Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz is quite the busy man with under a month left until election day. But on Friday, he took some time out of his schedule to discuss his love for all things Vikings football.
Some may not know that Walz actually does have a background in football, coaching Mankato West High School in Mankato, Minnesota to a Class 4A State Championship as a defensive coordinator in 1999.
Walz now has an entirely different set of responsibilities as the governor of Minnesota and potential vice president of the United States. But in an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Walz detailed how he has tried to find time to watch the Vikings throughout their 5-0 start to the season despite being on the campaign trail alongside Kamala Harris.
“Well, I try. My 18-year-old said ‘Dad, you just need to talk old football because you are out of the groove right now.’ Look, I watch as much as I can. I listened to that Jets-Vikings game you called in London,” Walz told Eisen. “Not an offensive juggernaut that day, but we won. Look, we’ve got the big game this weekend, it’s exciting.”
While Walz is a loyal Vikings fan, he did tell Eisen about recently going to see Lambeau Field for the first time ever, an experience that he looked back fondly on.
“I was at Lambeau on Monday,” Walz added. “First time ever. We were there in Green Bay for events and I had a little extra time and said there was no way I’m not going over there. You know, when you go in the door they have that big Lombardi trophy. They said our states have a lot in common. This is not one of them. We do not have one of these.
“It was pretty harsh. My team was worried. They said ‘Don’t go into Lambeau and talk all kinds of smack.’ I said ‘You don’t go into church and swear. I’m not going into Lambeau and talk smack.’ It’s a religious pilgrimage. It was amazing.”
💻 @Tim_Walz
Really cool to have the Minnesota governor join us to talk the huge #NFC North battle between the @Lions + @Vikings and his football fandom:#NFL #OnePride #SKOL pic.twitter.com/A4uVBKcZXz
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) October 18, 2024
As far as Sunday’s matchup against the Lions, Walz made it a point to praise Lions head coach Dan Campbell for his approach to coaching as a former coach himself.
“Who would not want to be on that guy’s staff? Or be in that building? First, it’s the wearing of his emotions on his sleeve. But you never question whether he is with his guys. I just love that passion. And I love defensive football. I watched the guy and look, he turned that team around like that. It’s culture too. It’s the X’s and O’s, it’s a sophisticated game. All the GM work and all that. But I still think what gets overlooked is a guy like that.”
Eisen missed the opportunity to ask Walz about his pick on the game. But we very much know where his allegiances lie for the Lions-Vikings NFC North matchup.
