Meet the former Minnesota Viking who became St. Paul's Winter Carnival king

Despite a successful career catching passes for the Minnesota Vikings, Missouri native Leo Lewis III admits he didn't know a whole lot about the St. Paul Winter Carnival. Still, the decision to name Lewis as King Boreas for the 2023 festival is less a head-scratcher than you'd think.

Lewis has deep roots in St. Paul — both his father and grandfather lived in the old Rondo neighborhood. And the Lewis Sports Foundation, which since 1999 has used sports camps to teach kids healthy habits, good citizenship and to work hard in school, has extensive ties to the capital city.

Eye On St. Paul chatted with Lewis after the Winter Carnival to learn more about his involvement with St. Paul's celebration of the cold. Turns out, it dovetails with the work he started doing while still running routes on a football field.

This interview was edited for length.

Q: How long were you with the Vikings?

A: I started with the Vikings in 1981 — I got cut that first year — and I finished in 1991. I played for Bud Grant, then Jerry Burns. After I was done playing, I worked in the front office, which I did until 1995.

Q: Then what did you do?

A: Throughout my career, while playing and in the front office, I went back to school and formulated a professional, scholarly track. Got my master's when I was playing, my Ph.D. while I was in the Vikings front office. But I have always looked at how players transition through their lives as college and pro players.

Q: Is that because when the games end, it's hard for everyone to know what to do?

A: That's right. It's hard to really plan when you're still playing — guys expend so much energy to try to stay there. It's much easier for players nowadays to venture into more eclectic lifestyles. Like entrepreneurship and social media.

Q: Is it easier today to find a post-playing career because of player salaries being so much higher?

A: I think players just have so much more capital to work with. My first contract with the Vikings was $22,000. Now, it's the entertainment business. It's corporate-driven. Money is much greater, and quite frankly the players have helped to make it that way. They built on the backs of us, who in the '70s and '80s had to struggle and strike [Lewis took part in three strikes, for better salaries and free agency].

Q: What are you doing now?

A: Number one, I teach a course at the U, a sports management course that examines the social and cultural aspects of sports, working with athletes to be successful in whatever endeavor they choose. We talk about the history of sports in this country and the value of it. And then the more macro elements — the economy, politics, and how they have transformed sports to be this phenomenon.

The second thing is I have run this nonprofit organization for 23 years, but I really have been doing it for 40 years. We assist youth and families to get them to understand life development issues. We use sports to send these messages about how youth can be more valued in our society.

Q: How did you get plugged in to the St. Paul Winter Carnival?

A: The legend of the Winter Carnival is a moral character play about winter and its value. And it is a way for us to be distracted from the negative issues regarding weather and snow and ice.

It also sends a message about community, volunteerism and service. I had a person involved with the Winter Carnival for a long time on my [nonprofit] board. And I also have some friends who've been involved in it. They felt I was a candidate because I had a history of being involved in communities.

Q: How has being King Boreas affected you?

A: It does give me a platform to talk about what I've been doing all along with my foundation — community service, volunteerism, a sense of community. I also think [it enhanced] my emotional ties to St. Paul. My dad grew up in St. Paul and was an All-City athlete in the late-'40s who, after high school, left and never came back.

Q: Where did your dad go to high school?

A: He went to the old [John] Marshall High School, on Holly Avenue. It's now [Barack and Michelle] Obama Elementary School.

Q: What do you think you've gained from your affiliation with the St. Paul Winter Carnival?

A: Well, it's only been 10 days — the blitz, as I call it. We made over 80 to 100 appearances. We were well-suited for it because what we've done over the past 10 years is speak to groups. Volunteering. Get to know people. We have events all year long.

Our social network ... by and large had no idea what the Winter Carnival is about. My dad came from a St. Paul family. He had 10 brothers and sisters, four of whom still live here.

Q: I had no idea that your roots in St. Paul were so deep.

A: Frankly, most of the activities that we do through my foundation are in St. Paul. I got my start in St. Paul, because of having family there. And one of the things that we're building on is a relationship with St. Paul Public Schools. But our main partner [in] St. Paul is Parks and Rec. We've had an affiliation with them for decades.