What Happens in Mankato Stays in Mankato
by Eric Durkin
Love of Sports Correspondent
I’m a proud graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Well, that’s not entirely true. I am a graduate of the MSU-M, however, proud might be a stretch. I’ll be the first to tell you Mankato isn’t exactly Harvard.
For many people college was all about meeting new friends, partying and eventually getting a degree. I’m no different. A lot of those same people would say one of their crowning achievements was getting that degree. Not me though, I think my crowning achievement was getting drunk with Mike Tice, former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
Mankato, Minnesota is 80 miles south of the Twin Cities. It’s a town of about 40,000 people surrounded by basically nothing. For 43 years the Vikings have made their way down to Mankato every July for training camp. Some faster than others in the case of Koren Robinson, who was arrested for a DWI while trying to make it back to Mankato from Minneapolis before his curfew.
The way we met Tice wasn’t all that amazing. During training camp, seemingly everywhere you went there were players and coaches so we were far from shocked when Tice ambled in to our favorite bar. Upon spotting him, we used a little local Twin Cities knowledge to try to get some free drinks. We mentioned we were from St. Louis Park, MN, home of Bunnies Bar and Grill, which was Mike Tice’s favorite local stomping ground.
Tice didn’t pony up any drinks but he did strike up a conversation and sat down with us to play 4-5-6, a dice game we often played at the bar. As we were sitting on the patio playing the game, Tice was fielding calls from players pleading for a later curfew. Tice wasn’t going for it.
The night ended when we saw the Orange SUV Daunte Culpepper was driving around town. Tice got up and stopped him in the middle of the street and chewed him out about being a leader of the team. We were concerned it would cost Culpepper a team suspension but nothing ever came of it. After that, Tice was so mad he left the bar and forgot to pay his tab. You still owe me $26, Mike. Only kidding, we wouldn’t have paid for that bum.
There were plenty of encounters with the players. I quickly learned why Culpepper referred to Bryant McKinnie as “The Eclipse” when I ran into him at a gas station. I was one of few people who got to watch Randy Moss do donuts in his Lamborghini while some friends of mine who were on the MSU lacrosse team and I were at the field throwing a ball around.
But for my friends and I, the coolest encounter with a player was late one night when our roommate, Rob, showed up to our house and introduced us to his new buddy, Marcus. We chatted with him and, after he answered the usual questions, Rob let us know it was Marcus Robinson, who was in his first year as a Viking. He was a nice guy, and he even put up with our drunken ranting when we learned who he was. Sure he’s not exactly Randy Moss but still he was an NFL player and he was at our house.
Above all, my favorite part of having the Vikings in Mankato was watching the jersey chasers flock to the city, hoping to be the next baby mama for a pro athlete. The number of 30-something ladies wearing next to nothing went up by an infinite amount when the Vikes rolled into town. It was like they took a caravan together. If I had a dollar for every woman strutting around the city in a leather mini skirt 4 sizes too small, you’d be reading the ramblings of a retired 26 year old.
Even the town got dolled up for the team. They put banners on every light post, all the businesses would have different signs welcoming the players to town, and so on. Being young and foolish we took it upon ourselves to steal those signs. I still have a couple that look great hanging on a wall.
It was and exciting time when the Vikings were in town. Women’s clothing shrunk and the bars always had good specials. But, after three weeks, the Vikings were gone and the town was back to normal.
Maybe I am proud I went to Mankato. How else would I have gotten drunk with Mike Tice?
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(There’s nothing better to watch an NFL game with than a frosty adult beverage. Check out our sister site, The Love of Beer, to see what flavor we’re recommending today!)
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