Minnesota Vikings will have to live without Ragnar, the team’s longtime mascot, after the franchise decided against extending his contract for the 2015 season.
ESPN’s Ben Goessling confirmed this on Monday.
Ragnar had opened up every Vikings home game since 1994 with a ride out of the tunnel on his motorcycle. Unfortunately, he spent Sunday’s home opener watching the game from home, as you can see here in his Facebook photo.
“It doesn’t feel right sitting at home,”Joe Juranitch wrote, via his Facebook account. “This is not by my choice…I don’t make those decisions..At this point it was made for me. I miss all my fans and your support …let’s all stay positive as we move forward.”
The Vikings did manage a big win over divisional rival Detroit Lions, 26-16, but it’s not going to feel right in Minnesota without Ragnar leading the cheering section on Sunday from here on out.
The team released the following statement about Ragnar:
“This offseason, Joe Juranitch’s (Ragnar) contract with the Vikings expired,” the team said in a statement. “Since then the team has had multiple conversations with Joe but has not been able to reach an agreement on his role with the team moving forward.
“The Vikings greatly appreciate what Ragnar has meant to the organization and to the fans over the last two decades. We intend to honor his 21 seasons on the field during a 2015 Vikings home game and we will welcome him to future ceremonial events. We will always consider Ragnar an important part of Vikings history.”
Unless Mr. Juranitch is asking for the moon, it seems kind of weird that the team couldn’t come to an agreement to keep Ragnar as a fixture on the sidelines for years to come.