When the Saints Come Marching In

 

When the Saints Come Marching In

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for November 12, 2023

Miss Sheri went to the farm to be with her mom this week, so I had a taste of the bachelor lifestyle.  On Friday night, it was the Marine Corps Birthday so I called up one of my favorite Marines, Dan Walters, and said we need to celebrate.  We headed to the American Legion in Savage while Luke, Jackson, and several of their friends decided to join us.  It was a nice birthday party.

Dan and I then headed to the newly re-opened VFW in Prior Lake who were also having a wing-ding to mark the occasion as well as Veteran's Day.  We saw our good friends, Ted & Marsha, shortly after we arrived along with several other fine people.  They completely re-decorated the place so it's a bit strange being inside as it kind of looks like the old place, but more modern with a much bigger bar.  Good call.

On Sunday, we headed to US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to cheer on our beloved Minnesota Vikings.

It was Avery's turn to join me for a game.  The home team had been on a 4 game winning streak so we were hopeful to see it continue.

We've had a lot of injuries lately so a variety of unfamiliar faces have had to step up and contribute during the recent wins.  It seems we have pretty good coaches to help be able to make that happen and put the new guys in positions to succeed.

Because it was Veteran's Day weekend, the Vikings had many tributes to the US military throughout the game.  It made me feel pretty darned patriotic!

Last week's game in Atlanta was a barn-burner.  We were excited to see our rookie quarterback, Jaren Hall, take over after Kirk Cousins went down with a season ending injury the week before.  Jaren started off pretty good, but as he was going for a touchdown, he got knocked in the head and ended up leaving the game with a concussion.  Joshua Dobbs had been with the team for only a few days and had to take over.  It was shaky at first, but then he started balling out and helped win the game for the Vikings.  We were anxious to find out if he could do it two weeks in a row.

Derek Carr & The New Orleans Saints were in town.  They had the same 5-4 record as the Vikings and have been a challenging team for us historically.

  Joshua Dobbs was so impressive.  He threw for 268 yards and a touchdown and ran in another.  This is his 7th team since he's been in the league, but it feels like he may have found a new home that can last for awhile.  The team played a little too conservatively in the second half and almost let the Saints back into it, but held on for the eventual 27-19 win.  That's 5 in a row and the longest current winning streak in the NFL!  Skol Vikings!!