Matt Hendrickson is the sports director at KJAM Radio in Madison and a Die-Hard Vikings fan… which means he’ll need a Die-Hard Battery to jump-start his heart if the Vikings ever win the Super Bowl.

Well, after all the hard-feelings, name-calling, and generally Congress-like attitude, the NFL players, who somehow think they are “Labor”, and the NFL owners have come to an agreement to end the 132-day lockout. Which means we’ll see a flurry of free-agent signings, training camp and much more before pre-season games begin next month. It also marks about 6 weeks before my Vikings start sucking wind again.

Frankly, I could have cared less about the plight of the owners or the players… the players talk about the long-term damage to their bodies after making millions of dollars in their career. They should talk to firefighters, paramedic/EMTs, and police officers. Their careers (and lives) could end like that. And none of them will ever make a TENTH of what you spoiled crybabies will ever make.

The owners talk about losing money… how the HELL can you lose money when the taxpayers are paying for your brand new stadiums with retractable roofs? Or when you’re charging TEN FRICKING DOLLARS for crappy-a$$ beer? Or when it costs about as much to go to ONE GAME as it does for me to put new tires on my car? With licensing fees, concessions, TV revenue, revenue-sharing, salary caps, corporate sponsorships and ticket sales, you’d have to be a COMPLETE FRICKING MORON to lose money like that!

Both sides came out of this situation as complete TOOLS. And they almost cost themselves not only a season, but a lot of fans, too. Good job, you guys–you nearly killed the golden goose… IDIOTS.

Despite my whining, I’ll still tune in this to watch my Vikings break my heart for the umpteenth time. I’ll shell out the couple-hundred bucks this fall to go with my brothers and dad on our annual NFL sojourn to Minneapolis (though my sister-in-law might insist on Green Bay this year). And I’ll still wear my Jared Allen jersey with hole in it when I tried to burn off loose threads.

Why?

Because, despite all this B.S. and drama, I’ve come to this conclusion….

It’s a hell of a lot better than watching soccer.