Vikings reach out to fan stabbed in Wisconsin, invite him to practice and game

What is normally a good-natured rivalry between the Vikings and Packers took an extremely ugly turn Sunday when police say a man in Stoughton, Wis., was stabbed seven times after confronting another man who was trying to vandalize an inflatable Viking outside his house.

Channel3000.com has many of the harrowing details, including the image used here and a video interview with the victim. The Vikings fan — Dave Moschel, a father of six — said he was sitting down to watch football Sunday night shortly after 7 p.m. when the 21-year-old suspect — who was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment and criminal damage to property — started trying to slice up the giant inflatable Viking in his yard shortly after Minnesota went to 5-0 on the season.

Moschel said he confronted the man, and in the ensuing scuffle he was sliced seven times with a box cutter. Perhaps the most harrowing part of the story is this:

Moschel said he's lucky to be alive and so is the man who stabbed him. "Luckily, I didn't have my concealed carry on me at the time," Moschel said. "Ninety-nine percent of the time I leave the house, I never leave without it. And this is the one time I did. I'm kind of glad I did, because he would have been dead, and I would have had to live with that."

Moschel also said he plans to patch up the inflatable and keep displaying it proudly on his lawn.

According to a Vikings spokesman, the team was made aware of the incident by a friend of Moschel. The Vikings have invited him to be their guest at a future practice and attend the Vikings' game vs. the Cardinals on Nov. 20 at U.S. Bank Stadium.