Minnesota Vikings vs New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football
Todd Swank's Diary Entry for September 24, 2017
We had the opportunity to attend the home opener for the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football on September 11.
Avery goes to school across the street from US Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota, so he was able to sneak away from classes and come enjoy the game with us.
Our old friends, the Brown Family, have season tickets to the Vikings and were kind enough to meet us outside before the game and pose for some pictures. They're such an attractive family.
This was the first time I'd been to US Bank Stadium when they had the big doors open. I'm glad they were because if I would have to open them myself I probably would have thrown my back out.
This game was particularly special to attend as it was the return of our future hall of fame running back, Adrian Peterson. This was his big debut with the Saints but it ended up being a pretty big disappointment for him as he only had 18 yards on 6 carries. A lot of people booed at him while he was on the field, but I was always a pretty big fan of his. So I quietly clapped and smiled in his direction. I'm sure he appreciated that.
We also had another Vikings legend in attendance. Randy Moss was there to be inducted into the Vikings "Ring of Honor". That guy is straight cash, Homie.
Since it was 9/11, the team had a pretty nice ceremony to honor it. We all held up cards in the air and there were various messages around the stadium like "Never Forget". It ended with a flyover by a huge plane which was pretty surreal. Very nice job, Vikings.
The game was awesome. Sam Bradford led the team with three touchdowns and 346 yards passing. The defense also looked solid and the team went on to win the game 29-19. Exactly the kind of game I like to go and watch!
People give me a hard time because I always post a picture of the cheerleaders whenever I do a blog post on going to a football game. I'm not sure what the issue is. I know how hard they work and am just trying to do the right thing and pay them respect for a job well done. Thank you, ladies!
Back home, the albino squirrels are still stopping by our house on a regular basis. Miss Sheri tells me they are always pretty sensitive to her getting near them to take their picture more so than their brown and grey counterparts. I'm guessing that's because they don't have the same ability to blend in and hide from predators thus they are a little bit more nervous. But that's just a guess. What do I know about squirrel psychology?
On Friday night, we went out with the Walters to sing karaoke and celebrate Dan's birthday. Not necessarily in that order.
Eventually we had some more fun people stop and join us. A good time was had by all.
Dan celebrated his birthday a little too much, so as usual I had to get a little rough with him. I think he appreciates it when I help to keep him in line.
On Saturday, we went to the University of Minnesota to watch them take on Middle Tennessee. Avery let us stop by his dorm before the game to drop off some stuff we bought for him. He then surprised the heck out of me when he volunteered to introduce us to some of his new friends. Of course, when I asked if he wanted to walk to the game with us he looked at me like I was insane. But we are making a little progress at getting him to accept us into his college life.
Before the game, we ran into one of Luke's elementary school teachers, Jill Yarke, and her family. It was great running into them and their kids were so excited to be going to the game. I didn't get to see them afterwards, but I'm sure they were thrilled that the home team won the contest by a score of 34-3.
Goldy Gopher was excited to see us and welcomed us to the stadium.
We enjoyed watching the band perform before the game.
We bumped into a really old friend of ours. Ticket Tim has been buying and selling tickets outside of various stadiums and arenas since he was a little kid. He's a great guy and has a ton of fun stories from probably 1000+ different game days.
We had a special treat when we learned that several high school bands were in attendance to join the University of Minnesota band including our home town Prior Lake High School Marching Band. How cool was that!
Our old friends, the Brown Family, have season tickets to the Vikings and were kind enough to meet us outside before the game and pose for some pictures. They're such an attractive family.
This was the first time I'd been to US Bank Stadium when they had the big doors open. I'm glad they were because if I would have to open them myself I probably would have thrown my back out.
This game was particularly special to attend as it was the return of our future hall of fame running back, Adrian Peterson. This was his big debut with the Saints but it ended up being a pretty big disappointment for him as he only had 18 yards on 6 carries. A lot of people booed at him while he was on the field, but I was always a pretty big fan of his. So I quietly clapped and smiled in his direction. I'm sure he appreciated that.
We also had another Vikings legend in attendance. Randy Moss was there to be inducted into the Vikings "Ring of Honor". That guy is straight cash, Homie.
Since it was 9/11, the team had a pretty nice ceremony to honor it. We all held up cards in the air and there were various messages around the stadium like "Never Forget". It ended with a flyover by a huge plane which was pretty surreal. Very nice job, Vikings.
The game was awesome. Sam Bradford led the team with three touchdowns and 346 yards passing. The defense also looked solid and the team went on to win the game 29-19. Exactly the kind of game I like to go and watch!
People give me a hard time because I always post a picture of the cheerleaders whenever I do a blog post on going to a football game. I'm not sure what the issue is. I know how hard they work and am just trying to do the right thing and pay them respect for a job well done. Thank you, ladies!
Back home, the albino squirrels are still stopping by our house on a regular basis. Miss Sheri tells me they are always pretty sensitive to her getting near them to take their picture more so than their brown and grey counterparts. I'm guessing that's because they don't have the same ability to blend in and hide from predators thus they are a little bit more nervous. But that's just a guess. What do I know about squirrel psychology?
On Friday night, we went out with the Walters to sing karaoke and celebrate Dan's birthday. Not necessarily in that order.
Eventually we had some more fun people stop and join us. A good time was had by all.
Dan celebrated his birthday a little too much, so as usual I had to get a little rough with him. I think he appreciates it when I help to keep him in line.
On Saturday, we went to the University of Minnesota to watch them take on Middle Tennessee. Avery let us stop by his dorm before the game to drop off some stuff we bought for him. He then surprised the heck out of me when he volunteered to introduce us to some of his new friends. Of course, when I asked if he wanted to walk to the game with us he looked at me like I was insane. But we are making a little progress at getting him to accept us into his college life.
Before the game, we ran into one of Luke's elementary school teachers, Jill Yarke, and her family. It was great running into them and their kids were so excited to be going to the game. I didn't get to see them afterwards, but I'm sure they were thrilled that the home team won the contest by a score of 34-3.
Goldy Gopher was excited to see us and welcomed us to the stadium.
We enjoyed watching the band perform before the game.
We bumped into a really old friend of ours. Ticket Tim has been buying and selling tickets outside of various stadiums and arenas since he was a little kid. He's a great guy and has a ton of fun stories from probably 1000+ different game days.
We had a special treat when we learned that several high school bands were in attendance to join the University of Minnesota band including our home town Prior Lake High School Marching Band. How cool was that!