Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, It’s unofficially official. The Minnesota Vikings are actively pursuing a deal that would allow them a selection in the top half of the first round in this Thursdays draft. Now throughout these past few weeks, while I was going over all the different scenarios that could take place before they make their first choice, this is the one I most wanted to see come to fruition. I also figured there was pretty much no chance the Vikings would try to move up, i guess that just really didn’t strike me as a Speilman type of move. That is until i heard a guy on TV say it. That’s right, NFL Networks own Ian Rapoport says the Vikes are indeed trying to move up with hopes of targeting either  WR Tavon Austin, or WR Corrdarelle Patterson, both of whom have the potential to add instant explosion in the pass game. It’s also reported that the Vikings would like to hold on to their 25th pick while doing so. While I would obviously be more than pleased to see either one of these guys in purple come Thursday, I wouldn’t even target a WR if this were Jordan’s world. No, i would have only one player in mind if  I pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal involving, lets say,  the 23rd over all this year, a 3rd rounder this year, and an additional mid-rounder in 2014. That player is Dee Milliner, CB,  Alabama. That’s right. Now I know corner isn’t the most pressing need for the team, but I think this kid is by far the most promising and exciting player in this years draft, and also the best DB I can remember coming out of college in recent years. I think the kids got all the talent of  a Darelle Revis, but the size of a Richard Sherman. This kid is pretty much a lock to go in the top 5 , and I doubt the Vikes will get anywhere near that high, but like I said, this is Jordan’s world. Now back in real life I guess we just wait and see where the cards fall, but no matter what I know I am very excited to see what Speilman and Co. have in store for us on Thursday.

SKOL

Jordan Nadel

I was stumbling around online today and found an article listing the “50 greatest rivalries in the NFL,” and to my severe disappointment, the rivalry between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers was left out all together.

If you ask anyone in the Midwest, they’ll tell you that this rivalry is second only to the Packers/Chicago Bears rivalry–the oldest in league history. While the Sota/Sconnie Border-Battle has only seen real notoriety since the Vikings first season in 1961, the NFL has seen a rivalry between the two states since the 1920′s, the same as the Bears.

One of the original NFL teams, the Duluth Eskimos, was based in the NFL’s northernmost city from 1923-1927. The Eskimos shared battles with the then Acme Packers and Decatur Staleys–who would eventually become the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears–since the league’s inception. Though they are no longer a team (officially… Yeah I’ll get to that), they were vital in the formation of the NFL and without them, pro football would be nothing like it is today.

Back in the day, professional football players generally worked in factories and shipyards. This was especially true of the Eskimos and Packers who were heavily made up of workers in Superior, Wisc. and Duluth shipyards. The two teams both featured graduates of Duluth Central High School and Superior High School, one of the better high school rivalries of the time.

In a sense, this was the original battle of the bay. The Eskimos/Packers games were always tightly contested and one of such match-ups resulted in the league’s only ever-recorded 0-0 tie.

The Eskimos were one of the struggling league’s poorest teams and were not able to play home games after the month of October because of Minnesota’s severe winters. This ultimately led to the team failing to stay afloat financially and they disbanded after the 1927 season. The rights to the team were shuffled around in business transactions through New Jersey, and then Boston, where they eventually became what is today’s Washington Redskins, but the history and rivalries of the Eskimos lived and died in Minnesota.

Where am I going with this?

The Eskimos are loosely related to today’s Minnesota Vikings–very loosely.

When the Eskimos were disbanded, team owner Ole Haugsrud sold the team back to the league in 1927. Once the NFL returned to Minnesota in 1961, Haugsrud was given priority to invest in a franchise–he eventually became a 10% owner of the Vikings. I’m not certain if Haugsrud’s family still owns that 10%, but the ties between the Eskimos and Vikings are there.

If that is not proof enough, according to Chuck Frederick who wrote Leatherheads of the North: The True Story of Ernie Nevers and the Duluth Eskimos, Vikings great and former head coach Bud Grant’s father played for the Eskimos briefly while working in a Duluth shipyard.

Now that the history lesson is over, here is my proposal: the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers should honor the memory of the 1920′s rivalry by wearing the 20′s uniforms that the Packers already have as a throwback, and the Vikings, much like the Pittsburgh Steelers, should team up with Nike to create a “heritage throwback” to commemorate the Eskimos.

The two teams could put these uniforms on display in both match-ups to give fans of both teams an opportunity to experience the heritage of one of the league’s oldest rivalries and truly show why the NFC North has the best rivalries in the NFL.

This would add another spark to one of the league’s already-most heated rivalries, and add a historic aspect to a match-up that would surprise the casual NFL fan.

Follow me on Twitter @McAndrewsSports

(Much of the information listed in this article can be attributed to Chuck Frederick’s book that I listed above.)