Viking Mascot Ragnar Cut from Field After Daring Danegeld Demand

After representing the Minnesota Vikings since 1994 by entertaining fans at home games, Joe Juranitch found himself at home on game day.  However, his forlorn Facebook posting was more than a bit disingenuous.  The human mascot who used to ride a purple motorcycle to lead the Vikings out on the field was cut because his danegeld was too outrageous. 

Danegeld was a tribute payment  by the English and French from the nineth to eleventh century AD to prevent marauding by Vikings.  In Juranitch's case, he wanted a 2100% increase.  Last year, "Ragnar" was paid $1,500 a game.  In Juranitch's renegotiation, he wanted a cool $20,000 a GAME with a 10 year contract. This avaricious offer killed the golden goose.

That would have meant that over the period of the contract, Juranitch would be paid $1.6 million (or $2 million if it included preseason) for being on the sidelines for 90 games.  Nice work if you can get it.  

Well, the Vikings already had a kid friendly mascot Viktor the Viking. And the team might want to watch their expenses as they are footing $551 million of the $1.061 billion U.S. Bank stadium which will be ready in 2016.

There is a fan based petition drive with 10,000 people in order to reinstate Ragnar to his former place on the sidelines. But I suspect that "Ragnar" will have more time to snowtube during his free weekends in Minnesocold.