LONDON — It wasn’t easy being an NFL fan living in England in the early 1980s. The highlights shown locally were from the previous week. The only live NFL television broadcast was of Super Bowl XVII.
No matter. It was still enough to pique the interest of lifelong England resident Peter Philip.
Longtime Minnesota Vikings fan Peter Philip with his daughter Alison on Sept. 18, 2016 before the first home game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. He is a season ticket member living in the UK. (Courtesy of Peter Philip)
He followed along in1982 when the highlights started being shown, then, in 1983, he attended the exhibition game between the Vikings and the St. Louis Cardinals at Wembley Stadium in London.
“I got tickets for that and I thought, If I’m going to go, I need to pick a team to support,” Philip said. “I picked the Vikings and we went from there.”
After the Vikings earned a 28-10 win over the Cardinals, Philip, now 63, was hooked. He kept up as much as he could from afar, watching the highlights on a weekly despite the fact they were delayed. He later discovered the best option was listening to the live radio broadcast on the American Forces Network.
“You’d be listening to a play and then the signal would disappear,” Philip said. “It would come back 15 or 20 seconds later and the play was finished.”
The next time Philip saw the Vikings in person came in 1999, when he traveled to the United States to watch them play the Atlanta Falcons on the road in a highly anticipated rematch of the heartbreaking NFC Championship Game.
“That was the first time I’d seen them stateside,” Philip said. “My wife at the time said, ‘How about next year we see if we can go to a game in Minnesota?’ ”
They attended their first game together when the Vikings hosted Buffalo Bills at the Metrodome in 2000 and began making an annual trip to the Twin Cities until his wife’s cancer diagnosis stopped them from traveling as much.
“She always told me if anything happens to her that I had to get season tickets,” Philip said. “I said, ‘No I wouldn’t do that.’ ”
She passed away in 2014. He bought season tickets in 2015.
“I came over with my daughter because she never seen the Vikings and she wanted to go,” Philip said. “I think the attraction was also the Mall of America.”
After watching the Vikings play host to the Detroit Lions at TCF Bank Stadium, Philip remembers his daughter encouraging him to see about buying season tickets. That did it. They returned in 2016 to see the Vikings host the Green Bay Packers in the first home game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Never mind that Philip still lives in Sandhurst, England, roughly 35 miles outside of London. He has still managed to get to at least one game per year for the past decade. He usually sells the rest to cover the cost.
The entry point to the Vikings was similar for lifelong England resident Geoff Reader, who also attended that exhibition game at Wembley Stadium.
Longtime Minnesota Vikings fan Geoff Reader with his friend Jen during a tailgate, date and location unknown. He is a season ticket member living in the UK. (Courtesy Geoff Reader)
“I went with a friend,” Reader said. “W,e decided to have a bet as to which team would win. I picked the Vikings. They won and I’ve been with them ever since.”
After watching the Vikings play the Cardinals in London, Reader also saw them play the Chicago Bears in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1988. He then made a tip to the United States in 1989 and made it a double-header; he saw the Vikings play the Houston Oilers at the Metrodome, then play the Bears at Soldier Field. He became a season ticket member in 1994.
“There have been some years where I have gone to every home game,” Reader said. “I have proof of it on my passport.”
Though many would assume the best home game he’s seen is the Minneapolis Miracle, Reader said the highlight was actually when hall of fame quarterback Brett Favre hitting journeyman receiver Greg Lewis in the end zone to beat the San Francisco 49ers at the buzzer.
“That was bonkers,” Reader said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘Wow. We’ve got a quarterback.’ ”
The fandom has continued over the past few decades, evidenced by how Reader, now 64, has been to every home game so far this season despite living in Bedford, England, 50 miles north of London.
As for Philip, he will be in the stands at U.S. Bank Stadium in a couple of months, sitting in his usual seat when the Vikings play the Washington Commanders.
“I love it,” Philip said. “I enjoy coming to Minneapolis and going to U.S. Bank Stadium and being with all the fans. I’m happy no matter what happens in the game. If we come away with a win, it’s even better.”
Related Articles
The Loop NFL Picks: Week 5
Who’s going to start for the Vikings on the offensive line?
Why this Vikings fan is biking nearly 400 miles from Dublin to London
The Loop Fantasy Football Report Week 5: As top receivers drop, no-names can catch on
Kevin O’Connell gives State of the Vikings address from across the pond
Leave a Reply