costs involved in constructing yet another massive stadium within the city limits for their championships Vikings?

Is this finally the Vikings time?  Or is the league letting the Vikings win for motives that suit not just the franchise, but the entire league's business operations?