Fifty years is a long time so it’s no wonder that when I recount the story of attending the first Minnesota Vikings regular season game, younger colleagues look at me as if I had traveled to Met Stadium by covered wagon.

It was Sept. 17, 1961. The upstart Vikings shocked the NFL by defeating George Halas’ Chicago Bears 37-13, thanks to the heroics of a then-second string, rookie quarterback, Fran Tarkenton.

One good thing has already happened this new year — the Minnesota Vikings have stopped embarrassing themselves.

At least on the field.

Many things need to be fixed before the start of the next season, whenever that may be.
The first thing is changing Leslie Frazier’s title from interim head coach to head coach. That happened Monday so a pat on the back to the Wilf franchise for getting one thing right so far.