Wilf has high expectations for the team in 2012. (US PRESSWIRE)

In the latest installment of Vikings Tuesday comes a story about team owner Zygi Wilf who, in the face of good judgment and sound reasoning, had this to say about Minnesota's chances in 2012:

"I expect to be (NFC North) division champs," Wilf said Tuesday afternoon, according to 1500ESPN.com's Judd Zulgad. "I want to be able to fight for the division, as we always did every year, and get better for years to come. That's always been our goal and it's been the goal since the first day I came here."

This is the same Vikings outfit, by the way, that won three times last season and six times the season before that. No matter. Wilf's a glass-half-full-type guy.

"(Coach) Leslie (Frazier's) been working very hard, together with (general manager) Rick (Spielman)," Wilf said. "The first time for a long time, I've seen a coordination between both personnel director, a general manager as we've named him, and Leslie. I think (with them) working together (it gives) us the best chance of putting the right guys on the field and being competitive. I have great high hopes for both of them."

Look, we have absolutely no problem with Wilf's remarks. The man's forking over millions to field a team and it's reasonable to conclude that, based on the people he's hired, he thinks the Vikings will be successful. It's akin to Joe Flacco calling himself the league's best quarterback or Michael Vick thinking the Eagles could be a dynasty, or even Rex Ryan proclaiming that he's the NFL's top defensive mind. In this line of work, confidence bordering on hubris is sorta important.

That said, Wilf might think Minnesota is headed for a division title but he's not quite willing to be more specific than that.

"I'm not making any (victory) benchmarks," for Frazier, he said. "I'm expecting a winning season. Like I said, I'm expecting to challenge for the division. So, everyone starts out 0-0, even score and I'm looking forward to the upcoming season."

That last point can't be emphasized enough. We've said it before, but the spring and summer is all about hope -- for fans, players, coaches and even owners. Last year's shortcomings and failures are forgotten, the football gods have hit the reset button and -- in theory, anyway -- everyone's on equal footing heading into the upcoming season. The reality almost never matches the offseason enthusiasm but that's the point; if we knew what was going to happen ahead of time no one would watch.

While we applaud Wilf for his unwavering belief in the Vikings, we're a tad less bullish on their division title chances in 2012. We're guessing we're not in the minority here, either.

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