Free Press article

Well, their article made the front page, but picture was on A5. Ha.

For your reading pleasure:

Good work Grant and Craig for looking at the camera. Apparently Bryan and Aaron are focusing on the 'bead-thrower in the balcony' according to the caption in the paper. I might not want to know what that means. Ha.

Local fans savor the New Orleans flavor

Into the swing in a party city

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

NEW ORLEANS — Bryan Bode left his North Mankato home during Thursday evening, piling into a rented minivan with two brothers and a friend.

They drove for 18 hours, the first few through a rain and ice storm that sent other travelers into the ditch. But after arriving in New Orleans Friday afternoon, he's been having a great time in the Big Easy.

“It's a pretty neat city,” Bode said. “Everybody is so friendly. It’s been well worth it.”

The Minnesota Vikings take on New Orleans in the NFC Championship game at 5:40 p.m. today, but Bode, brothers Aaron and Craig, and friend Grant Poehler, who canceled a winter golf trip to make this foray into Bayou country, began “preparing” for the big game Friday.

So far, the four have been caught on video by Twin Cities media outlets and went to the Vikings hotel to greet the players. They plan to join with some Saints fans for a pregame tailgating party before the game.

“Most of the time, we’ve just been walking back and forth on Bourbon Street,” he said. “It’s nice to meet up with Vikings fans from other parts of the state.”

Marvin and Shelly Bartlett left their Lake Washington home about 6 a.m. Saturday to catch a charter flight specifically for Vikings fans. The couple already had booked a trip to Las Vegas next weekend for the Miss America pageant and will travel to the Super Bowl at Miami in two weeks if the Vikings win today.

“The flight was great,” Shelly Bartlett said. “There were some of the Vikings cheerleaders who had paid their own way. The leader of the group had us doing chants all the way down here.”

When the four Greyhound buses reached the hotel, the fans were greeted by several media members eager to sample the passion.

“It was a great way to welcome us here,” Shelly Bartlett said.

Morgan Huston, who grew up in Kiester and went to school at United South Central, traveled to New Orleans by car from Florida, sharing the drive with four friends, two of whom share her passion for the Vikings and two who are Saints fans who were visiting Minnesota. The five women arrived at New Orleans on Friday

“Meeting up with a ton of Minnesota people (has been the most fun),” she said.

Huston and friends stayed at the same hotel they were at earlier this month when they attended the Sugar Bowl at Superdome. She has lived in Pensacola for the last couple of years.

Probably the more appropriate way to share an article:
http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1085946508/Local-fans-savor-the-New-Orleans-flavor