Optimist, pessimist, or somewhere in-between?

[J. Kapp 11]

OK guys. Not trying to start a war here. Just a conversation.

Let's do our best to keep this civil. One way to do this would be to talk about how YOU see things, not how you believe others should see things, and definitely not how stupid someone is for seeing things the way he/she does.

Put another way (and this will make the more traditional of us a little nuts) ... there are no wrong answers.

Who are you? When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings, are you an optimist, a pessimist, or something in-between?

[PurpleMustReign]

I'm both. I'm 40 years old, and have been a big mn sports fan since day 1. Shat I've learned in my years (to me) is that mn sports are almost always ok with just "being there". I see all these teams like the Yankees, the Lakers in their heyday, and others, be aggressive when trying to make them a better team. They go out and spend money or draft picks on players that will help them improve. Minnesota has teams like the Twins and Timberwolves, who squander the occasional great player they get (or in the Timberwolves case, a future hall of famer) and just put warm bodies on the team, and never get over the mediocre hump. In the Twins case, they will never give up a prospect to win now because they want a future, which is never guaranteed. The Vikings do it too (randy moss, Adrian Peterson), or firing one coach who actually had some success (Mike Tice) INCLUDING A PLAYOFF WIN IN LAMBEAU, and replacing him with a buffoon (who shall remain nameless).
But what makes my blood boil is when I get called a bad fan, or not a real fan, because of my unwillingness to stand on a rooftop and say rah rah 24/7 for the sports teams. Just let me do me, and I'll let you do you. Yes, I can be pessimistic, but every other time I've gotten excited about any sport team from MN not named the Lynx, they've ripped my heart out and stomped on it right in front of my face.

[J. Kapp 11]

I'm both. I'm 40 years old, and have been a big mn sports fan since day 1. Shat I've learned in my years (to me) is that mn sports are almost always ok with just "being there". I see all these teams like the Yankees, the Lakers in their heyday, and others, be aggressive when trying to make them a better team. They go out and spend money or draft picks on players that will help them improve. Minnesota has teams like the Twins and Timberwolves, who squander the occasional great player they get (or in the Timberwolves case, a future hall of famer) and just put warm bodies on the team, and never get over the mediocre hump. In the Twins case, they will never give up a prospect to win now because they want a future, which is never guaranteed. The Vikings do it too (randy moss, Adrian Peterson), or firing one coach who actually had some success (Mike Tice) INCLUDING A PLAYOFF WIN IN LAMBEAU, and replacing him with a buffoon (who shall remain nameless).
But what makes my blood boil is when I get called a bad fan, or not a real fan, because of my unwillingness to stand on a rooftop and say rah rah 24/7 for the sports teams. Just let me do me, and I'll let you do you. Yes, I can be pessimistic, but every other time I've gotten excited about any sport team from MN not named the Lynx, they've ripped my heart out and stomped on it right in front of my face.

Wait, are the Lynx an actual team? JUST KIDDING!!!

Thanks man. I appreciate you sharing that.

[Maelstrom88]

I'm a hope for the best but when the game is played and they look like crap blow it all up kind of guy.

[Cliff]

It depends on the year. What did the team look like the previous year and how much has changed since then? This year I'm somewhere in between. I like the consistency on our defense. I'm optimistic with Griffen not having the issues to start the season that the defense will do well. I really believe early troubles had a *lot* do do with what happened with Griffen last year.

On offense I'm kind of center-pessimist. There are things I like about the offense but I'm just not sold on Cousins against good teams. I fear that Cook is going to continue to be injured and the run game might be average. Will the offensive line be much improved (because they need to be MUCH improved).

This year I'm probably starting out center-pessimist altogether but I'm open. The team can easily change my mind in either direction in a given week lol

[Mothman]

I'm in-between and as Cliff said, it varies from year to year. I try to see things as they are but, of course, that inevitably involves my own perceptions.

I'm a real mix of optimism and pessimism going into this season. For example, in Zimmer's first 5 seasons, the Vikings have ping-ponged between near-.500 seasons and double-digit win seasons and if that trend continues, they're due for the latter this year. Looking at the roster and the schedule, that certainly seems possible. In other words, I'm optimistic that they will be competitive and finish with a winning record.

On the other hand, I'm pessimistic about their chances to do much more. I've reached the point where I view "competitive with a winning record" as the likely ceiling with Spielman as GM and Zimmer as HC. Cousins presence as the starting QB just reinforces that for me. The last 40 years or so of Vikings history have also conditioned me not to expect much more, although I always hope for it.

It will be interesting to see what this season brings!

[S197]

Optimistic:

Cook
D-line
Kearse
Kubiak

Pessimistic:

Special teams
Elflein
Keeping only 4 WRs
Irv Smith

In-between:

Cousins
Front office/coaching staff
O-line (+rushing -pass protection)
Hughes

I think if 3/4 of the “in between” work out, it will be a good year.

[vikeinmontana]

As many have said, if you've been a Vikings fan your whole life, I don't think you can help but be a little pessimistic. Even in the seasons where I have been the most optimistic I could be....it has ended in disappointment.

But I tend to be cautiously optimistic to start every season. This year is no exception.

[PacificNorseWest]

I am typically an optimist. This season, I am more wait and see, but it really varies from season to season.

[Rhodes Closed]

I already have the weight of the world and expectations of my generation weighing down on me, making me pessimistic enough.

I refuse to be pessimistic regarding sports.

[J. Kapp 11]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I really just wanted to have a conversation about being a Vikings fan, in general.

Some of you will find this hard to believe, but I really try to land somewhere in-between. And I think my track record supports that. I've been bullish on the Vikings some years and bearish others. One of my favorite seasons was 2017. So many Vikings fans saw the blowout loss in the NFC Championship Game, but for me, the season was a joyride. Why? Because I expected the Vikings to be no better than a .500 team, especially when Bradford came up lame, and double especially when Dalvin Cook went down. All those big wins ... 11 of the last 12 ... beating Atlanta on the road ... destroying the Packers twice ... drubbing the Rams ... The Miracle ... that was an amazing season.

So of course, the next season I was bullish on the Vikings. And it ended up a dumpster fire. Thus the life of a Vikings fan.

Anyway, this year, I'm pretty optimistic. I've said it before ... the reason is Gary Kubiak. The guy consistently does more with less than any coach I've seen in the NFL. He also is good at implementing the kind of offense that Mike Zimmer wants. Norv wasn't. DeFilippo CERTAINLY wasn't. Shurmur was better at it. Kubiak can get the running game going, and he knows how to get the best out of his quarterbacks. The Bears are really good on paper, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them win the division. But it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see the Vikings win it.

[PsyDanny]

I lean towards optimism, but was raised a Michigan fan. Hence, the "dauber is always up" but never quite...

[VikingsVictorious]

What annoys the hell out of me is some people have the attitude you can be an optimist or you can be a realist. Often the optimistic viewpoint is the realistic viewpoint. I do tend to see the glass as three quarters full and if it was any fuller it would spill.

[Bowhunting Viking]

55 yrs old in Oct.. starting as. Vikings fan at the P.J. , J.C. Penney helmet and NFL sheets age, then about 8-9 really started understanding the game and blood turned purple and Hardcore ever since.
So I guess for what I've witnessed in my lifetime, I won't go with pessimistic/ optimistic.
I go with hopeful/ wishful.. wow this may be the year finally.. to well there goes the dream again. But I NEVER EVER waver on my hardcore allegiance and my hope to the Lombardi trophy come to live in Minny someday.
I hope one of these days it comes down to " Man we are playing well, wow we are still rolling, Holy Crap we WON the championship game, to I cant believe it.. we beat ... insert the AFC team favored heavily.. to finally hoist the trophy. And the only way that will happen is if Pete Morelli is retired or some how he and his crew aren't officiating out games.
So what I am saying is I now just go into every season hopeful to be suprised, but will still always Love my Vikings no matter what.
SKOL

[Dmizzle0]

I'm usually an optimist, but I'm not sure if the Vikings addressed their weakness from last year so I voted somewhere in between. Plus I think our DB core is becoming a question mark. With that being said I still think we can go 11-5 and make the playoffs.