Same Old Song and Dance

The Vikings are finding they are not alone in the search for a new stadium, and the refrain sounds painfully familiar.

A friend of VU sent us a note Saturday night on something that was going to run in his newspaper today. If you were to simply read it at face value, you would think it was Red McCombs talking, but it's not.

Just as a publicly financed stadium proposal fell flat from both the Minnesota Legislature and the public before McCombs, the University of Minnesota and the NFL all offered to throw in substantial amounts of money, the same song and dance is being heard in Indianapolis.

The Irsay family, who gets no love here because Robert moved his team in the middle of the night to avoid public outcry and that is practically all he's remembered for now, is talking the same tune that he did when he packed up the fan-supported Colts from Baltimore and moved -- starting a chain reaction that led the Browns and Art Modell bailing on the fans of Cleveland and the NFL eventually having to use one its coveted expansion spots to put a team back in Cleveland.

Now, Robert's son and current owner Jim Irsay's complaint is over stadium money being generated in the RCA Dome (or whatever it's being called this week). Irsay claims the stadium itself isn't the issue, it's how it's set up.

"It's about revenue disparity, not a stadium," Irsay told Indy reporters. Sound familiar?

With 21 of the NFL's 32 teams playing in stadiums six years old or fewer at the start of the 2003 season, the heat is on for the remaining teams because the disparity of money-making opportunities and high-priced luxury suites is getting out of hand. But at least it's nice to know that other teams are facing the same dilemma as the Vikings and their fans.

SUNDAY NOTES
* Dennis Green is rumored to be the frontrunner for a studio hosting job for the San Diego Chargers this season. Green lost out to Cris Carter for a similar job on a HBO studio show.
* As reported last month, Carl Eller will have his number retired at a home game this season. The game has been announced as the Giants game Nov. 10. Last year's Giants game was when Korey Stringer's number was retired.
* Kelci Stringer is taking her case against the Vikings public. This weekend, Stringer and Big K's mother did an interview with Connie Chung on CNN, painting the Vikings as an uncaring, negligent organization that helped in Korey's death.
* Rumors continue to circulate that McCombs is looking to Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor as a possible buyer for the Vikings.