Viking player you hated to see leave the most

[jackal]

Moss I think was the hardest player to see go..

He was so dominate at the time. Plus how the the whole thing
happened with Red McCombs

[Funkytown]

Moss, #84, Super Freak, Raaaaandy, and Mr. Moon Man at Lambeau. Is that five?

Nah, seriously, I'm too smart to get too overly-attached to players anymore. Free agency kills. Some losses have hurt my feelings, but none like Moss. That broke my Vikings loving heart! The only one that could even compare would be losing Peterson. I think he's a lifer, though. I think I'm safe on that one. Regardless, we won't lose him when he has so much left to give like Moss did.

Either way, I've learned my lesson! I'm much more about the team than individual players. After the whole stadium deal, I know the team is safe for a few more decades; I'm good!

[King James]

I wonder which Moss departure bothers fans the most. When he got traded the Oakland or when Childress released him on waivers?

[dead_poet]

I wonder which Moss departure bothers fans the most. When he got traded the Oakland or when Childress released him on waivers?

Oakland. By far.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

Well, here is my list:

1). Moss

2). Moss

3). Moss

4). Moss

5). Moss



Here is my real list:

1). Moss - I was in 7th grade when he was traded to Oakland. I learned of his fate during lunch with my friends. I cried in the lunchroom. When we traded for him for him to be a #### tease for four games I was ecstatic. I was super pissed when Check-Down Childress cut him.

2). Matt Birk - I am still bitter that he left us. I cannot help but feel that we would have been in the Super Bowl if he had stayed during the 2009 season.

3). Sidney Rice - I was a huge Rice supporter immediately. I thought he deserved more snaps early in career over the likes of Bobby Wade.

4). Cris Carter - I was young when he left, but I felt he should have ended his career in purple. His 'year' in Miami was a disgrace.

5). Percy Harvin - He will be missed, even if he was acting out. I hope he stays healthy the rest of his career but I also hope his career doesn't pan out in Seattle.

[Funkytown]

Oakland. By far.

Yeah. The second time doesn't even compare. I don't despise Childress like most on this site, but that move really made me mad. It was handled rather obnoxiously, but the more I read about the whole deal the more I understood it. I didn't agree with how it was handled, but I didn't hate the move. Like I said, I learned to love the team way more than the player....even Moss. I wish he could have ended his career in purple and stayed since '10 but eh...his attitude sucks, and so does his play since then. We're not missing much. The first time around was completely heartbreaking, though. It was more than annoying; it was devastating!

[dkoby]

John Randle

And I know it was injury, but I loved watching Keith Millard destroy quarterbacks

[PacificNorseWest]

I know it's not part of the stipulations, but I was very upset when Robert Smith retired more than any other player who left/got trade/retired. He was my dude.

I would like to say John Randle, but his time was up. I can rationalize with that.

[Mothman]

Both sting but the Oakland trade is by far worse.

At least for me.

In 2005 I was in 8th grade and just seen my favorite player, still in his prime, traded because of incompetent coaching and even more incompetent ownership. It was like having my heart ripped out. It was almost as if my dog had died, that's how hard I took it. Had Zygi bought the team 3 months early Moss is probably never traded.

It's fascinating how moves affect us at different times and ages. If I had been in eighth grade when the Vikings made that trade, I probably would have felt as you did. Heck, I was just a few years older than that when Grant cut Alan Page and I definitely felt betrayed, especially because he almost immediately ended up with the Bears, where he had a great finish to the season.

I was obviously far older when the Vikes traded Moss to Oakland and far from being crushed, I understood the move and if I remember correctly, I didn't have a problem with it. I was sorry to see the Vikes trade a player with such incredible talent but Moss had become a disruptive headache so I didn't see the trade as a consequence of incompetent coaching or incompetent ownership (though McCombs was certainly a putz), I saw it in much the same light as I see the Harvin trade: it needed to happen. I felt (and still feel) that Moss' inability to stay out of trouble and his often questionable effort made trading him at that point a wise move, although squandering the first round pick they received as part of the deal wasn't so wise...

I wonder if Zygi would have traded Moss or not. Perhaps not but one of his primary goals when he took over the team was to clean up the Vikings image so Moss might have been gone anyway. At that point in his career, he was a problematic player, as he showed in Oakland. He's lucky he eventually landed in New England, where a great coach and QB helped him revitalize his career and get 3 more good-to-great years in before age caught up with him.

2010 is similar from an incompetence standpoint with Chilly trading a 3rd for him then going on an ego trip and cutting him less than a month later, but at the same time the he was well past his prime, I didn't expect to be back for 2011 anyway and the Vikings were clearly going nowhere with or without him.

Exactly. Plus, once again, he was drawing negative headlines and acting like a putz. He was always his own worst enemy. The really dumb move was trading a 3rd round pick for him in the first place. The Pats fleeced the Vikes on that one.

[NextQuestion]

lol at dude who thought having Birk in 2009 could have gotten us in the superbowl.

Robert Griffith ftw

[Funkytown]

lol at dude who thought having Birk in 2009 could have gotten us in the superbowl.

Robert Griffith ftw

Someone actually suggested that? Must have missed that.

But, no, not unless Birk can prevent injuries, turnovers, blown calls, etc. *sniffle* I don't wanna talk about it.

[Funkytown]

I know huh? I am glad I had much Vodka to drink during that game and have lost memories from it haha. One day we will win it though. Maybe even very soon. Like this year. YEAH!

I don't drink, but sometimes the Vikings make me wish I did. That game specifically--I wish I was a drinker, who just so happened to drink a lot a lot a lot. lol. I WISH I could lose the memories of it, but I just can't. I'm just scarred for life. I'm just a youngen; I can't imagine going through all of the Super Bowl and Championship losses as some fans have.

I wonder how diehard Bills fans took the 4 Super Bowl losses in a row. That has gotta be the WORST. "Oooh we got this, we got this!"...."Oh, well, we didn't get it last time, but we are sure to get it this time!" ..."Okay...no way we lose three in a row. This is our year!"..."Okay! NO MORE PLAYING GAMES! Losing 4 in a row is impossible. We HAVE to win this one!" And then, ya know, they didn't. I can't even IMAGINE!

Poor Bills and their fans. That's why I have love for them! They know the pain!

Were there any heartbreaks in sports worse than what happened to the Bills and their fans? If so, I'd like to know.

[Mothman]

Were there any heartbreaks in sports worse than what happened to the Bills and their fans? If so, I'd like to know.

Worse? I doubt it but I think what the Vikes and us fans went through from '69-'76 was probably just as painful. The agony was just prolonged by a few years.

I definitely felt for the Bills fans when Buffalo lost those Super Bowls, especially after they came so close in the first one only to lose 3 very lopsided games in the next 3.

Jim

[Funkytown]

Worse? I doubt it but I think what the Vikes and us fans went through from '69-'76 was probably just as painful. The agony was just prolonged by a few years.

I definitely felt for the Bills fans when Buffalo lost those Super Bowls, especially after they came so close in the first one only to lose 3 very lopsided games in the next 3.

Jim

Fortunately, I wasn't alive for those years of the heartbreaks the Vikings gave you in the early years--and I was too young to know/care about the Bills situation. I just know now, being a huge, huge fan of the Vikings (and NFL in general), hearing/reading about those losses breaks my heart a little bit. I definitely feel for you old-school Vikings fans, as well as the Bills fans. I can't imagine--and quite frankly, I don't really want to try. You can keep those hurt feelings all to yourself! Please don't share.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

lol at dude who thought having Birk in 2009 could have gotten us in the superbowl.

Robert Griffith ftw

Laugh all you want. I wasn't being 100% serious. Frankly, no one player is going to make us go to a Super Bowl. However, if Birk was here in 2009, we would have had a much better chance. Sullivan wasn't ready to take over for Birk. Birk was a very important player because he would make all of the line adjustments and was a better blocker. It is a known fact that Sullivan struggled with blitz recognition and struggled as a blocker in 2009. Favre did get beat to hell and a big reason was because of the inexperience of Sullivan during the 2009.