And The Winner Is

Commentary by
Kansas Viking

09/05/06

On August the 8th, the Vikings ran an article for a contest on Tailgating Rituals. You had to submit an approximately 400 word article on your tailgating ritual, things you like to do before the game, favorite recipe, where you tailgate, etc.

There is one winner for each home game. Each winner's tailgating story and recipe will be featured in the Minnesota Vikings Playbook distributed to all fans at the Metrodome on game day in addition to receiving two (2) field seats for the game in which the story appears. The contest winner can also take advantage of VIP seating for a taping of Vikings Gameday at the Mall of America!

I received a phone call from the Vikings on Monday, August 21st informing me I had won for the home opener against the Carolina Panthers. I actually get to be down on the field for the game. This is going to be a great start to the 2006 football season.

Below is the article and recipe I submitted for the contest.

My name is Mike Perkins, AKA, “The Kansas Viking.” I have been a season ticket holder now since 2001. I started tailgating in the old lots along Washington Ave. We have tailgated both there and at Rapid Park. This year we will be at Rapid Park for all the games. Our tailgating family includes the Vikings Tailgate.com crew the Battle Wagon boys and quite a few others.

My tailgating ritual is a little longer and starts earlier than most peoples do. You see, I live in Central Kansas and we drive up to each home game. Therefore my ritual starts on Thursday evenings with the making of the Kansas Viking Breakfast Burrito. (See recipe below) I pick up all the ingredients on my way home from work on Thursday. That evening I lay everything out and cook approximately 12 large burritos. I will fix more for special game occasions. These are placed into the refrigerator until Friday at Noon when we leave for the game.

After that all tents, flags, coolers and tailgating supplies are loaded into the Viking Mobile for the next day’s trip. I take off work on Noon Fridays and all we have to do is load the cooler with food, drinks, and ice. The trip and days leading up to the tailgate are half the fun.

Once Sunday morning arrives it’s been a ritual the last few years to see who in our tailgating family can get to the lot the earliest. There is always a battle between three of us as to who gets there first with the winner having bragging rights for that day. 5:30 AM used to get you bragging rights, but it has been requiring an earlier arrival time the last year or so to gather the top honor. I have actually arrived just after 5AM before and found I was the third one there.

Once at the lot, we make sure we get the tent and flags up first and then fire up the grill to warm the burritos for everyone. The burritos are popular enough that I have had some people show up for the breakfast even though they were not going to the game. Once all our stuff is set up, we help the others in our tailgate family set up also.

One of the most popular activities in our area is provided by Mookie Vike who brings a set of large green goal posts. When these are set up, everyone enjoys kicking field goals with a soft football. People from all over stop and kick field goals. Even the Minneapolis Police stop by and enjoy the fun. It’s quite a good time for all, even fans from other teams.

The people we have met in Minnesota are some of the best fans in the world. People think we are crazy for traveling to all the games, but we wouldn’t miss it for the world. Instead of taking a vacation during the year, we just carve up our vacation into 8-10 weekend trips to Minneapolis. After all, as we say in our tailgate family, “It’s all about the tailgate.”

The Kansas Viking Breakfast Burrito
Mike Perkins-Vikings Fan

Ingredients:
2 pounds hot or spicy pork sausage
1 can of Refried Beans
1 jar of Jalapeno Peppers
1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese
12 Burrito size flour tortillas
12 large eggs
1 jar Old El Paso Taco Sauce (Medium Heat)

Preparation:
In a larger skillet fry 2 pounds of sausage. Drain fat if desired. Beat up one dozen eggs and add to sausage. Cook until all ingredients are done.

Lay out burrito shells. Spread a small amount of refried beans on each shell. Add sausage and egg mix. Sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese. Add jalapenos to taste. Squirt with desired amount of taco sauce. Fold burrito and wrap in aluminum foil. Place burritos in refrigerator to cool. Once at the tailgate, place burritos your choice of heating device and warm till ingredients are hot. Kettle grills or gas stoves work the best. Just turn often to avoid burning.

Tip: The secret to a good breakfast burrito is that less is more. If you load up too many ingredients the shell will split when folded and they are messy to handle. And the secret to the Kansas Viking burrito is aging. Just as chili gets better after a few days in the refrigerator so do these burritos. I keep them chilled in the cooler for 2 days until the tailgate. Stop by sometime and have one.