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Minnesota
Vikings
October 28-31, 2006
"Mini-Trek Crew at it Again"
For our first
trek of 2006, the Cardozas met up with mini-trek veterans
Bama and Steve and
headed to Minnesota for Monday Night Football at the
Metrodome. Our Friday night
commenced at the Madeira Club where we hooked up with our usual crew for
Portuguese food, wine, espresso, shots, and lots and lots of laughs!
Of course, the effects of our Friday may have carried over
and contributed to my nausea on the flights, although more than likely it was
combination of Hurricane force winds, a middle seat and an empty stomach that
had me praying to have two feet firmly planted on the ground.
When we got to Chicago, our connecting flight to MN was
cancelled so we hung out there for longer than expected so we ate at
Chili's and I called and left
messages for Steve who was picking us up at the airport. Unfortunately, he
didn’t pick up his messages until after we were scheduled to land...yet hadn’t
even left yet. No worries though, as he grabbed Bama then headed back to get us
when our flight finally arrived.
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Laid-over in Chicago |
Killing Time... |
We checked into
our hotel and hung out in the
lobby/lounge area for awhile... O f course, Mrs. B paid her Wifi Fee and fired up
the computer while the guys intermittently headed in and out to smoke cigars. In
the evening,
we headed out to eat at Scoreboards, a sports bar/restaurant
close by and had a good meal before heading back to the hotel to watch College
football and shoot the breeze. We talked to Jarvis Green’s brother Jason and his
wife a bit and showed him a
picture of him with Jarvis that we took at the
family hotel when we had met him when we were down in Jacksonville for SuperBowl 39.
Sunday morning dawned early for me as we gained 2 hours on
Saturday due to the fact that we jumped back a time zone and also turned the
clocks back for the end of Daylight Savings Time. So, when the clock said
4:30 AM, my body screamed 6:30 and I was awake for the day. I hung in there and
wait ed
awhile before heading down to the gym for an early morning run with Big Al.
After showering and grabbing a bite at the breakfast buffet, the four of us
headed out to scope out the Metrodome route and parking situation. Steve took
the cake and usurped Bama’s crown of “King of Reckless Drivers” with 3 U-Turns, a turn onto the railroad tracks,
and driving while road map reading! Then, we headed over to the
Mall of America
to check it out. I’m not really a mall type but had to see it since we were
there. It certainly was a sight to behold with an
amusement park right in the
center. Just looking at those
roller coasters and stomach turning rides made me
sway... blech! But... heading into the
Steve Madden shoe store and walking out
with a pair of boots and clogs was enough to cure me right quick!
We spent the afternoon
watching football and the lobby
started to fill with family memb ers in anticipation of the team’s arrival. I
hung in the lounge online and Joe Theismann grabbed a table close by watching
the game and chomping on an apple while waiting for the remainder of the
ESPN crew to pull up. Luckily there wasn’t an autograph seeking
crowd so there were no ropes and barriers erected. We stood talking to Gino Cappelletti’s sister and watched some of the guys filter into the lobby to see
family members. (The team entered from a different entrance and headed stra ight
upstairs behind a curtain so there was no line filing in.)
Coach BB made a
b-line straight to the TV to check out the Denver/Indy game before heading
upstairs for a sec. Within no time, most of the coaching staff was settled in
watching the game in a corner in the lobby. Gino’s sister was thrilled to see
Tom Brady in the lobby (a VERY rare occurrence) talking to family and hugging
all the kiddies. She waited until he was done and said hello as did Bama. Her
remark, “He’s such a good looking boy,” was very cute.
When Jarvis arrived we said hello and got I hugs from Lonie
as well. I spent quite a bit of time talking to
 the
PFW guys; Fred Kirsch, Bryan
Lowe and Paul Perillo then Al and I went to the restaurant to eat dinner. I had
to run upstairs for a minute and when I tried to come down I ended up taking a
ride UP instead. When I finally reached the bottom, the doors opened and what
timing! Tedy was coming out of the workout area and was heading over to get his
food. I got a nice hug, and we chatted as he walked to the food area. He
mentioned liking the website.... (yippee!!) And asked about Al who was waiting
for me in the restaurant. I wished him well, got another hug and scooted back to
my dinner. :-) We spent the rest of the night watching the late game, watching
the guys go back and forth getting food and stuff and then head into meetings
with playbooks tucked securely under their arms.
On Monday morning, we headed to the gym but it was a full
house so we added an extra layer and headed outside to run. It was a nice sunny
morning and I ran a hilly course and it felt good. We once again ate at the
buffet and hit the lobby to hang out and wait. Guys were coming and going and
nobody bothered them. I met Laurence Maroney’s mom and had to laugh when Bama
introduced me and mentioned that I had a Tedy Bruschi fan site. She was like “I
didn’t like him too much during training camp when he hit my baby!” hehe!! (If
you recall, Tedy “welcomed” Laurence to the NFL with a huge pop in camp and the
headlines screamed “Welcome to the NFL, Rook!”) In the afternoon, I typed my
trek report up to this point (hehe) and hung out online multi-tasking and
waiting for the tilt!
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Bama meets Alabama Wesley
Britt |
Jarvis checking out a
site. |
Based on a tip from the bus driver, we decided to forego
driving into downtown and parking there, rather we parked along the Metro train
route and took the train in after leaving the car at a Park and Ride. The
traffic on the highway just getting that far was horrible and short of Steve’s
attempt at turning into a One Way, was thankfully uneventful. The train cost
$3.50 round trip and included free parking and it turned out to be the best
decision. Enroute we met a couple of Pats fans and ironically, they asked if I
was Mrs. B and said that they come to the website all the time :-) I must say
though, even the Vikings fans were very nice and we didn’t encounter a single
trash talker during our entire trip.
We headed in, found our excellent seats
right near the press box and marveled at the
noise volume inside the dome even with only about 10% of the stadium filled at
warm-up time. Thankfully though, the wind was knocked out of the Viking’s sails
early thanks to a strong offensive showing by Brady and Co., a defense that got
the job done and multiple mistakes by the Vikings themselves. Luckily we only
heard the Vikings TD song and got to witness the shaking stands in the Metrodome
once during this game. (Fans literally jump up and down and the stands
bounce as if on springs!) During half-time, the show included dumb ESPN
character races and a wood chopping contest. One of the Vikings fans
turned to us and remarked with a huge grin... You can't get a half-time
show with lumberjacks anywhere else in the NFL! hehhe.. Bama responded
with a Yee-Haw!
Pats went on to
romp 31-7 which made for shorter lines getting back on the T since there were
quite a few early departures from the Metrodome throughout the night. Winter
weather arrived post-game and we didn’t want to stay out there any longer than
necessary. When we arrived at the hotel, we headed to the lounge for a nightcap
and to watch the sports news, then said our goodbyes, headed up to pack and hit
the hay to get ready for an early flight out.
Post Game Pats Fans :-)
Looking back, we took far too few pictures, but once again the Mini-Trek Crew has tasted success and spent
an awesome weekend enjoying great friendship, a terrific performance by our team
and Patriotic Comradery, Full Tilt, Full Time!
Check out the Complete
Minnesota Vikings Trek Album for more pics...
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