Vikings Fan Spotlight: Purple & Gold Around the World (Part II)

This week’s Vikings Fan Spotlight is Part II of a 3-segment series. I had such an amazing response on Twitter from Vikings fans all over the world, and I decided to break this feature into three separate parts. 

Kristian L. G. Nielsen – Havdrup, Denmark – @klgn

kristianQ: How did you first become a Vikings fan?
A: This a bit funny, actually. In the early 90’s a lot of the kids at my school bought NFL caps. I bought one as well. The first one was actually a Giants cap, but it broke. The next one I bought was a Vikings cap, it was a grey one. I got teased a bit at school, because the Raiders were the popular team. Back then NFL was only shown in a weekly highlight show, and I must admit I didn’t watch it. Actually thought it was a weird sport. I watched a lot of soccer instead. Soccer is the most popular sport over here. As every Vikings fan know Atlanta made it to the Super Bowl in 1999, and the Falcons kicker at that time, Morten Andersen, is Danish, so that Super Bowl was broadcast back here and was the beginning of NFL being broadcast over here live every kristian2Sunday. […] I have a tough time watching a sport and not cheering for a specific team, and since I still had (and have) my grey Vikings cap, the choice was easy for me. I don’t know at what spcific date it happened, but I would probably say the Vikings @ Packers playoff game in 2005 where Moss mooned at Lambeau is the first one I remember cheering vividly for the Vikings. […] Before we had kids I would watch every game live, I would even go to bed early, set an alarm and get up at 2.30 AM to watch the late night games. Now I’ll have to catch those games OnDemand instead. I also listen to a lot of the Minnesota sports radio stations […] and love listening to fan podcasts and discussing Vikings stuff on twitter. I’m spending way too much time being a Vikings fan, but once you’re hooked you can’t get rid of it.

Q: Who is your favorite player on the current Vikings roster?
A: This is a tough one. A year ago I would have said Adrian Peterson, but now it’s a bit tougher. I’m going to go with John Sullivan. He seems like a great dude, and I love listening to him on various radio shows. He’s very articulate and the insights he gives are very good, I think.

Q: Who should the Vikings draft at No. 11? 
A: Well, my opinion changes every day, but at the moment I’m on the Marcus Peters bandwagon. I know there are some character concerns, but I think most of them are just him being immature. Trey Waynes would be another option I’d be OK with. We need to have someone to bookend Xavier Rhodes in the NFC North.

David Thropp – Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England – @MrDaveThropp

David Thropp2Q: How did you first become a Vikings fan?
A: I met a guy called Steve whilst playing online poker back in the early 2000’s. Our friendship grew, and we played World of Warcraft online also so had hours to kill talking football. Steve lives in Hugo, MN. My love of the NFL [stretches] back to the early 90’s when it made fleeting appearances on English TV, but I had never really chosen a team to follow. Steve [and I] got talking about the Vikings (whom i knew nothing about at the time), and my love for all things purple grew from there. Having someone to run me through the finer points of Vikings news (before I found Twitter) was very enjoyable. These days with a partner and young son with special needs, I find losing myself in Vikings stuff for a few hours a great relaxant.

Q: Are there a lot of Vikings fans in the UK?
A: Whilst we are not the largest-supported team in the UK (a bit like soccer, everyone wants to follow the flash teams), we have a loyal fan base which grew after the London game. I personally met dozens of Vikings fans at subsequent NFL London games since.

Q: What are you most looking forward to for the 2015 Vikings season?
A: For me its going to be a season of building. Teddy [Bridgewater] was immense under great pressure last season and I can only see him growing but we HAVE to protect him better and I think this will be the key to how well we actually do. We missed trick by not bolstering the O Line in FA, and I am not sure the stop gap guys Like Berger can cut it. If AP stays, however, this will take pressure off Teddy and we should put some serious points on the board. My prediction is 9-7.

Graeme Smith – Edinburgh, Scotland – @smith_stuff

doppelgangerQ: How did you first become a Vikings fan? 
A: In 2004, my friend and I spent two weeks in Bloomington (MN) staying with my friend’s aunt and uncle. As part of our trip we were fortunate enough to be taken to the season opener vs the Cowboys—watching Moss catching bombs from Culpepper—I’ve been hooked ever since!

Q: Who is your favorite player on the current Vikings roster?
A: Harrison Smith—and not just because we share the same name. His combination of attitude, intelligence and physicality is something that’s been missing from our secondary for years!

Q: Who should the Vikings draft at No. 11 this year?
A: Tough one this year. If [Brandon] Scherff is still on the board at 11, he’d be tough to pass up as a plug and play left guard, but after so many multiple first-round picks, this could be the year to trade down if we can get the right offer…

Q: What are you most looking forward to for the 2015 season?
A: Same as every Vikings fan—watching Teddy lead this team to the playoffs!

Christian Fischer – Guatemala City, Guatemala – @fisharino

christianQ: How did you first become a Vikings fan?
A: I was 15 and a big basketball fan; when the Timberwolves drafted KG and saw I him play, they became my team. Then the Vikings got [Randy] Moss and I decided to start following the Vikings…so yes, it was thanks The Kid and the Original 84 that I became a fan.  Since around 1998 I’ve been following both teams, suffering along the way, but have also fell in love with the loyalty and high IQ of the fan base […] Only hard thing is explaining to people in my country especially friends and family why I’m such a diehard fan of a Minnesota team, but I have hope in Zim and Teddy that it will be easier to explain my fandom in the following years.

Q: Who is your favorite player on the current Vikings roster? 
A: Teddy Bridgewater!!! I could not stop laughing of joy when Spielman snagged him in the on the first round last year.

Q: Are there a lot of other Vikings fans near where you live? 
A: I know of only three more fans! A friend of mine who did an exchange and lived in Minnesota when Moss was in his prime and just recently my wife and my two-year-old son.

Q: What is your favorite piece of Vikings memorabilia you own?
A: My favorite item is an old 12-inch figurine of Moss and a collection of Patterson Prominence Letterman trading cards of CP84. I’m just one letter away from completing the last name, so if anyone has the “N” let me know (I still have faith in CP84, by the way).

 

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