MINNEAPOLIS — Before and during their season opener Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will pay tribute to legendary coach, Bud Grant.
Members of Grant's family will be sounding the gjallarhorn ahead of the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team will also wear patches with the coach's signature on their jerseys and helmet stickers honoring Grant throughout the season.
The tribute means a lot to Grant's granddaughter, Natalie. Born in 1996, Natalie never got to see her grandpa during his years coaching the Vikings. She says her only memories of him are as her grandpa, so she appreciates hearing stories about his time as a coach.
"Sharing him with the state of Minnesota was always kind of cool, because I felt like I would learn a lot about his legacy and his past, because it wasn't something that he talked about," Natalie said. "You know, these amazing accomplishments that he had and these amazing things that he did, when you sat down with him, he didn't go into those. He asked about your life. He asked about your job...regular old grandpa things. We just happened to have a lot of Vikings memorabilia."
Natalie says she loves the jersey patch and hopes to get one of her own.