Minnesota Vikings: Top 10 weirdest moments of 2015
By Dan Zinski
6. Ragnar fired for being dumb and asking for two much money
A brief recap of the Ragnar “controversy” for those who’ve already banished this nonsense from their minds.
Sept. 20: News breaks that long-time Vikings mascot Ragnar aka Joe Juranitch has been fired. Speculation about the reasons for the firing range from political correctness on the part of the Vikings to the cheerleaders not liking him to a vast conspiracy involving aliens and the CIA.
Ragnar posts a sad picture on social media to show how devastated he is. This generates small shivers of sympathy in some quarters.
Sept. 22: News outlets report the reason for Ragnar’s ouster: He wanted a ridiculous amount of money, $20,000-per-game over ten years. This destroys any sympathy he had with most of the fanbase.
Sept. 25: Ragnar tries to clear the air by running to the media and telling his side of the story. He claims he never expected $20,000-per-game but just put that out there as a starting place for negotiations (via ESPN).
"“I was asked to put a contract together,” Juranitch said. “I’m not a lawyer; I’m not an agent. I’m an entertainer. I had to ask a friend to help me put something together. This is what we put together, and it all blew up. I’m not ready to retire. The Vikings wanted me to retire and have a limited role moving forward. Am I ready to retire? I’m 54 years old. I feel like a 28-year-old. I don’t want to retire.”"
The Vikings never re-opened negotiations.
Jan. 3, 2016: We skip ahead to 2016 to finish up the story. The Vikings played the Packers for the NFC North title the final week of the season, and Ragnar tried to get his revenge ahead of the game by taking off his helmet and donning a cheesehead, apparently thinking this would lay a curse on the Vikings. The Vikings won and Ragnar has now shut up apparently forever.
"Vikings (former) mascot Ragnar has choice words for @Packers fans… @RandyMoss reacts https://t.co/0elQZoUzC3 — FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 3, 2016"