I am a football fan. My two favorite teams are the Minnesota Vikings, and whoever is playing the Green Bay Packers. I don’t always watch the games. Many times I have other things to do on Sundays, but I usually catch some of the replays, and I read the articles in the paper and on the Viking’s web site.

I have followed the Vikings for a long time. As a youngster I watched Fran Tarkington elude tacklers, and get the ball to a wide receiver or running back at the last possible second. I watched Carl Eller and Alan Page make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks. I have suffered through the loss of four super bowls.

I watched the game against Baltimore on Sunday night. The Vikings lost, and are now out of the playoffs, but it was a good game, and the Vikings did a respectable job. Brad Johnson did well, as did the opposing quarterback. I enjoyed the game right down to the onside kick with only a few seconds left on the clock.

I have not enjoyed the news of the Vikings off the field antics this year. Management gave up on Randy Moss at the end of last season. Minnesota drafted him using the 19th pick in the draft in the late 90s. He had the talent to be a number one pick, but 18 teams passed on him due to his off the field problems.

I was hopeful that people like Chris Carter and Randall Cunningham would be a good influence on Randy Moss. They probably were good influences. They both gave credit to God for their own success. They both recognized that their athletic gifts came from God, and they both worked hard to keep those gifts in tiptop condition.

I was hopeful that if the Vikings couldn’t change Randy’s ways with good influence, that they could possibly assign a 300-pound lineman to make sure Randy didn’t mis- behave. I still hope for good things for Randy Moss. He still has the potential to be a stand out player in the NFL, and more

importantly, he has the potential to become a decent person. I hope God will intervene in his life and lead him in the right direction.

I was very disappointed in this year’s boat incident. Earlier this season several Viking players participated in a party on a boat. The boat was rented, and there were high school age children on board to serve food and beverages. Some of the Viking players arrived with prostitutes and participated in lewd behavior during the party on the boat. Four players are facing misdemeanor charges due to this incident.

The NFL has a hall of fame. Each year a number of players are inducted because of outstanding careers. Unfortunately, there also seems to be a hall of shame. Each year there are stories of professional athletes doing things that no one can be proud of. NFL players have been involved in drug use, lewd behavior, spousal abuse, rapes and even murders.

I start off each year hoping the Vikings will play well, and make the playoffs. That hope will probably never change. I would love to see them win the super bowl during my lifetime. However, their on the field performance is not as important as what they do off the field.

If people take steroids to become bigger and stronger, it may help them win a few games, but it will take a toll on their bodies and it will cause brain damage. It will affect their mood, and make them prone to violent behavior. It might help them on the field and ruin them off the field. They will spend their lives paying for the drug use that helped them win a few games. They will see future generations of players start on steroids in high school, so they can be big and strong like their professional role models.

As much as I would like to see the Vikings win the super bowl, my prayer for this team is that the individual players will improve their lives off the field. I would like to see God help them stay out of the hall of shame. I would like to see them devote their time to the United Way, or other organizations that are a good influence on our society.

I would rather be a mediocre player who left a legacy of a lifetime of work with a charitable organization than an outstanding athlete showing his super bowl ring to his fellow inmates in the penitentiary. I am a fan of the Vikings; I am not a fan of the boat party.

I hope the light of Jesus Christ will shine in your life in 2006. I hope that the teams that you root for have good success, unless of course, you are a Packer fan. I hope that God will shower your life with blessings and fill your life with joy.

Sincerely,

Pastor Birk