NFL: No moral victories for the Niners

The Fans Have Spoken

The fans have spoken.

The fan portion of the balloting for the Pro Bowl ended this week and validated the Vikings' selection of rookie Adrian Peterson with the seventh overall selection - making A.D. the top vote-getter among running backs and sixth overall with 753,294 votes.

When the Vikings drafted Peterson, the franchise was in desperate straits to find a face of the franchise. Prior to him arriving, the top-selling Vikings jerseys were of Matt Birk and Steve Hutchinson - a pair of offensive linemen well down on the annual list of jersey sales. Peterson has not only been a fan favorite of Vikings fans, but clearly a fan favorite throughout the country, surpassing votes received by stars like LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson and Clinton Portis.

In addition to Peterson, Tony Richardson's 204,168 votes led all NFC fullbacks in the fan portion of the balloting.

Players and coaches spent Wednesday and Thursday filling out their ballots for the Pro Bowl, which account for the other two-thirds of the voting.

The teams will be announced on Tuesday with the Pro Bowl being played the week after the Super Bowl - Feb. 10 in Honolulu. While fan voting doesn't always put the starters in the lineup, don't be surprised to see several Vikings make the all-star game, including Peterson,