And the Greeatest Viking/Buckeye is...

Okay, the poll says Cris Carter, and that's a fine pick. But this is a blog about several teams, one of which is in Minnesota. And in Minnesota, apparently, you can vote, re-count, double count, subtract, and do whatever the hell it is you want to to get Al Franken elected, so I'm overturning the result of this poll and installing/declaring Jim Marshall the winner!

Remember, a vote for Al is 2 votes for Stuart Smalley! Look, I was rockin' Jesse 'The Body" as Governor, because as he says, his muscles were bigger than Mean Gene's head, and the dude was a Navy Seal.

Al Franken is just a bad comic who couldn't make it in radio.

And since I live on the Illinois side of St Louis, I know a little bit about chief executive corruption as well. I am willing, for the right price, to install anyone as the "Greatest Buckeye/Viking".

Darrion Scott, Mike Doss, Derek Ross, Winfield Garnett, or even LeShun Daniels will be elevated to the top, so give me a bleeping price.

On a serious note, no one can deny the greatness of Cris Carter. Robert Smith and Antoine Winfield have both had distinguished careers as OSU alum playing for the Vikes, but Jim Marshall holds a special place in my heart, which is why he may have finished a distant second in the poll, he'll always be my personal favorite.

Marshall played in an era that helped make pro football what it is today. His streak of 282 consecutive games is staggering, and it's insulting that the streak was a: broken by a punter, and b: not heralded and given more reflection as said punter approached and then passed it. And he did it at the most demanding position on the field, defensive end.

He went up against, and often whipped, lineman who were 20 and 30 pounds heavier, because he played at abour 230 pounds. And he did it for over 20 years. He has 127 sacks unofficially, because the sack was not a statistic that was kept when he played. He does hold the NFL record for most fumble recoveries, and as a member of the Purple People Eaters, he was a key component in one of the greatest defensive lines in NFL history.

Sadly, when people think of Jim Marshall, they think of this. Not the entire body of work. What they don't mention about the wrong way run is that Marshall sacked Billy Kilmer later in the game and that caused a fumble to set up the winning score for the Vikings. You see, Marshall was often overshadowed by Alan Page and Carl Eller, who are both in the Hall of Fame, and deservedly so. But Marshall is remembered for two things, the wrong way run and poor Super Bowl performances in which his vaunted defensive line was manhandled, for the most part.

But for those of you that think Cris Carter is the winner, you have a valid argument, and one that is tough to beat. Carter's long distinguised career included many fantastic highlights, both for the Buckeyes and Vikings. His career stats put him in elite company, and it is a certainty he will be in Canton, sooner rather than later.

But I feel it is almost my duty to let younger Viking fans know about how great Jim Marshall truly was, and how deserving he is for enshrinement in Canton. Remember when it was third down, and the Vikings needed a first down? You knew, just knew, the ball was going to Cris Carter. And you got this sense of excitement, anticipation, use whatever word you want. But the ball got to Carter, he made the first down, you went wild, and life was good.

Well, it was that way with Marshall in the 1970's. When the Vikings needed a big play, a sack, a forced fumble, you knew, you just knew, Marshall was going to be there to make it happen. Either bringing pressure from the perimeter to force an early throw, a sack, or a forced fumble, it seemed that when the Vikes needed to get off the field, Jim Marshall was the guy that made the play.

No, I can't give you any eye-popping stats like I can for Cris Carter, and to a lesser extent, John Randle. But I can tell you that Jim Marshall WAS the Minnesota Vikings and epitomized their hard nosed approach to football in the bruising NFC Central, and if anyone deserves a place in Canton, it is he.