Somehow, the Minnesota Vikings managed to beat the Detroit Lions on Sunday for their first win of the 2015 season without the services of Ragnar the Viking.
As Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press noted, the mascot who was supposed to lead the team from the tunnel on a motorcycle in a horned helmet and furs was not at the stadium for the home opener because of contract negotiations.
Per Krawczynski, the team announced Monday “that they have not been able to reach a new contract agreement with Joe Juranitch, the man who played Ragnar for the last 21 years and was looking for quite a raise.