Farewell, Percy Harvin

image from NFL.com

          I still remember the NFL off-season of the spring of 2009. The Vikings had a decent season. They had won the NFC North and made it into the playoffs. I was finishing up grad school and working at Starbucks, very excited about getting together with some guys at Flatlander's to gorge ourselves on appetizers and watch the NFL draft.
          I read in the paper that morning about a Gator named Percy Harvin, a versatile wide receiver who might be who the Vikings could be looking for. There were some off-the-field issues in Florida, but hey, the Vikings were able to utilize Randy Moss . . . at least his rookie year. The Vikings picked him up in the first round.
          And then Brett Favre came in, had an amazing year, and helped Harvin to get four different Rookie of the Year awards. Harvin remained a shining light of good football-playing in the Vikings painful rebuilding process over the next few years . . . save for a few tantrums and threats to leave.
          Though the Vikings are on the up, and a lot of people wanted to keep Harvin, we knew he was on the way out when he said he wanted to be paid on par with Calvin Johnson (who just broke one of Jerry Rice's records).
          Here's some excerpts from some Vikings bloggers on the subject:

          "Yes, I know that Harvin does this and does that and returns kicks and everything else. Tell me. . .if the Vikings are going to be giving a guy $16.5 million a year, do you think they're going to continue to risk him on the kick return, which you could argue is the most dangerous play in football? I would sure think that they wouldn't. So that right there takes away from Harvin's value. He's never had a 1,000-yard receiving season before, he's had blowups with numerous coaches, he's displaying a significant attitude problem. . .to put it mildly, he certainly isn't enhancing his value at this point.

          "Yes, Harvin is a wonderful football player. Adrian Peterson is a wonderful football player, too, and he's made even more wonderful by the fact that he shuts up, does his job, and gets paid later. Harvin should take a page from his better, more successful teammate."

          We can all take a page from the servant heart of Adrian Peterson. Perhaps it's more than just numbers that make an MVP. I'm sure we can all name a few players who self-stunted their careers with their own ego.
          Be a team player. It's not all about you.