Dilly, dilly: Minnesota Vikings superfan Manny Perez is off to Philly

Prior Lake American

Prior Lake resident Manny Perez almost missed what’s been dubbed the “Minneapolis Miracle.”

Perez, who has loved the Minnesota Vikings for about 45 years, had turned away from the game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Jan. 14, expecting a loss for his team in the playoff game against the New Orleans Saints.

“I thought for sure we were going to lose the game with the time left and our field position,” Perez said. “I was actually ready to not watch the last couple plays of the game.”

His girlfriend, Suzie Dahl, convinced him to keep watching, telling him “This is your team, you need to come back here and watch your team.”

Perez saw quarterback Case Keenum throw the ball to wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who then ran it into the end zone in the last seconds of the game, clinching the win for the Vikings and sending the team to the National Football Conference Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

“We actually went to the game with 12 friends in a passenger van and did some tailgating and four of us decided before the game if we won, we were going to Philly” Perez.

Philly it is, then.

More friends ended up joining the plan after the “Minneapolis Miracle.” The group has rented a home to stay in together and will be in attendance at Sunday’s game in Philadelphia. If the Vikings win again, then the team is off to the Super Bowl, which conveniently will be at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this year.

Perez said he hopes to go to the Super Bowl if the Vikings make it, though the cost for tickets will be pretty substantial.

“I’m going to have to think about that one because it’s pretty expensive,” Perez said. “It would probably be the cheapest option of going to a Super Bowl. Seeing as it would be a home game, you don’t have to pay for a flight, you don’t have to pay for accommodations, eating out and all that other stuff so you’d actually save thousands and thousands of dollars by going here.”

Even if Perez — who is a season ticket holder and estimates he has been to more than 165 Vikings games — isn’t able to go to the Super Bowl, one thing is certain: He’ll be decked out in purple and yelling “Skol” somewhere.

“A message to the fans: Have faith,” Perez said. “Look to the future and not live on the past.”