Vikings @ Bills

This is my annual intro message to you all. Welcome to another season of football and to the 10^th year of this list.

If you receive this message, you are still on (or have been newly added) to the (in)famous VINeR (Viking Information Network by Rajiv) list that will update you on my annual Vikings frustrations as well as whether my 110-inch screen is open for the upcoming Vikings game of the week. And, to clarify again, that’s pronounced WINNER (not “WHINER”).

Most of you long-timers on this list have seen all this information before.  There are no changes this year. This email list was started primarily to let people know whether I am home watching the game or not so people could drop by if they were so inclined. It has been going for ten years now. It has evolved into a weekly rant from me on how the game went and how I expect it to go the upcoming week. As is completely normal, my expectations for the 2013 season are tempered by the fact that (a) they overachieved beyond all expectations last year, and (b) the NFC North will clearly be the strongest division in football this year and NO team will get through the schedule without multiple losses within the division.

First, the basic annual housekeeping message:  Really, no one is forced to be on this list and you will not be hurting my feelings one bit if you drop me an email asking to be removed from this weekly list. However, historically (and remember that this is the TENTH year that this list has existed), this is not a high-traffic list and you should not get more than one message a week from me.  Please let me know if your changing interests and allegiances have resulted in you wanting to be dropped from this list. If you think there is someone who ought to be on this list, feel free to forward this email on to them and they can contact me to get added to the list.

It would be appreciated if you dropped me an email letting me know you are coming – just so I’m motivated to shower and get out my pajamas before the game – but if you find yourself free one afternoon, feel free to drop by. I am almost always watching the game (unless I tell you otherwise). Often, I watch the game alone. Sometimes one or two people show up, and rarely, there is an unexpectedly large group. So, prepare yourself for any eventuality!

For the usual crowd, the same 110-inch screen should keep you happy. In the event of an unusually large crowd, there is also the small 73-inch screen downstairs. Plus, if you’re not so interested in the game, there’s a ping pong table downstairs and also some PS3 games.

Of course this is a preseason game. The only reason to watch is that this is the only preseason game where the starters will see significant time. The biggest question mark on the team continues to be Christian Ponder. We have more depth and talent at most other positions than we did last year. And NO, I do not expect Adrian to reach 2000 yeards this year (if you were wondering what I think). During the first half, we’ll see if Ponder really has established any sort of rapport with his new receiving corps. I was at last week’s game and I was impressed with the “raw” Cordarelle Peterson and look forward to his kick returns. Otherwise, just come for wine, beer, and company. If you let me know in advance that you’re company, I can make sure there’s food for you and so you don’t have to worry about dinner.

Hope to see you tonight (sorry for the late email) or sometime this season.

Let the fun begin.