On the field at U.S. Bank Stadium on Thursday night, mascot Viktor the Viking zoomed around on hoverboard. The Skolorians, two purple space soldiers modeled after Star Wars' Boba Fett, milled around taking photos with young fans. One had a Baby Yoda strapped to its belt with a knit Viking beanie. A man in a purple luchador mask flexed in front of a camera.
For the first time in three years, 4,000 Vikings fans assembled for the NFL draft, this time with brand-new front office leadership.
Season-ticket holder Brian Foss, 44, arrived clad in a Viking helmet, fur cape and battle-ready shoulder pads. He carried a plastic axe in his right hand and a purple shield in his left. The piece de resistance? A prosthetic eye with the Vikings logo.
"This is my home," Foss said. "This is my happy place. I'm happy every time I'm here."
Foss has attended every Vikings draft party held since U.S. Bank Stadium opened in 2016.
"I was so disappointed to miss the last two years because of COVID," Foss said. "But the new regime, the new energy is so exciting."
As the picks started flying, some groans escaped the rows of fans seated in front of the stage in the north end zone, particularly as cornerbacks Derek Stingley Jr. and Sauce Gardner went at picks No. 3 and 4. But the excited buzz picked up steam again as the draft crawled toward pick 12. A near standing ovation erupted as the Vikings were announced on the clock.
That ovation quickly turned to boos as the jumbotron flashed news that the Lions, not the Vikings, had submitted a selection at 12. The Vikings had traded down. As Detroit selected Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams, a cry rang out above the crowd: "That was our pick!"
