The Professional

 

 

 

"There is a big difference between a leader and a manager"

 

I have been a Vikings fan since the team was formed. However to be truthful, I was very tepid at first, as I was a Green Bay Packer fan. Most football fans in Minnesota were Green Bay fans prior to 1961, as that was the closest (and best) professional team to watch.

In 1967, the Vikings hired a Canadian football coach named Harry (Bud) Grant. He had a good reputation in Canada, but was somewhat unknown south of the border. It did not take long for the loyal fans to really take Bud to heart. He had a sideline presence which typified the Minnesota spirit. He would stand on the sidelines of the old Metropolitan Stadium in all kinds of weather. It would not matter. It could be 90 degrees or 20 below and Bud always looked the same. That steely gray stare, watching everything and everyone on the field of play.

Today, it is a much different story. We have players who look more like thugs than professionals. I was watching a game a couple weeks ago, and the big discussion was if a player could get tackled by his hair (which was down to almost his butt). Is it legal? The answer was yes - you could tackle a player by his four foot long hair. Give me a break.

When Bud Grant was coach of the Vikings, he was a player's coach. He had standards. I remember one time when the question came up if some players could wear "low cut' athletic shoes. Bud's response - "No - we will all look uniform at that is the professional way". Over the years he changed his stance on the style of shoes - but not much else.

Bud did not believe in "spiking the ball" after a touchdown. Bud's feeling - this is what we are here for. We score touchdowns because that is what we get paid for. In fact, Bud Grant felt that the privilege of playing professional football trumped almost everything else. When you were on the field wearing the purple, gold and white, it was an honor. To betray that honor was to betray yourself. You no longer had any place on Bud's team.

I miss the days of old in the NFL. I REALLY miss Bud Grant. He was a guardian of the past. He was the keeper of the game. He was the consummate professional in every sense of the word.

No thugs would have played for Bud. No druggies would have played for Bud. No player with a "tude" would have played for Bud. In the seventies when Bud coached, they were special times. I know the Vikings never won a Super Bowl. However, I would rather lose under a coach like Bud, than win under someone else. They don't make them like Bud anymore - and that is indeed a shame.