'One Of The Greatest To Play The Game': Vikings' Robison On AP
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Brian Robison has quietly become the most seasoned veteran for the Vikings. His perception has changed since he arrived in town from Texas.
"When I got drafted, I didn't know much about the state or anything like that so my first idea was, well I'm going to the Arctic. All you hear of is the cold weather and the snow and the wind and all that stuff," Robison said.
He's seen much since that rookie season, including the Vikings' most famous game he played in -- against the New Orleans Saints in January 2010.
"We had our opportunities. We did a lot of great things in that game to get us where we needed to be and probably the one thing you look at that really hurt us was penalties and turnovers," he said, "So it's always a little bit more difficult to handle when you realize that you did what you should have done in order to be there but you beat yourself. And really and truly that's what hurts the most."
Monday night he will reacquaint himself with Adrian Peterson. The two grew up in Texas, played against each other in college -- and oh yeah, with the Minnesota Vikings.
"I think he's one of the greatest to play the game, I really do," Robison said. "I grew up an Emmitt Smith fan. Being from Texas you always heard about Eric Dickerson and the things that he did. You look at a lot of the backs around the league -- Barry Sanders, those guys -- they all had a element to their game that made them special. Adrian is the same way. He runs with such speed and power. He fights for every inch he gets."
Having all that shared history, what is their relationship like?
"It's been good, man. It really has. We played against each other for three years when he was at OU and I was at Texas, so we had that rivalry," Robison said. "And then being able to be here with him for 10 years, you got to know the person he is. Great teammate, great running back and a great person off the field as well."
And oh yeah, Robison is not the only athlete in his family. His wife Jayme competes nationally in the rodeo, and she is serious about it -- real serious.
"Doing it even heavier now than she did before. She just got off the road for two-and-a-half months, she's done that for two years now," Robison said. "She goes out, they call it cowboy Christmas, which is pretty much end of June all the way through the beginning of August she's pretty much on the road. Doesn't come home, I mean she's on the road for two months. It's tough on the family, but at the same time what kind of person would I be if I don't support her job and sacrifice that as much as she does for me."