I’ve lost track of how many boozers I saw that night. The night of the Vikings game where I took the last train leaving the US Bank Stadium. Not my first time on the train mind you. And not the first time that I’ve seen boozers.
“Why we on the train? Why we on the train? We could have walked,” states one boozer.
“Get out and walk then,” a fan says in response.
“You walk man,” the boozer says.
One ugly bastard takes a brown paper bag from his coat pocket and I already know his lunch ain’t packed in there. “Here, you want some of this?” he asks.
I laugh because while he’s doing that, one businessman comes on the train in a black suit and a gleaming white shirt with pointy black dress shoes, carrying no other than his bike held up diagonally as if it’s about to pop a wheelie. He anchors the bike against the side of the light rail train. Meanwhile, one of the boozers is bursting at the seams to exit.
“Hey, sit down buddy,” one boozer says to the other.
“Hey, you’ah, sit-ah down-ah,” another boozer responds.
“You first,” The man stands up in fight mode, his chest and chin out and his hands gripping together in a vice.
A uniform approaches just in time. “Both ya’ll sit down!”
All of a sudden, there’s nothing but silence on the train and we could be on a London tube for how quiet it is.
Everyone focuses their eyes and energy on the train doors. Can they will the doors open so everyone can get the hell out of here?
I laugh cause I forgot to wear my purple.
“Purple pride,” one bum says in the back.
Guess he’s missed the message that we’re all supposed to be quiet right now.
All of a sudden someone in the front of the car yells “Go Vikings, run up the score. You’ll hear us yell for more.”
Everyone begins shouting in cadence “V-I-K-I-N-G-S, Skol, Vikings, let’s go!”
Some people shout “Hooray,” their hand extended upwards with glee.
And all I can think about is what the fuck is going on here? How come I don’t know this song? And how fanatic is this train going to get?
A few passengers got blond Vikings wigs on. And we’re talking men wearing them. Men with Vikings wigs and a few with Green Bay packer’s jerseys.
A boozer takes notice and shouts to a man “Hey, you might as well go back to season 2010 with that jersey on!”
“Yeah, okay,” says the man wearing the Green Bay Packers jersey.
No one dares to say anything and let all hell break loose.
Everyone looks at the police officer.
He smirks.
