The Netflix Quarterback Premiere at TCO Stadium

 

The Netflix Quarterback Premiere at TCO Stadium

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for July 16, 2023

On Sunday we went to Como Zoo & Conservatory in St. Paul.  We like to see the animals, flowers, and the nude statues ready to skinny dip in the black water.

Luke & Avery joined us for the visit.  They like to hang out with us unless something better comes up with virtually anybody else.

I remember a time when the polar bears were stuck in a tiny cage where they walked and swam in the same circle countless times every day.  Now they have a much bigger cage, but I have my doubts whether or not that original insanity they carried has gone away.  So probably not a good idea to go in there with them.

I this tall!

On Tuesday night, Luke, Miss Sheri and I headed to TCO Stadium in Eagan, Minnesota which is the main practice facility for the Minnesota Vikings.

We were there for the premier of the new Netflix series Quarterback which stars Patrick Mahomes, Marcus Mariota, and the Vikings own Kirk Cousins.

The evening started with a trivia contest and then we all went onto one of the practice fields to watch the show.  It's pretty awesome and shows Kirk in a light I don't think a lot of fans have seen him in before.  Unfortunately, Kirk was in Los Angeles for the premier but he did record a nice intro for the hometown fans as can be seen here:

@toddswank Kirk Cousins introduces TCO Stafium to the Premiere of Netflix show “Quarterback”. #quarterback #kirkcousins #minnesota #vikings #netflix #Premiere ♬ original sound - Todd Swank

On Thursday night, we had one of our Prior Lake Empty Nester get togethers.  The crowd was lighter than the past couple of months, but I guess that can be expected in July.  Those of who did attend had a wonderful evening of laughter and clever repartee.

On Friday night, we headed to Lakefront Park in Prior Lake for Lakefront Music Fest.

We were joined by our good friends, The Korkowski Family.  The night started a little bumpy when a thunderstorm rolled through the area, but the skies cleared up and it ended up being a beautiful evening.

REO Speedwagon was up first and rocked us with classic tunes including Can't Fight This Feeling, Ridin' the Storm Out, and Keep On Loving You.  They reminded me of my childhood when I used to put on my roller skates and speed around the rink while gyrating my hips to these incredible songs.

This weekend concert has been going for 14 years and we've been to most of them.  Every year it feels like the crowd gets bigger and my claustrophobia gets worse. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd were the headliners for the evening and rocked us all night with songs like That Smell, Simple Man, Sweet Home Alabama, and Free Bird.  I burned out a lot of 8 Track players listening to these jams back in the day.

These guys sounded awesome even though sadly not a single original member of the band is still alive today.  That's becoming a more consistent theme as we go to see beloved bands from our childhood, but I'm not going to think about those implications regarding my own age and expected mortality.

Luke and Avery celebrated their 24th birthday all weekend so it wasn't until today that we were able to join them for the party.  Of course we had to go to Benihana to do it up right.  

Happy Birthday, boys!