Vikings Celebrate 50th Season Training In Mankato
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Step inside the Blue Earth County Historical Society, and you're greeted by a cheerful tour guide and 50 years of Vikings training camp memories.
The Vikings are celebrating their 50th consecutive season holding training camp in Mankato. And Mankato is celebrating with them, marking the milestone by opening a Vikings history exhibit in the history center downtown.
"Training camp is much bigger than the game," said Shelley Harrison, the archives manager for the society. "It's all about the players and the fans and that connection."
Display cases marking each decade are filled with mementos on loan from fans. Lots of pictures, lots of autographs and even some hand-written letters from former coach Mike Tice.
"That's what hopefully the exhibit is all about -- those stories that people make and connect back and tell," Harrison said. "Because sometimes the scores aren't all that great, but everyone has a good story about training camp."
For Vikings fans like Jason Booth, who visited the exhibit on Friday, it's about all the memories.
"For me, it's an interest in the history of the Vikings," Booth said. "I've been watching them since I was probably 9 years old with my father, so it's been a father-son kind of experience.
An experience that's called Mankato home now for 50 years. That is why you can't overstate how important having training camp in Mankato is to Mankato.
"Training camp in Mankato is just overwhelming and awesome and extremely, extremely important. And not only for the financial support that it brings to the community, but also all the connections to all the fans and basically everyone who attends," Harrison said. "It's just huge to the community."
The Blue Earth County Historical Society is open Tuesday through Saturday. The Vikings exhibit will remain on display until September 4th.
