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The Pioneer Press: Questions with Bob Sansevere: Sen. Al Franken hasn't given up on his Vikings

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Yesterday, Sen. Franken spoke with Bob Sensevere about the Minnesota Vikings. The interview is below.

Sen. Al Franken listened to the first Vikings game on the radio. You know the one: Rookie Fran Tarkenton led a start-up team of upstart players to a victory over the Chicago Bears in 1961. Franken has been hooked on the Vikings ever since.

Franken wrote an editorial last week for the Washington Post about his passion for the Vikings. I talked to Franken on Monday about the Vikings, and he touched on everything from how excited he was to see Brett Favre take a sack in Sunday's victory over the Washington Redskins to how he'd like the state to buy the franchise so the Vikings will never move.

BS: You wrote in your Washington Post editorial that 'If it's possible, this fall has been worse for Vikings fans than for Democrats.' Who do you think will have a better December: Democrats or the Vikings?

AF: I think we're both going to have good Decembers. I'm optimistic. I liked the game (Sunday). Thought they played much more disciplined. There was a play pretty early in the game where Brett Favre allowed himself to be sacked. I said, "That's big." He didn't force a throw or do something where the ball was knocked out of his hands and he fumbled. Instead, he just ate it. I went, "That's a big play."

BS: Favre's run for a first down in the final minutes was a big play, too.

AF: I kind of called that - his run. All year, he has had that and hasn't taken it. He has had it because defenses assume he won't take it. When you have a broken ankle and foot, it's probably a good bet he will not run. I called a quarterback draw. It wasn't a draw, but he ran.

BS: Redskins tight end Fred Davis said the loss was frustrating because the Vikings were "the third bad team" to beat Washington. As a follower of the team, do you take exception to the Vikings being characterized as a bad team?

AF: They've been playing bad, but they played well (Sunday). I thought the defense played well and the offense played in a very disciplined way. They weren't penalized a lot. It was a very disciplined game. They're a good team that's just playing crappy.

BS: You make a lot of important decisions and offer advice as a U.S. senator. What advice would you give Zygi Wilf for the weeks and months ahead?

AF: I wouldn't pretend to know enough to give him advice. Obviously, on any given day, Favre is far superior to Tarvaris Jackson. I just would have liked to have seen Tarvaris given a shot - like when we were hopelessly behind in the Packers game. We know Favre isn't playing next year, and I think we know we're not making the playoffs even if we make a run. I just didn't understand why we didn't put Tarvaris Jackson out there in the fourth quarter against the Packers and just see what we've got. He has been bad when he puts pressure on himself. He did that in the Philadelphia playoff game (at the end of the 2008 season) and was terrible. So what? That was a few years ago. I'd like to see what he's got in a game situation now.

BS: Can you do anything to help the Vikings get a new stadium?

AF: That's more a state issue. I don't think there's anything I can do.

BS: You can't pass any federal legislation?

AF: (Laughs.) I think earmarks may be going away. That would be unprecedented - getting a federal earmark for a stadium. The Wilf family won't like it, but I still think the state ought to buy the team. I think the Green Bay model is an interesting model. It's owned by everybody there, pretty much. They can't threaten to leave. I definitely want the Vikings to stay in Minnesota. I've been a Vikings fan since Fran Tarkenton beat the Bears (in the franchise's first game).

BS: You'd be popular with Democrats, Republicans, everybody in Minnesota, if you could find a way to get that legislation passed to help the Vikings get a new stadium.

AF: It would just be hard.

BS: How about some legislation that prevents them from moving to Los Angeles or anywhere else?

AF: I don't think you need federal legislation to keep a team from moving to L.A. Nobody seems to want to do it. There's something about moving to L.A. - no team wants to do it.

BS: What does Leslie Frazier have to do, in your mind, to keep the job into next season?

AF: In this first game, he did great. What I love about this game is no turnovers, very few offensive penalties. Good defense. We played solid. We found a way in all these games to lose, and we weren't doing that (Sunday). It would be nice to run off some victories. I think that's what he needs to do. He didn't put a lock on this job with one victory.

BS: What advice do you have for Frazier?

AF: Do what you're doing. The emphasis on: Don't beat yourselves. My biggest advice would be RICE - and I don't mean Sidney: Rest, ice, compression and elevation on the (injured) ankle for Adrian Peterson.

BS: Is Favre the biggest reason for the Vikings' seven losses?

AF: No. He's one of the reasons. I think the defense fell down at key times. There are different reasons at different times. I think we should have won the first Packer game, if the (officials') calls were correct. The Packer loss, the 31-3 loss, Favre was awful. That's why I was glad to see this performance (Sunday). I thought he was far more disciplined.

BS: Did you think Brad Childress was doomed from the moment he decided to release Randy Moss and didn't inform Wilf?

AF: Yeah. Yeah. If they'd beaten the Packers, if they'd won some games before that, he would have been OK. If they'd beaten the Packers and Bears, he'd be OK. I like Childress, I do. But that was crazy (releasing Moss).

BS: Childress was known for being a micromanager. Are you a fan of micromanaging?

AF: No. I'm not. I'm a fan of setting a tone and letting other people do their jobs.

BS: Whom would you recommend as coach, or would you like to see Frazier keep the job?

AF: I want to play it out with Frazier. I like him. They certainly responded well to him. That means they like him.

BS: You mentioned several players you liked in your Washington Post editorial. So to clear things up, who is your favorite Vikings player?

AF: I love Jim Kleinsasser. He's a great blocker, but so often in a key situation he ends up catching the ball. And I love the fact he's from North Dakota. I feel if I played football and was a lot bigger, that's how I'd play. And I like Adrian Peterson. I also think Percy Harvin is particularly exciting, and I get migraines, too. I get really debilitating migraines. I have certain medicine I take. Usually, it nips it in the bud and makes it tolerable. I know when one is a full-blown migraine, and there's nothing you can do.

This interview can also be found on the Pioneer Press' website.

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