ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A spirited group of Minnesota women is going the distance in its love for Vikings football.
In November, the women followed their favorite team to Atlanta, their 20th stadium in 20 years.
“It’s the best trip every year,” Nancy Vosika, who lives in Spicer, says.
The 13 women have adopted a moniker that, in another context, could get a guy slapped.
“'The Hags;' it’s what we are,” Lisa Vosika, Nancy’s sister, says.
Perhaps you've heard of the movie ’80 for Brady.' The Hags are a bit like that, only in real life.
The stadium visits started in 2003, when the original eight Hags followed the Vikings to Chicago’s Soldier Field.
The idea was born when Nancy Solberg’s friends asked what she wanted to do for her 50th birthday.
“And I said I wanted to get out of town,” Nancy recalls.
The getting out of town continued in 2004, when the Hags flew to New Orleans to watch the Vikings.
In year three, they traveled to Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
Last month, the Hags gathered in St. Cloud to share 20 years of memories and watch the Vikings play the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.
Each woman wore matching gold jerseys adorned across her back with a list of the stadiums they’ve visited. When their backs filled, the original Hags started listing stadiums on the front of their shirts and down the sleeves.
The pandemic year of 2020 is marked with rolls of toilet paper, the only year the Hags were forced to stay home.
“It wasn’t a bye week, it was a bye year,” Linda Dietz says with a smile.
Laughter comes easily, until the Hags are asked about the pair of wings on the shoulders of their jerseys, encircled with the word “Warrior.”
“Yeah, that's my baby,” Pat Booker says reverently, reflecting the mood change in the room.
Pat’s son Keith was a favorite of the hags.
“Lisa made this beautiful Vikings cape for him,” Pat says, pointing to a photo of her son.
“He had brain damage they didn’t diagnosis until he was about four months old,” she explains.
When Keith died, at age 45, three years ago, the Hags came to his funeral in their gold game shirts.
“To have them there was amazing to me and still is,” Pat says. “I love them all for that.”
Even during COVID, skipping the funeral was never an option.
“We have each other's back,” Nancy Vosika says.
Some things are bigger than football — and more important than trips, to Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The Vikings’ Monday night loss against Chicago will be remembered as a season low.
The Hags view it differently.
Winning isn’t everything. Everything they’ve shared is.
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