Vikings fans are on a high this year, but could it be time for the Wilf Family, owners of the Minnesota Vikings, to end it’s occupation of the land of 10,000 lakes on a high note?  Sports fans watching the scoreboard can see that having the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson and future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre adds up to a near perfect record with Head Coach Brad Childress setting his sights on a deep run into the playoffs. 

It’s safe to say that following this season, whether Favre struggles to raise the Lombardi Trophy in February or not, there is a real threat that the Vikings could follow the Lakers to southern California a half a century later. 

Field of Schemes editor Neil DeMause details the belligerent battle between the Wilfs, the Metropolitan Sports Facility Commission, and the state of Minnesota which is firmly in the red. 

Who will pay for a new stadium to appease the Wilfs who don’t plan on investing much of their own cash in such a project currently estimated at upwards of $800 million?  Just as SFC Board member Dave Zirin wrote in his LA Times piece, Arnold Schwarzenegger and real estate developer Ed Roski might have something to say about that. 

Thank goodness for people like Minnesota state representative Mindy Grieling who told the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Thursday that “with this deficit, I think it’s immoral that we’re even talking about it.”

We need more representatives like her.  And we need more supporters of the Sports Fan Coalition like you to help bring these issues to light and give sports fans a place to speak truth to power. 

One last note: If the Vikings stay, be wary of hefty tax increases to pay for a future sports arena to be named later.  Those tax increases will be back the next year and for many years following the day Brett Favre retires, unretires again, and finally retires for good.