This Family Of Vikings Fans Has Seen It All, Except A Super Bowl
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's been more than 24 hours, but we just can't stop watching the Stefon Diggs touchdown, or the reaction from Vikings fans right after.
And it was especially sweet for a family who has had season tickets for four and a half decades.
For a while they were driving across two states, just to watch the team on Sundays.
"We were still in the moment and not giving up. And I have to say -- nobody left," said Lori Barnes.
For Lori and Bryan Barnes, it was something movies are made of.
"All of the sudden Diggs is running and I'm just like, oh boy," said Bryan.
The Vikings call the play "Seven Heaven." And it was truly a heavenly throw and catch. For Lori it made all those years of cross-country trips worthwhile.
"In December of '82, our family moved to Kansas City. But we did not give up our tickets. We kept our tickets all those years," said Lori.
Lori's dad John Bott, got season tickets nearly half a century ago. He sat through heartbreak losses at Met Stadium, the Metrodome and TCF Bank Stadium.
When Lori and her husband moved to Minneapolis in 1998 of all years, John once again had a place to crash for Vikings games. On Friday, he told us what it would mean to finally watch the Vikings in the Super Bowl with his family.
"It would be -- Let's do it," said John while fighting back tears.
That emotion carried over to Sunday. For this family there were nervous smiles before the game…and victorious ones afterwards.
"It was so special. It really was. It was just such a great feeling and the smiles on his face. And I know how much it meant to him for all of us to be together and to be there," said Lori.
If the Vikings beat the Eagles and make it to the big game, the Barnes said they will do whatever they can to get tickets.
John Bott would be happy to make that trip back from Kansas City.
He wants to come back for one more home game this year.
