Vikings Training Camp 1999

Training Camp Diary

By Jerad Hoff

Tony and I cut out of work early and headed south. Saw a few folks wearing purple also headed the same direction.

We arrived in Mankato around 2:30pm. Following my usual pattern of getting lost, I made a wrong turn into a parking lot that was off limits. As I was turning around, a security guard drove up and informed us that this lot was not open to the public yet. He then added that it would be available soon so we might as well park there anyway. He said not to worry about a ticket, and I informed him he was on my Christmas card list. I pulled into the lot that was just a few hundred feet from the stadium.

A line already had formed to enter the stadium, plus a long line for the will call window. Tony and I looked around and decided we had better get in line for our tickets. There were a few games set up, such as throw the football through the tire and some odd obstacle course deal that involved putting on and taking off a football jersey. I guess you had to be there.

After being in line for about 15 minutes, we were informed by a woman with a Vikings shirt on that we were all lined up on the wrong side of the booth. Everyone made a mad dash to where they thought the lady meant for us to go. It was mildly amusing to watch grown adults run around like grade school kids to get a good spot in line. We all ended up in the right line and waited.

Just as the booth was supposed to open, we were informed that different lines would be formed for different ranges of the alphabet. We scooted over to the H line and were about 6-7 people back when the window opened.

I got our tickets and Tony suggested we should get in line to get in the stadium. I wasn't too enthusiastic about waiting in line, so I decided I wanted to look a round a little. After about 10 minutes the line had doubled. Kicking myself for not listening to Tony, we headed over to get in line. The line started to head down the block and may folks didn't know the line was for people who had tickets, not for those who needed tickets.

While in line, Tony spotted two guys in Walsh jerseys. I chased them down and scared the crap out of them like I always do when I chase people down with Walsh stuff on. I don't blame them for thinking I was psycho, I would be nervous too if some guy ran up to me asking to take my picture.

Anyway, turns out their names are Jesse and Chad and they're brothers. Chad got his authentic custom made jersey for Christmas, Jesse got his later for his birthday. I got some video of their jerseys and headed back into line.

At about 3:50 those of us in line were informed another gate would also be used to gain entry into the stadium. Tony and I, along with a few hundred other people, sprinted to the new line. Again our fortunes improved, we were about 10 back in line.

The gates opened, and I hot tailed it over to the front row, 50 yard line seats. Tony limped along behind me (he's recovering from knee surgery). We sat down and looked at our watches. It was a little after 4, the scrimmage starts at 7pm. This could get boring.

But it never did really. They had different events for kids to do on the field, such as tackling drills, running deep routes to catch a bomb and even foot drills. It was absolutely hilarious watching little kids tackle stuff. We started chatting with those around us and it was just a relaxing day out in the sun.

Jesse walked by and I stopped him to ask why he's a Walsh fan. His story was that of many Walsh fans; he has end zone season tickets and he loves Walsh's attitude, energy and play. Jesse even got Walsh's autograph on his jersey last year.

The stadium began to fill pretty fast over the next couple of hours. As the stadium became packed, people tried to sit in front of me on the ground. Fortunately, some ushers kept the isles clear for the most part. Some people got to sit right next to the railing, which were awesome seats. I was kind of irritated that I had waited so long to have nice seats yet one guy had the gall to yell at an usher, complaining he should get to stand in the front row because he was a half hour early and there was no where to sit.

The scrimmage itself was irrelevant to me. I just wanted to see our guys in purple and gold out on the field. There were a couple of nice plays but for the most part the defense ruled. Walsh had a nice catch over the middle for a first down. Then my video camera died. I made record time out to the car and back during "halftime."

Ragnar came through our section. He must have been extremely warm in his fur outfit. He yelled, "Tell me what you want signed, I can't read your mind!" And, for a moment, Tony and I thought he was a little grumpy. Turns out, he's wasn't. He was teasing kids, signing everything that was handed to him. As he started to leave I let him I know I really enjoy watching him at the dome. He said "thanks" and moved on.

As the game concluded, fans started to head for the field. The stadium announcer informed us that going on the field was a no-no. After a few moments, Tony and I decided to head out onto the field. Tony headed straight for Culpepper, I ended up standing next to Cris Carter. I was too much in awe to take his picture and when I finally got up the nerve, he was surrounded. Looking around I noticed a bald head making his way to the exit. Someone came over to him and pointed to the sidelines and they made their way to a young fan who was looking for an autograph. I headed over that way and got a couple of nice pictures of Walsh signing a football. When he was done, I shook his hand and let him know about this site. He said he'd, "check it out," as he hurriedly headed off the field.

I went back to midfield and found Tony. He was as high as a kite. He told me how he made his way to Culpepper just as the media started to surround him. Culpepper looked as though he noticed Tony's Culpper jersey and tried to make his way over to Tony. Tony managed to nudge his way up front and asked Culpepper "Would you sign my jersey before you change your number?" and Culpepper laughed and signed Tony's jersey. Tony was rather disappointed I was not present to photograph the occasion.

Just then Dennis Green, the sheriff himself, was walking right towards us, about 15 feet away. He was yelling that we all had to get off the field and that the players needed to go. Then, in slow motion, Green began headed directly to us. He was about 5 feet away and Tony put his hand out, to shake Green's hand. As Green approached, he looked at Tony's hand kinda funny, then stuck his own out and shook Tony's hand, said "Hey, how ya doing?" as he walked by.

It was amazing. Actually, so is Tony when it comes to dealing with famous people. I get nervous and stammer, Tony saunters up to them like they've been friends for years. Tony is a great guy to bring with when you need an autograph.

We were standing there on the field jabbering on about our brushes with fame when I looked up and noticed we were being taped by a FOX camera man. He put the camera down and said to Tony, "You don't see too many jerseys like that."

We headed over to the autograph area, which was a brilliant concept by somebody. The players were on the side of a 5 foot fence separated from all the fans. Fans piled upon each other trying to get a chance for an autograph. I can't imagine how things would have turned out if the players had been completely surrounded by 7,000+ fans.

I had grabbed my Viking Update that featured a two-page photo of Walsh from the car to see if I could get it autographed.

We located Walsh just as someone was handing their baby over the fence to Walsh. He signed the kid's hat (while it was still on) and handed it back over. It was pretty funny. Tony said he'd get an autograph for me, took my newspaper and walked up to the mob. Being tall with long arms, he got Walsh to grab the paper about 10 seconds later. Walsh looked at it for a second and said "Hey, I had hair back then. I looked pretty good" signed it and gave it back to Tony.

We headed over to the building where the locker rooms are and watched the players head for the showers. We waited around some more and headed over to the back door where the players would make a run for the dorms. It got late and there weren't many people around anymore. We noticed some parent-looking folks wearing Matt Birk jerseys and a large man signing autographs. Tony walked up to the apparent parents and asked, "Does he get this kind of attention all the time?" with a big smile on his face. The woman answered, "Not usually. But he knows he doesn't get his bedtime snack unless he signs each one."

We started to walk away when I noticed a couple of people who had "Chris Walsh Fan Club" on the back of their shirts. I caught up with them and asked where they got those shirts. Apparently, I managed to spook these folks too, because they really looked at me with apprehension. I explained about this site and that I'm a big fan and they warmed up a little bit. They explained they're friends of the Walsh family and that there is a real fan club. I got the impression that it's only for friends and family though. I took their picture, jotted their names down and thanked them for their time.

Later, we noticed Jim Kleinsasser leaving and headed over to him. There were only about 15-20 people around, most of the kids had no idea who he was, but wanted his autograph anyway. He looked very tired, but signed each request without complaint. Taking a page from Tony's autographing playbook, I just wandered up and asked, "So, how do you like playing fullback?" and he looked up from his autograph and answered, "Hey, whatever it takes to get on the field. Football is football," and we all chuckled. I handed him my scrimmage ticket and asked if he could autograph it, though it might be tough because it's small and wrinkled. He took my ticket it from he and signed it, I thanked him and told him I appreciated it. As he answered, "no problem," someone yelled he had to go our he'd be late for a video session. I said, "We don't want you getting in trouble," and a few of us laughed and he headed for the dorms.

Tony and I pondered our boarding situation as we headed back for the car. It was tough to hold a serious conversation with the guy, he was still bouncing around from getting Culpepper's autograph.

We found a place to stay, I plugged in all my electronic gear. Tony, the gear and I recharged for the next day's activities.

Day 2