The Danger of Purple Hope

Should the Kicking Woes for the 2022 Vikings Be a Concern
Dec 20, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings kicker Greg Joseph. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports.

The Shawshank Redemption prominently features the friendship between Andy Dufresne and Ellis Boyd Redding (or, as the movie commonly calls him, Red).* At one point, Red – the seasoned vet at Shawshank Prison – warns Andy about the danger of being hopeful: “Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.” Vikings fans have a lot of hope at present, a situation that is somewhat dangerous.

I don’t need to remind Minnesota’s fans about all the heartbreak and let down that has occurred over the years. My main example, given my age, is the NFC Championship loss to the Saints. Older fans will be able to trade stories about the Super Bowl losses and/or the missed field goal against the Falcons. Younger fans may need to point toward the Blair Walsh game or even the no-show against the Eagles five years ago.

Regardless, you get the point: heartbreak abounds in Vikings history.

Despite this humble history, Vikings fans far and wide have been embracing hope as Kevin O’Connell prepares his team for the 2022 season.

Greg Joseph, as you may have heard, has been having a sensational offseason. He’s drilling long kicks with consistency. If he continues his strong performance in the preseason, Vikings fans will be fully aboard the hype train. Might I offer a brief word of caution, though? Minnesota’s history has all kinds of kicking heartbreak. I don’t mean to suggest that Joseph is therefore doomed to failure; that’s simply not true. Nevertheless, we ought to guard ourselves by ensuring we don’t assume kicking success is a foregone conclusion.

Of course, we’re all expecting good things from both the offense and defense, as well. O’Connell’s system is supposed to make things easier for the receivers to get open. It’s a scheme that ought to allow Kirk Cousins to “calm down and loosen up a little bit.” Our collective hope is certainly that these things will come to pass. Again, though, we’d be wise to remember that teams regularly struggle with a first-time head coach. We want the best but understand that the Vikings may be merely average.

In like manner, the defense has a path toward improvement, but there are opportunities for them to stumble. If everyone is healthy, the defense could plausibly be in the top half of the NFL. Heck, they could even be a top-10 group. Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith have the capacity to be elite, and the front seven overall looks very strong. I’m doing my best to be optimistic but not unrealistic.

Is there some sort of balance for us to arrive at?

Like many good stories, Shawshank ends by coming full circle. Earlier warnings about hope actually foreshadow the conclusion; Red allows himself to come over to Andy’s thinking. “I hope I can make it across the border,” Red explains, “I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

Perhaps, Vikings fans, it’s OK to have some hope for the 2022 season.

* Shout out to IMDB for providing the precise details about the movie.



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