Vikings honor Brooklyn Center liquor store clerk who gave her shoes to homeless man

Ta Leia Thomas is a lifelong Minnesota Vikings fan who chants "Skol!" while watching games in her living room.

On Saturday, she'll get to cheer with 65,000 fellow fans at U.S. Bank Stadium, after a video showing her giving away her shoes to a homeless man went viral and the team decided to honor her good deed with tickets.

"I've never been to a game," said Thomas, 38, a Vikings fan since age 4. Doing the Skol chant as her team takes on the Indianapolis Colts, she said, "will be better in person. This is the best Christmas ever."

Thomas, who goes by the nickname "Ace," was ringing up a customer at Brooklyn Center Liquor in the Shingle Creek Crossing shopping center on Dec. 6 when she saw a man digging through the trash can near the front door. The man was "duck walking" and retrieved boxes to use as makeshift shoes, she said.

Without skipping a beat, Thomas took off her Vikings-purple Nike Air Jordans and gave them to the man.

"He said, 'Nobody ever gave me anything like that,' " Thomas said in an interview Thursday. "I told him, 'I am not just everybody.'"

A security camera caught the action and Thomas's boss, Tom Agnes, posted it on the store's social media account. Over the past week, the act of kindness has touched people across the country and as far away as Fiji and Brazil.

"I was taught to help," Thomas said. "This was more for him than it was for me, but it made my day to be a better person. You just have to be one."

Thomas, who has worked at the liquor store for just three months, finished her shift that day in her socks. Agnes bought her a pair of Skechers and gave her a coffee mug sporting the letter "A," for Ace.

Others chipped in more. Custom shoemaker Mache Custom Kicks dropped off a pair of Vikings-themed Jordans, a Vikings hoodie and a gift card to help Thomas take care of her mother, whom Thomas credits with teaching her to be generous.

"I was shocked," Thomas said with a wide smile.

Agnes had tagged the Vikings in his social media post, and the team called and offered tickets to Saturday's game. He had wanted to keep it a secret until Saturday, but a TV station learned the team had offered Thomas tickets and was about to spill the beans.

"I had to tell her she was going to the game," Agnes said.

In a statement, the Vikings said they learned about the original social media post after fans reached out to the team. In addition to the tickets, Thomas will get a pass to watch warmups from the sideline.

"It's important for us to highlight compassionate acts such as this year round, but particularly around the holidays, in the hopes that it could inspire others to do the same," the statement said.

To keep the giving going, Agnes and Thomas on Thursday kicked off "Ace's Warmth for the Winter" drive. Customers can drop off shoes and coats at the liquor store. They will be taken to Community Emergency Assistance Programs (CEAP) and distributed. Cash donations will also be accepted.

With the turmoil that has rocked Brooklyn Center following the police shooting of Daunte Wright in April 2021, Agnes said the city needed something positive.

"I was looking for a good story for Brooklyn Center," he said. "I got a good story for the world."