No one should feel sorry for how Vikings fans treated Christian Ponder

The former Minnesota Vikings quarterback is back in the news lately after his wife recently commented on how the couple was treated in the Twin Cities.

When the Minnesota Vikings opted to select Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, high expectations were immediately given to the young signal caller to help lead the franchise back years of consistent success.

By his third season with the team, he was already getting benched and his future with the Vikings was beginning to look bleak at best. During the 2014 offseason, the final nail was placed in Ponder’s purple coffin when Minnesota drafted his replacement in Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Ponder got one more shot to prove he belonged in the NFL in 2014 when the Vikings were forced to start him in their Week 5 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

The game could not have gone much worse for the quarterback who was now playing in his fourth season in the league. Minnesota lost by a final score of 42-10 as Ponder was sacked six times and  finished the game by completing just 50 percent of his passes for 222 yards and two interceptions.

At least his performance in Green Bay resulted in one of the best Teddy Bridgewater memes ever created.

After the season, Ponder became a free-agent and his time with the Vikings was officially over. He has tried to continue his football career since leaving Minnesota, but he has yet to throw a pass in a regular season game since that horrible night against the Packers in 2014.

During a recent interview with the Star Tribune, Ponder’s wife, Samantha, spoke about the couple’s decision to keep the pregnancy of their first child a secret due to the constant ridicule her husband was experiencing with the Vikings.

"“The first time around, it was more about the environment. It was rough. I don’t think that’s a surprise. We were easy targets when we were [in Minnesota]. It just got so bad when we were there.”"

Is it really that shocking that people around Minnesota were not coming up to Christian Ponder and thanking him for leading the Vikings to a whole two wins in his final two years with the team? The simple, and obvious, answer is no.

Minnesota’s fans are passionate about their hometown teams, especially the Vikings. If Minnesota is not putting a good team out on the football field, as was the case when Ponder was on the roster, the fans are going to let the franchise know about it.

Minnesota Vikings

If Ponder did not want to be criticized for performing his job poorly, then he should have picked a different career. This was his choice to pursue playing quarterback in the NFL and it obviously did not work out as he had hoped.

But that is no reason for him or his wife to turn around and proclaim that it was unfair for Vikings fans to be unhappy with the quarterback’s performance.

Yes of course, there are obviously some crazed fans out there that cross the line with insanely, idiotic comments. But they are not the majority, especially when it comes to fans in Minnesota.

But if someone asks Samantha Ponder, they experienced pretty much the same things as Colin Kaepernick did in NFL stadiums this past season.

Bottom line, Christian Ponder failed to live up to his expectations as a first-round draft pick for the Vikings and the team’s fans let him hear about it. It is no different for any other quarterback in the league that has played himself into a similar situation.

Next: Ranking the Vikings' best 2017 offseason additions

As much as people may hate it, poor performing players getting criticized by their team’s fans is just part of the job. If someone does not want to face that reality, then find a new profession.