On Thursday night we headed to downtown Minneapolis and US Bank Stadium for the Vikings 2023 NFL Draft Party.
This is our 2nd year in a row going to the event. Last year they had a big stage with local sports celebrities doing a live play by play of the NFL draft. This year they skipped the stage and local celebrities and just showed the draft on the big screens. Still fun, but not quite as fun.
They did have local media reporting from the event, but none of the local broadcasts were played for the crowd here for some silly reason. I guess they wanted us focused on the national program out of Kansas City. I kind of thought we could have just done that from home, but guess we would have missed out on the Vikings stadium atmosphere.
We did get photo opps with several team members including our potential #1 running back, Alexander Mattison. Technically we still have our previous #1 running back, Dalvin Cook, but all indications are he'll be traded before the start of the new season. I tried to get Alexander to give us some inside scoop, but he just shuffled us along for the next people to get a photo with him.
Harrison "Horrible Harry" Phillips is a defensive lineman with the team and also a really cuddly sort of fellow.
Ty Chandler is another running back with the team although we didn't get to see him play much as he was injured early in his rookie season. Before that he showed a lot of flash, so hopefully we'll get to see him shine this coming season.
I saw our starting left tackle, Christian Darrisaw, playing Xbox with some fans. I thought about trying to get a picture with him but he gave me a look like I probably shouldn't interrupt his game. So I stepped aside and took this picture instead. It's nice also.
I saw Purple Spiderman nearby so asked him to take a picture with me instead. Unlike Darrisaw, he was quite happy for the opportunity to join me.
We had the chance to take a tour of the Vikings locker-room which was fun, but pretty empty since it's the off season. They had a couple lockers made up to look like they were Justin Jefferson's and Harrison Smith's. I didn't see any unmentionables in either one of them so it just didn't feel like the real thing.
@toddswank With the #1.pick, the Vikings select…. #nfldraft #nfldraft2023 #minnesota #vikings ♬ Heart on my sleeve the wizard remix - The Wizard