For the third consecutive season the Minnesota Vikings’ local regular season TV ratings slightly declined. The 2004 season rating was 34, with 31.6 in 2005 and 29.7 this year. A rating point is a percentage of households watching a particular program.
The Vikings, who finished the season last Sunday losing to the St. Louis Rams, missed the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The rating of 23.7 for the Ram game was the lowest of the season. The highest rating for a single game was 34.3 against Seattle.
For the first time in memory, the Vikings purchased newspaper advertising before and during the 2006 season to sell tickets. While still holding an enormous lead in popularity among other pro teams in town, the push to sell tickets and the TV ratings indicate the Vikings’ popularity is less than it was. However, a team spokesman said the franchise now has sold out 94 consecutive pre-season and regular season games.
The 2004 season was the last one that quarterback Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss played together. Moss was traded to Oakland after the 2004 season and Culpepper left for Miami in a trade before the 2006 season. The 2004 Vikings not only had star gate attractions in Moss and Culpepper but the team advanced to the playoffs.
Moss is not happy in Oakland and perhaps with a different coach than Brad Childress and owner than Zygi Wilf there would be a chance the controversial Moss could return here to a team badly in need of wide receivers and box office attractions. Childress and Wilf have placed such a premium on discipline that it’s unthinkable to imagine a Moss return.