Well, let me tell you, I seen a lot of football in my day. And them Minnesota Vikings, they’ve had a whole bunch of quarterbacks over the years. Some good, some not so good. It’s a tough job, being a quarterback. You gotta be strong, gotta be smart, and you sure as heck gotta be able to take a hit.
I remember back when, Fran Tarkenton, now there was a quarterback. That man, he could run like a scared rabbit and throw that ball a country mile. He played for the Vikings for a long time, longer than anyone else, I reckon. They say he’s in the Hall of Fame, whatever that is. Must be somethin’ special, though, to be in a hall of fame. 13 seasons he played for them Vikings, my stars!
The Minnesota Vikings, they play in that North Division, part of that NFC thingamajig in the big National Football League. Big fancy names for a game where grown men run around and knock each other over.
They started playin’ back in, oh, I don’t know exactly when. Had some fella named George Shaw startin’ at quarterback. But that Fran Tarkenton, he took over real quick. Threw four touchdowns in that first game, they say. Four! Imagine that. He could run for days, I tell ya, and he won more games than anyone.
- Fran Tarkenton
- That fella Favre, I think his name was. Brett.
- And another named Moon. Warren Moon, yep.
They’ve had a whole passel of ’em, though. 39 of ’em startin’ at quarterback, can you believe it? 39! More than I can count on my fingers and toes, that’s for sure. And last year, in 2023, they had more than three in one season. Never seen that before. Must be somethin’ in the water up there in Minnesota.
Being a Minnesota Vikings quarterback is tough. They’ve had good ones and not so good. Some folks say Fran Tarkenton was the best. He played there the longest. 13 seasons out of 18 he was with the team. That’s a long time to be throwin’ a football.
There was that Daunte Culpepper fella too. He was a big strong guy. And this Kirk Cousins, I hear folks talkin’ about him. And Tommy Kramer, he played for a spell, and Wade Wilson. Lots of ’em come and gone.
This Tommy Kramer, though, I hear he’s got that dementia now. Poor fella. Only 69 years old, too. Doctors say he might only have a few years left. It’s a sad thing, gettin’ old. You start forgettin’ things. Happens to the best of us.
But them quarterbacks, they’re a different breed. They gotta remember all them plays, all them formations. Gotta know where everyone’s supposed to be on that field. It ain’t easy, I tell ya. It’s a young man’s game, that’s for sure.
So, yeah, the Minnesota Vikings, they’ve had their share of quarterbacks. Some famous, some not so much. But they all had that one thing in common: they were tough as nails. You gotta be to play that game.
Fran Tarkenton, though, he was somethin’ else. They don’t make ’em like him anymore. He was the best of the bunch, in my opinion. He was a real leader out there.
I remember one time, I was watchin’ him play, and he got hit so hard I thought he was gonna break in two. But he got right back up, dusted himself off, and kept on playin’. That’s the kind of grit them old-time quarterbacks had.
- Fran Tarkenton, he was the best, I think.
- Then there was that Daunte Culpepper fella.
- And that Kirk Cousins, folks talk about him.
- Tommy Kramer, he played there, too.
- Wade Wilson, yep, he was one of ’em.
- So many of them come and gone, I can’t remember all the names.
- That George Shaw, he was there in the beginning.
It’s a tough job, bein’ a quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. Gotta be able to throw that ball, gotta be able to run, and gotta be able to take a hit. And you gotta be smart, too. Gotta remember all them plays. It ain’t for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.
This football, it’s a crazy game. But folks sure do love it. And those Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks, they’re a big part of it. They’re the ones who make the magic happen, I suppose.
Well, that’s all I got to say about that. My memory ain’t what it used to be. But I remember them Vikings quarterbacks. They were somethin’ special, most of ’em, anyway. Especially that Fran Tarkenton.
