Gettin' Zygi with it

vike daddy · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 66565

For Minnesota Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, leadership isn’t about doing interviews about the state of the organization. Both Wilfs politely declined to speak for this story.

It’s about placing a symbolic arm around a heartbroken defensive end who suddenly and unexpectedly lost his mother during the season. It’s not about breaking down film and deciding which prospect should be chosen with the team’s first-round draft pick. It’s about sitting quietly in the room and listening while the people they hired to do that job debate the decision. It’s not about standing on the sideline in full view of the television cameras, so the country can see them slapping the backs of their players and congratulating the head coach. It’s about retreating to the privacy of the locker room after the game and handing a necktie to the star of the day.

Spielman: “Just like any family, when you go through ups and downs or different crises, it’s unbelievable the relationship we have to discuss things openly and candidly. That’s so important to how you get through things. It’s not a business, even though it is a business. You can attribute a lot of success we’re having to the atmosphere we get to work in.”

Frazier: “Their approach works. It’s good that they trust the people they hire to do their job as opposed to micromanaging the situation. It’s refreshing in a lot of ways.”

“They treat our players more than just players. They’re people they care about. Our players sense that. That’s why when Zygi came in and talked about the passion he has for this team and this organization, that resonated with them. They’ve seen tangible evidence in the way he treats our players. When some owners talk about it being a family atmosphere, you take it with a grain of salt. Our players know it for a fact. When they deal with certain issues, Zygi, Mark and the Wilf family really care about what’s going on in their lives.”

http://min.scout.com/2/1254603.html
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El Raymundo · Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 5045 Location: Northern Virginia

Great post, VD. I enjoyed reading that and like that this is the kind of team we have become. This is soooooo much more preferable to the old Red McCheaperson days.
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"Live as brave men; and if Fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts." -- Cicero

PaulWall_23 · Joined: 08 Jan 2007 Posts: 2497 Location: Mil,Wisc

Couldn't be prouder to say the Vikings are owned by the Wilf's. They are financially invested, genuinely happy when there is success, yet do not panic when there isn't.

Teams like the Cowboys (extremly hands-on owner), Packers (have no face to speak for the organization), Bears (have frugal ownership), Redskins (knee-jerk owner) would be so lucky to have the Wilf's own them.

Applause

Kudo's to them!

vike daddy · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 66565

El Raymundo · Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 5045 Location: Northern Virginia

I think they just really enjoy owning a football team. They're probably having a blast.
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"Live as brave men; and if Fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts." -- Cicero

vike daddy · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 66565

marshpit23 · Joined: 12 Apr 2006 Posts: 691 Location: Baxter, MN

vike daddy · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 66565

A little more than two years after the Wilfs elevated Frazier, and seven seasons after they acquired the franchise, they have their coach, and the makings of the organization of their dreams. They have one of the five youngest rosters in the league. In one season, they improved from 3-13 to 10-6 and made the playoffs. In the past season, they beat every team in the talented NFC North, as well as the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans.

Frazier and General Manager Rick Spielman have built a team that promises sustainable success, and an organization that is distancing itself from its sordid history and conducting itself with class.

The Vikings have found their coach. They have built a strong organization. They have assumed a classy persona. They have acquired financing for a new stadium.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/185826712.html?refer=y
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PrplChilPill · Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 7793 Location: SLP, MN

Very good ownership. Very good.
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Wins are a team stat, not a QB stat

vike daddy · Joined: 12 Mar 2005 Posts: 66565

Mark Wilf: "I think we're in a situation, we feel structurally in the organization, we're in a place where we feel comfortable. We feel we made a lot of great strides in 2012. It was a great season. Obviously, a disappointing ending. But we feel we have a foundation and a strong core for the future here. We're going to work very hard in 2013 to get it to the next level."

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Contract_talks_set_to_open_between_Vikings_and_coach_Leslie_Frazier010813
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