Packer Fans, Media Triggered by Anthony Barr Tribute Video
Dustin Baker
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Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr signed with Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, formally ending his eight-season career in Minnesota.
Barr reunites with former Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards, now a Senior Assistant in Dallas, and safety Jayron Kearse with the Cowboys.
As a farewell, Vikings social media posted a thank-you video to Barr on its Twitter page, a tribute that triggered Green Bay Packers fans and Packers-themed websites. The montage is 59 seconds long.
At the 0:12-mark, Barr is seen beginning a sack on Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a hit that ultimately ended Rodgers’ 2017 season due to a broken collarbone. The video does not show the “driving into the ground” of the quarterback, nor was Barr flagged on the play.
Still, PackersWire featured the video in an article on Friday, noting, “celebrating injuries is always a very bad look, and the Vikings just keep celebrating this one.”
The article features the photo of the lead-up to Barr’s sack — much like the Vikings video selection.
It is unclear how the Vikings “celebrated” the injury, especially after cutting the injury aspect from the video. Barr was not fined for the hit, and the NFL later changed rules on hitting the quarterback for the following season. The next time one witnesses a “ticky-tack” roughing-the-passer penalty, the Rodgers-Barr transaction can be cited as the catalyst. Such infractions are often referred to as The Aaron Rodgers Rule.
Predictably, Packers-oriented accounts from Twitter piled on following the publication of the PackersWire piece. The Pack It Up Podcast tweeted, “Expect no less from the empty trophy cases.”
A fan with the Twitter handle @84brucewayne commented, “No surprise from that garbage organization.”
During the same season as the hit in question, the Packers finished 7-9 while the Vikings reached the NFC Championship. Packers fans often blame the Rodgers injury for the losing season, claiming Green Bay would’ve won the NFC North if not for the Barr sack. Curiously, though, the Packers finished the 2018 season with a 6-9-1 record, and Rodgers played all 16 games that year.
Barr and the Cowboys will meet the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on November 20th. Before that, however, the Packers open the season in Minnesota versus the Vikings on September 11th.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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