No fanfare for Vikings

THE FIRST QUESTION you have to ask about yesterday's Eagles win is: Where has this team been all season?

The second question is: Can the Eagles muster a repeat performance at Minnesota in next week's wild-card game?

According to fans who posted comments on the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Web site, it should be no problem.

You would think it would be difficult to find more than a handful of negative fans in Minnesota. The Vikings, after all, defeated the Giants yesterday to go 10-6 and clinch the NFC North. And yet, a cursory glance at the Web site's comments section revealed the following glass-is-half-empty observations. The names of the posters have been withheld to protect the innocent and gramatically challenged.

* "TJ [Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson] will be proven for the fraud he is."

* " . . . Prepare to see yet another sinking of a leaky Viking sailing ship, one and done."

* "I don't see the Vikings doing well at all in the playoffs. They barely beat a team of subs [the Giants]."

* "You all do realize that Philly will, most likely, play many of their starters most, if not all, of the game next week, right?"

* "[Vikings coach Brad] Childress must go. He did everything in his power to lose this game [against the Giants] . . . I would guess if Philly plays like [it did against the Cowboys], we could survive with a 88-0 drubbing.

* "In the first round of the playoffs it looks like

we'll get a chance to see the QB who could be starting for the Purple next year. I can only hope. [Donovan] McNabb still has some game."

* "Q: What do you a call a group of millionaires sitting around watching the Superbowl? A: The Minnesota Vikings."

The comments are a bit on the nasty side, but what would you expect in a state that once elected Jesse Ventura as governor and is still trying its damndest to get Al Franken declared the winner of a Senate race.

There was one fan, however, who would fit right in here in Philadelphia. The person logged the following comment:

* "I hope the Vikings win the Superbowl, and Brad Childress gets fired" *

- Tom Mahon

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