Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has a good spring compared to Taylor and Pohlad

Published 2:56 am Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Column: Notes from Nashville, by Andrew Dyrdal

Minnesota Timberwolves’ owner Glen Taylor this week watched his top choice to fill the team’s head coaching vacancy — Staples-native Steve Joerger — balk at his home-state team to return to the Memphis Grizzles in a bizarre twist.

Meanwhile, across the street, Twins’ owner, Jim Pohlad, sat at a half-empty Target Field and watched his team slip two games below .500 with their $184 million dollar man, Joe Mauer, sitting fourth on the team in batting average, fifth in RBIs and sixth in home runs.

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An average Joe, indeed.

Who isn’t average is Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, who on the other hand is having a much different spring than his peers. He’s shoveled dirt at the groundbreaking of his future $1 billion stadium, introduced two more first round draft picks — his sixth and seventh first-rounders in just three years — and maybe most impressively, on Tuesday was awarded Super Bowl 52, to be held in 2016 at his shiny new palace.

While the Vikings have often been mired in the inconsistency on the field much like the Timberwolves and Twins, Wilf is the Twin Cities’ best sports owner, and it’s not even close.

Taylor and Pohland, both Minnesotans, run their teams like proper Midwesterners. They have a tight grip on their wallets and don’t bring in players who will improve the team but bring controversy with them.

Wilf was born in Germany but was raised in New Jersey. He runs the Vikings much like owners from the Northeast. He opens his wallet to land stars Brett Favre and Jared Allen, and allows his general manager to take chances on talented but troubled players like Randy Moss and Percy Harvin.

The Vikings’ theme for its Super Bowl pitch to NFL owners was “Be Bold.” Wilf has certainly been bold since he bought the Vikings in 2005.

Andrew Dyrdal’s column appears in the Tribune each Tuesday.