About the only way the script could have been written any better is if Adam Thielen had caught the miraculous 61-yard touchdown instead of Stefon Diggs. But Thielen doesn’t mind. He’s just thrilled this dream season of his is still alive.
Thielen is the Minnesota Vikings’ leading receiver, having just earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl. And he’s a Minnesota boy through and through — from Detroit Lakes High School (200 miles northwest of Minneapolis) to Minnesota State University in Mankato (80 miles southwest of Minneapolis), to undrafted free agent signed by the Vikings, to the practice squad, to special teams ace, to Minnesota’s best wide receiver.
And now, Thielen and the Vikings are just one win away from becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Should No. 2 Minnesota top No. 1 Philadelphia on Sunday in the NFC championship game, the Vikings will travel home to take on either New England or Jacksonville in Super Bowl LII.
Knowing this scenario was in play when we spoke with Thielen last month for a feature story in the special Football Sunday edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine, we asked him, “You’ve been in Minnesota your whole life, how cool would it be for you to play in the Super Bowl in your home state with your home team?”
“First of all, it’s a pretty special thing to get to the Super Bowl in the first place,” Thielen said, “but then you add in other things, it would be extremely special. Like you said, being from here, watching the Vikings growing up as a little guy, and hoping to get to the Super Bowl as a fan — yeah, so I think it would just mean a little bit more.
“And then on top of that, just the locker room we have, the group of guys and all we’ve been through as a team would make it special as well, just because we are such a close-knit group and I think we’ve put in a lot of work together. It would be nice to have that reward.”
God is Good! https://t.co/INqYjwUlvl
— Adam Thielen (@athielen19) January 15, 2018
The Vikings-Eagles tilt takes place Sunday at 6:40 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Related links:
– Football Sunday Feature: Adam Thielen’s Pro Bowl Perseverance
– Football Sunday 2018: Seek, Surrender, Serve
– Download the Football Sunday edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine
– Minneapolis hosting 33 days of prayer in preparation for Super Bowl
– Vikings Case Keenum says the Minneapolis Miracle is the third best day of his life
– Vikings WR Stefon Diggs makes amazing game-winning TD catch, gives God the glory
– Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen’s remarkable journey from undrafted to NFL stud
