Dianna Russini Responds to Heavy Criticism from Vikings Fans

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The Minnesota Vikings are getting ready for the start of joint practices this week against the New England Patriots, where many of the teams starters — including redshirt rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy — will get their most significant work of all training camp and preseason.

On Saturday, those fighting for depth spots on the 52-man roster will get their opportunity, when the Vikings and Patriots battle it out during their officially unofficial week two preseason game.

Unfortunately for fans, it sounds like McCarthy’s preseason is over, meaning we will have to wait until Monday, September 8 to see our franchise QB lineup under center again. That also means we have to wait weeks before JJ can start to fend off the negative narratives he can’t escape without playing real NFL regular season games.

ICYMI: Colin Cowherd leads Dianna Russini into JJ McCarthy hater trap

JJ McCarthy’s lead hater is longtime national sports talk show host, Colin Cowherd, who’s been running down the 2024 No. 10 overall pick since the start of his draft process over two years ago.

To this day, Cowherd argues that McCarthy is a system quarterback who has a weak arm and has always been propped up by the greatness of teams he’s played on at IMG Academy in high school, then Jim Harbaugh’s stacked roster, at Michigan.

But earlier this week, Dianna Russini (The Athletic) went Colin’s show, “The Herd“, and followed him right into his JJ McCarthy hater trap, pondering out loud how much of the optimism surrounding McCarthy is being fueled by organizational propaganda being spewed Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah?

Naturally, the Minnesota Vikings fanbase on Twitter and other social medias did not take well to Russin’s comments on “The Herd”. Some are pointing to her incessant reporting on Aaron Rodgers’ interest in the Vikings earlier this offseason as a way to say she’s been a McCarthy hater all along, just like Cowherd.

Russini nervous about flying in for Minnesota Vikings camp

Coincidentally, Dianna is on her way to Minneapolis on Tuesday, where she will be in town to cover joint practices against the New England Patriots this week. When certain Vikings fans on Twitter found that out, the reaction wasn’t very positive.

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Personally, I don’t know if Russini deserves the hatred she’s taking from MN Vikings fans recently. She talks to a million people around the league who probably have all sorts of varying opinions on McCarthy.

When Cowherd started poking and prodding for negative information, she had no idea what she was in for and how many purple kool-aid drinkers watch his show just to aggregate his negative JJ McCarthy takes. She wasn’t ready.

But that’s life in the media business and fans will forget about it soon enough. At the end of the day, McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings will prove themselves to supporters and detractors alike, once games start to matter and JJ piles up a few hundred reps under center. At that point, his play will dictate what is said about them publicly.

Minnesota Vikings fans the nicest in America?

Nonetheless, Russini was asked about her recent online interactions with Vikings fans, during her appearance on the Dan Le Batard and Stugotz Podcast Tuesday, where she appeared a bit concerned over what she is flying into when she arrives in Minneapolis.

Russini goes on to laugh over the fact that she somehow found a way to piss off a fanbase she crowns as “the nicest fanbase in America”.

Russini: “So I’m going to Minnesota tonight and I can’t wait. I feel like I’m going to land at the airport and people are going to throw eggs in my face. By the way, leave it to me to fight with the nicest fanbase in America. Like, of course.”

DLS member: “Is that a known thing that Viking fans are the nicest fanbase, I didn’t know that?”

Russini: “Oh my god, people from Minnesota are unbelievable. Even the staff in Minnesota… you talk about fighting. It’s impossible to fight with the coaching staff and the PR people there. It’s like a ‘Minnesota nice’ thing.

Obviously east coast people, we’re a little more direct. We’ll scream in your face, we’ll love you and hug you later, but we share how we feel. Minnesota[ns], I think they feel the same rage we feel, but they just don’t say it. But that’s part of the reason why I love going to Minnesota is because I’m like, ‘wow, so this is the world where people are kind’.”

Dan Le Batard Show

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Okay, okay Dianna… let’s calm down on the compliments. Because Minnesotans are so “nice” I would not expect you to receive an angry greeting at MSP tonight. At the same time, I guess it wouldn’t necessarily surprise me. Not all Vikings fans are friendly, I’ve learned that personally.

Russini would go on to wonder if McCarthy has seen any of her comments online, and whether or not it will be awkward (all in the video above). Clearly, she has yet to meet JJ McCarthy, because he will quickly calm any fears that he might be holding a grudge.

That’s not his style. If he McCarthy has heard what she said, then he in all likelihood be gracious and self-deprecating, per usual. Then, he’ll fully commit to proving her and others like Cowherd wrong.

Dianna Russini thinks she knows why Minnesota Vikings fans are mad at her

Russini also went down the rabbit hole as to why Minnesota Vikings fans have been so quick to get on her case, regarding her JJ opinions. As I theorized above, she chalks the fanbase’s targeted aggression up to her prediction back in March, on the Dan Patrick Show, when she chose the Vikings as Aaron Rodgers’ eventual destination for the 2025 season.

“I think I got on their bad side because there was a time when Minnesota was having conversations about bringing in Aaron Rodgers. I made the mistake [while doing the Dan Patrick Show], Dan set me up on purpose and said, ‘Alright, take a guess right now. If you had to guess, Aaron Rodgers will play where?’

And as a reporter, when you guess, people think that’s you saying that’s what’s gonna happen. I took a beat and I said, ‘Dan, I think Aaron Rodgers will somehow wind up in Minnesota’…I texted his people and said, ‘never again, no more guessing questions!'”

“I think Minnesota Vikings fans took that as me going, ‘the Vikings are out on JJ.’ Where as I was trying to say, look, this team built to win a Super Bowl. This is a young quarterback coming off a significant injury, who is essentially in his rookie season now. Why not take a shot at Aaron Rodgers, you know?

Dianna Russini – Dan Le Batard Show

When she leaves town on Thursday, we will see if Dianna Russini’s opinion surrounding the new face of Minnesota Vikings football has changed for the better, or if she will jump further on the side of Colin Cowherd, as a card-carrying member of the JJ McCarthy hater club. For now, that answer is TBD.

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