Going by the numbers, no NFL receiver has been less effective this year than Bernard Berrian.
The Vikings wideout has been targeted 16 times, and has only two catches. To put that in perspective, Devin Hester has the fewest receptions other than Berrian of any receiver with at least 16 targets. Hester has seven catches.
Berrian is predictably salty about his struggles, and didn’t mind agreeing with a fan on Twitter Sunday night who pointed out Berrian was open at least five times Sunday. At that point, another Vikings fan on Twitter called Berrian out:
“If you want to follow a hilarious Twitter account, try @B_Twice who says that he’s open a lot and should get the ball more.”
That Vikings fan John Kriesel happens to be a state representative who co-sponsored a bill to put a Vikings stadium in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Berrian clearly didn’t know who it was, and then told Kriesel to shut up. They went back and forth a it.
Kriesel is a war hero that lost two legs while serving in Iraq. This all turned into a big story in Minnesota, with Berrian calling Kriesel to apologize on Monday.
“I’m a big boy,” Kriesel told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “I can handle myself. I ripped him, he ripped me back. We had it going back and forth on Twitter a little bit. I have fun with Twitter. I’m over it. I was never offended by it. “
We stayed away from this story initially because it means nothing and didn’t make either man look great. We saw one headline of the story that reduced it to “Berrian to Amputee War Hero Kriesel: Sit Down & Shut Up.”
That’s an oversimplification. We respect everything Kriesel has done for our country, but do we really want our public officials pandering on Twitter for votes by calling out athletes like sports talk radio callers?
Kriesel said that the Vikings’ record won’t have an affect on the team’s ability to get a stadium. But we say the losing can’t help. At least Kriesel and Berrian have electronically hugged it out.
“He offered, on Twitter, to watch film with me. Maybe I’ll go watch some film with him,” Kriesel said.