Behind Enemy Lines: My Day at the Minnesota Vikings' Training Camp

Dear Sports Fans,

I have been behind enemy lines and lived to tell you about it.

It is purple, and smells of kettle corn.

This morning I had the pleasure to attend Vikings Training Camp in Mankato, MN—held on the beautiful and spacious Minnesota State University (Div II). Mankato is a wonderful town. Accessed by the "Laura Ingles Wilder Memorial Freeway," it is a bit bigger than in her day—a little smaller than Muskegon or Bay City.

Mankato is also the one-time home of Detroit Tiger, Curtis Granderson, who played for the Mankato Mashers (a summer league/college-aged team) when he was 19. I interviewed Granderson last year who said that Mankato is a "great town." He spent a lot of time at the local Buffalo Wild Wings.

Mankato also happens to be about 45 minutes from where I went to school, and where I currently produce and host a sports radio show.

It turns out, we're part of the Vikings' Radio Network.

And it turns out, there are perks.

This morning, I was not only in attendance, I was a VIP. I brought my good friend, Matt. He (God bless him) is a Packer fan. There we were, a Lions' fan and a Packers' fan, traipsing past an endless sea of Purple and Gold—like a hairy and smelly Prince concert, into the VIP area in the endzone at MSU.

See, the Vikings do training camp right. They don't go hundreds of miles away, pissing off their players, families, and fanbase. They hole themselves up in a posh, air-conditioned facility away from prying eyes.

They go about an hour away, so personnel and media—most of whom live on the southside of Minneapolis anyway—can drive in the morning. They go to a city that has a life and a vibrant section of the fanbase that appreciates football.

Vikings' players love Mankato. They're treated like kings. Even a guy the size of Steve Hutchinson can slip away and find some peace. Meanwhile, the entire town turns into one big fanzone. Chuck Foreman, Randall McDaniel, Fran Tarkenton are just some of the names that have graced Mankato in recent years.

Bud Grant is practically a fixture.

Think of how Kalamazoo, Allendale, or even Ann Arbor would react to the Lions descending on their town. How much more if the Lions were relevant!

Entry is free.

I'll let that sink in for a second...

The local rock station blares their feed over giant speakers. There is an NFL Kidszone set up where you can punt, pass, or kick your way to mini stardom. The place is littered with displays to tell you how big players hands and feet are.

Food vendors dot the landscape. Kettle Corn is a Minnesota specialty, and the entire place reeks of it. I passed, knowing free food was up ahead.

So, Matt and I head up to the VIP platform. It was a nice, sunny day (no "purple rain"). We were greeted by a few lovely attendants who offered us beverages and told us about the accoutrements. Then Chad Abbot, director up at KFAN, introduced himself and told us what we could look forward to.

Perhaps the highlight of the day was having Paul Allen, voice of the Vikings, do his midday show from about five yards away. This man was built for play-by-play. He has the calm basso profundo of Kevin Harlan and the urgency of Dickie V. He's also a riot.

The downside of the show was the ***hat who tried to tell the listeners all the reasons Chicago would take the banner from the Tigers.

The upside was after the show, hearing Allen describe his daughter's lovely dance teacher, in length. As beautiful as he makes an Adrian Peterson run sound, think what he can do for shapely curves.

Then, once-more, the Packerbacker and I waltzed past some Vikings' faithful on our way down to the field for some up close and personal scouting.

I've interviewed many of these guys, many of them with towels around their waist and chest acne staring me right at eye level. There aren't many athletes who truely overwhelm me with their size any more. (Aaron Kampman and Steve Hutchinson being the notable exceptions.)

But Phil Loadholt, that kid is a King-size case of muscle. He may have some holes in his game but he is still growing. He could easily add another 20 lbs and no one would notice—except defensive ends everywhere.

As for the Vikings' other rookie, Percy Harvin—the pot-smoking speedster—is worth the price of admission. If he ever gets a QB to throw him the ball, he could be special.

That brings us to the quarterback situation.

Lions' fans, I wouldn't worry about this one.

Sage Rosenfels looks a lot like Joey Harrington once did. No, not awkwardly feminine. (Well, a little bit.) But rather, everything for him is a check down. He certainly can't hit a receiver in stride. The only time he got the ball in the endzone was on a fourth-down overthrow (following a third-down overthrow), on which Sidney Rice flashed some skills.

Tavaris Jackson, well, he looked a lot like Jon Kitna. Strong arm, well built, made a few flashy plays—can't make a play on third down to save your life. In addition, Jackson has yet to comprehend the concept of timing routes.

John David Booty looked a lot like a steaming pile of crap.

If Jackson somehow finds the magic he captured at the end of last season, their offense could do some damage. However, none of these guys can manage to keep defenders out of the box.

After AP? I wouldn't worry about that either. The best running plays of the day were courtesy of former Boise State Bronco, Ian Johnson. Second-year player, Albert Young, had a few nice pass catches and former Lion (and lollipop guild member) Antone Smith made a few flashes.

The defense? I won't give you nightmares yet. They're good. Ironically, they're probably the only defense who could stop Peterson in his tracks. They're certainly the only defensive line who can continually break through the middle of McKinnie and company.

As we left Mankato, I pondered how great a camp like this would be for Detroit. Believe it or not, Michigan is fundamentally a football state. We have five FCS schools and a number of Div II football programs. Yearly, our state produces a number of four and five star recruits.

Michigan, Michigan State, and even the directional U's have rabid fanbases. Think if they united to form one giant, vibrant Lions' Nation.

Minnesota has two below average football colleges. Its best football recruit plays catcher for the Twins.

Yes sports fans, I've been behind enemy lines and back.

It's purple, reeks of kettle corn, and it comes with the startling realization that we're all fans of a second rate franchise that often treats its fans to less than any other NFL Franchise.

It is one giant Adrian Peterson jersey—and a mullet.