Rivalry games are great between NFL teams like the Minnesota Vikings, but what happens when the opposing team doesn’t share the same feelings about them?
Let’s be honest. Minnesota Vikings fans tend to cheer a little louder when they’re taking on teams they don’t like. For many years now, the biggest target of that rivalry has been the Green Bay Packers.
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However, having rivals can create odd situations. While one team may harbor these kind of feelings toward another, those sentiments may not be the same from the other team. That is exactly what was discovered in a recent article on the ESPN website.
When asking the site’s beat writers which teams are the rivals of theirs, the choice was pretty simple for Ben Goessling, as the state that shares a border with Minnesota also has been a bully in the division and conference for many years.
Here is what Goessling had to say:
"“The rivalry probably burned at its hottest back in 2009 and 2010, when Brett Favre was playing for the Vikings and facing his former understudy (Aaron Rodgers), but the temperature is picking up again, after the Vikings broke out “Beat Green Bay” T-shirts last November — and actually beat the Packers in a Week 17 showdown for the NFC North title.”"
And while the Vikings keep their target on the Packers. Green Bay’s beat writer Rob Demovsky clarified that the Packers see a different divisional team as their biggest rival:
"“If you ask those around McCarthy, they might tell you the Bears stir up a little something extra. After all, it was just last summer when he said he planned to “kick Chicago’s ass” just before the two teams met in the season opener.”"
Of course, much of this could have to do with championships and location. Green Bay is closer geographically and, to be honest, neither the Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings have hoisted a Lombardi Trophy in their franchise’s history.
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That may all change if the Minnesota Vikings can continue to grow and develop this current roster into being regular contenders to the division and the Super Bowl. But, for how, i don’t see the Vikings changing their minds any time soon about who they see as the biggest thorn in their sides.