And Then Again...

I guess the field was not too frozen for the Bears.

Too Frozen For the Monsters of the Midway??

Let me get this straight. The Bears - the Chicago Bears - are worried that TCF Bank Stadium's field will be "too frozen and hard" to play football on it Monday night. The so-called Monsters of the Midway - too frozen? We have obviously crossed over into yet another parallel universe. Here is some proof of the whining. Here is more whining from the Chicago Tribune.

What the hell is going on here? Check this out from Bears safety Chris Harris:

"Man, it's a dictatorship, so it is what it is," Harris said shortly before the end of an open locker room session. "If they say that's what is going to happen, then that's what's going to happen. Absolutely, we're going to have to be cautious out there," Harris said. "We will go out there and check the footing pregame and see what it's like. Hopefully, the field won't be frozen and you can get footing and traction on there; make cuts and things of that nature. And hopefully you can have a competitive game."

You don't say. This, from a franchise that brought us Solider Field, Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers and Walter Payton. Apparently, the Bears are concerned about the lack of heating coils underneath the TCF playing surface. Let me ask you a question: Were there heating coils underneath Lambeau Field in Ray Nitscke and Bart Starr's day? We're there heating coils underneath The Old Met's field in Alan Page, Carl Eller and Jim Marshall's day?

Hell, no.

We live in an age (here comes the Old Man Thompson part) that is so far removed from those days of Butkus, Page and Nitscke, it is literally a different universe. A parallel universe. These players are so coddled, it's embarrassing. Hey - I used to play in these conditions on the hallowed grounds of Manz School and not even think twice. And I am talking tackle football here, folks, not two-hand touch. I even had play while wearing glasses, for Cliff's sake! I broke more pairs of glasses by getting my face smashed into that "frozen" Manz turf than I can count.

Here is my advice for the Chicago Bears - man up and play the game. You are one game away from clinching the NFC North, so it shouldn't matter if you are playing football in the Cub Foods parking lot. Geez. You are embarrassing yourselves.

And, hey, I am a Vikings fan. I know embarrassment when I see it.

Higher Powers Involved Here?

In what has turned out to be possibly the strangest season in their history, the Minnesota Vikings have announced they will play their final home game against the Chicago Bears at the Minnesota Gophers outdoor stadium, TCF Bank Field. This comes one week after the Vikings had to play the New York Giants and the Lions' Ford Field. How did we get to this bizarre point? Basically an act of Mother Nature - one of the top blizzards in Twin Cities history dumped so much snow on top of the Metrodome that it tore three holes and deflated the teflon roof.

And I thank Mother Nature for these events. Here is why:

A little over a month ago, I wrote that the Vikings need to do 5 things to regain their Karma. Basically there are:

1. They need to fire Brad Childress.

2. They need to strip their roster of over the hill veterans.

3. They need to draft a new QB.

4. They need to return to their old-school uniforms.

5. They need a new stadium, preferably outdoors.

Well, #1 has been accomplished. Numbers 2 & 3 will most likely happen this off-season. #4 may happen over time. Which leads us to #5.

I don't like the Metrodome. For baseball, it was not only a bad stadium, it was bordering on immoral. For football, it's antiquated and adequate at best. In the way a 1980 Chevy Chevette is adequate for a roadtrip to Vegas. The Minnesota Vikings need a new stadium. Now, the Minnesota politicians are not going to proactively realize this until the Vikings are packing moving vans. The majority of Minnesota citizens are most likely going to spout the "not on my dime!" or "What about the kids!?" mantras. (Then, by the way, if the stadium IS built, it will become the most popular place in the 5-state area and everyone will claim to love it. See: Target Field. See: Xcel Energy Center.) We all know these things to be true, and I have written about it a million times.

That is why it took the Forces Of Nature to help Minnesotans realize that the Vikings need to be back outside. It basically took nearly 20 inches of snow to deflate the dome and force the Vikings to play at TCF Bank Stadium. On a Monday night. Against the hated Bears. On a night they will honor the 50 greatest Vikings of all time. Think about it - this game HAD to be outside. The Forces of Nature have decreed it. It will be cold. It may even snow. But this is The Way It Should Be.

We all know this, in our hearts, to be true.

My Favorite Albums of 2010

Now that the current year is nearly "in the books," it's time for all of the "best of 2010" lists to be published. I thought I would beat the rush by providing my "top albums of 2010" list. I didn't really purchase a ton of new music in 2010, so I am going to limit my list to 5 albums. So, in case you are interested, here's the best of 2010 in my opinion:

1. The National - "High Violet." If you've been reading this blog, this will come as no surprise. I wrote a post about this album when it was released. I got to see the band play at First Avenue in August, and haven't really stopped listening to their music since that time. The National even released an expanded version of the album this month, with extra tracks, including a version of "Bloodbuzz, Ohio" recorded live on The Current. Great music that grows on the listener over time.

2. Arcade Fire - "The Suburbs." Kind of a concept album by this extremely large band hailing from Montreal. It's a running commentary on growing up in, you guessed it, the suburbs. This album is slightly toned down from their prior releases. I probably listed to this album more than any other in my walks around Como Lake this year. Whatever that means....

3. The Hold Steady - "Heaven is Whenever." Probably the best live band I have seen, The Hold Steady released another strong effort this year. The lineup changed a bit this time around, but the band retained their frequent references to the Twin Cities (Hennepin Avenue, Husker Du, 7th Street entry...).

4. Jeremy Messersmith - "The Reluctant Graveyard." I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this album by the Minneapolis musician. It's "poppy," with references to death and cemeteries throughout (sort of Smiths-like in that regard). The music, however, reminds me of Paul Simon singing Revolver-era Beatles. Good stuff.

5. John Mellencamp - "No Better Than This." Another album that pleasantly surprised me. Produced by T-Bone Burnett, Mellencamp recorded this album on an old reel-to-reel tape recorder in several historic locations throughout the U.S. "No Better Than This" is not a rock album. It's folk music and is basically Mellencamp channeling Hank Williams Sr.

There are my top 5 of 2010. How about you? What tunes helped you get through 2010?

Jeff