Sports fans can get pretty righteous, climbing up onto high horses to decry various off-field transgressions committed by millionaire athletes. That indignation, of course, is often paired with a frustration over a losing season (see Love Boat, 2005), uneven performances (see Smith, Dwight) or a detachment afforded by distance (see Jones, Pacman). When raw ability comes into play, and the home team saves the day, the moral compass is tucked away. The Vikings have a name for their moral compass: A 77-page Code of Conduct that came out after the Love Boat fiasco. But if the last 24 hours have reinforced anything, it is that talent tends to triumph if there’s enough of it. The notion is summed up in today’s paper:

“The Vikings have a bit of a PR problem and this [signing] won’t help,” said Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, and an outspoken opponent of public funding for pro stadiums. “But it will help make the team better, and that’s what most fans will think about. … It seems fans are more forgiving when it’s a great player.”

That’s hardly breaking news (see Simon, Chris), but it is pertinent for review in light of the trade for and signing of defensive end Jared Allen. Fans want to forget one big number (2, DWI arrests during a four-month span in 2006) to focus on another (15.5, NFL-leading sacks last season). They want Malik Sealy and Jared Allen to be parts of separate conversations. Would the same be true if Allen had, say, six sacks last season? Part of the eagerness to put negatives aside in this case, to be sure, is Allen’s contrition and resolution not to relive those mistakes. He is engaging and up-front about it. There is a point at which past transgressions should be forgiven instead of constantly remembered and held up to the light. But there is also a place for skepticism — or at least the idea that it’s silly to pretend we want athletes with a squeaky clean record when really we’ll just take a winner. Talent is a hard thing to top. That’s why Pacman Jones has a new job with Dallas; that’s why Royce White, in limbo not long ago after being dismissed from DeLaSalle High and enrolling at Hopkins, just committed to the Gophers men’s basketball team; and that’s why Vikings coaches and fans are thinking about little else than how far a dynamic DE can take this team.

Fasola-link! An analysis of the NFL draft using performance vs. compensation. Turns out the middle of the second round is where it’s at. Everything is comin’ up Vikings!

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