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John Macdonald's Vikings Journey: International Fan of the Year · Scene Projects Sports Network

• 0:01
  Well, so happy to have my friend John McDonald on the show with us for Vikings United.
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  John is one of the international fans of the year, the only selection for our Minnesota
• 0:12
  Vikings.
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  Speaking of selections, you got to go make one for the Vikings during the draft, John.
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  We're here to talk about that experience, man.
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  It had to be an absolute thrill for you.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  It's one of the one of the greatest as I keep saying to people, this is the Mount Everest of
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  NFL fandom picking a future player for your team on stage live at the draft.
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  You you can't I can't think of a bigger bigger step than that, really.
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  Nope.
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  You sure can't.
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  And I don't think many of us fans will ever sniff anything even close to that.
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  So I was really happy already being friends with you and kind of following your journey a
• 0:56
  little bit.
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  It was a perfect time to have you, invite you in to Vikings United and and talk about this.
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  What player did you get to announce?
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  Charles Demings.
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  Fantastic.
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  No.
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  It it wasn't quarterback.
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  They wouldn't allow me to say quarterback.
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  Defensive back because they wanna they wanna keep him on the cheek wanna keep him on the
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  cheek.
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  Steven Ethel Austin.
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  Yep.
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  So funny.
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  So what was the, you know, pregame?
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  You're flying out, obviously.
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  You're you're from, The UK, flying into the, you know, into Pittsburgh there.
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  Talk about just everything from the flight, the anticipation, and that moment leading up to,
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  you getting to step on the stage.
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  Yeah.
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  The the Vikings were very generous.
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  They flew they flew me and a friend out there for, we landed on the Tuesday evening, and then
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  we've done a q and a with Roger Goodell on the Wednesday.
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  We got all backstage on the on the Thursday just before the, just before the draft.
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  We got to see the where all the players would be sitting when they're getting picked.
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  We got to walk the red carpet on the Friday Thursday or Friday.
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  It oh, it was just so much.
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  Literally, from 8AM in the morning till about midnight, we were nonstop until Saturday night.
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  It was nuts.
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  Yeah.
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  And for a guy that you know, I know you work nights, so you're probably used to a little bit
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  quieter lifestyle, in your day to day life to kind of be thrust out into the spotlight like
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  that for four days.
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  It's just a whirlwind, isn't it?
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  Oh, it was just an utter utter whirlwind, and I'm still still coming down off it now.
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  But, yeah, it's just what I'm trying to explain to people over here, just people I work with is
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  just like, yeah.
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  It's a pretty big that's a pretty big deal.
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  Pretty big deal what I've just done.
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  Yeah.
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  And I understand that a lot of international fans don't maybe understand how big the NFL is
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  and how big of a production that all of these moments are.
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  And, on an international level, it's not as big as football.
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  And, obviously, you have Premier League soccer around The UK, which is just a massive, you
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  know, fandom and some of the wildest fans on the planet.
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  But the NFL really goes above and beyond with their production of everything.
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  Right?
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  It's not just on game day.
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  It the draft, in many ways, is one of their marquee events of the year, and it's an awesome
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  opportunity for them to give back to the fans and the fan bases of all of these teams.
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  And what an incredible, you know, a a portion of that that the international fan of the year
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  from each team gets to gets to come out and experience that.
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  And not just one day, you were out there for nearly an entire week soaking it all in.
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  Has this, has it deepened your love for the team now that much more?
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  I I've always had a great relationship with the team because work being over the Vikings being
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  over here so often, I run a fan club over here, and the Viking Vikings front office work hand
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  in hand with us.
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  But the the steps the Vikings took just to give us the extra experience and the NFL and
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  everything they put on is just unbelievable.
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  I mean, I haven't even got round two.
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  I was, I had Brian O'Neil do an interview with me in Pittsburgh because he was then announcing
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  picks as well.
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  So the Vikings have got that on their social media that they're gonna gonna release at some
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  point.
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  But, yeah, it's just been a bit really hectic.
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  Yeah.
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  No off season for you, John?
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  No.
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  No.
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  No.
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  I do I I absolutely love it.
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  The the experience is is something very few Vikings fans or any any NFL fan would ever get
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  to experience.
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  Yeah.
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  Wait.
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  And can you talk little bit about now assuming that you were, probably got to attend last year
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  when they played in The UK?
• 5:01
  Yeah.
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  I did I did actually both games that were over here.
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  We don't, because we played two games.
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  We played the Dublin game, and then we played the London game.
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  And I actually cycled between the two games, raising money for charity.
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  We raised just about £6,000 for mental health charity over here in The UK.
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  So, yeah, between those two games, I was I I kind of set up all the pregame for for every
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  every every game and then was just like, you you guys all need to be there at this point and
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  trying to run trying to run the club whilst I'm cycling between the two two games.
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  But, yeah, it was yeah.
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  The the Vikings have always put on a great show over here in in London and in Dublin now.
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  Pretty incredible.
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  And talk about your, your fan group that you run and shout that out too so we can have help
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  you grow that with more of our UK fans.
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  The the greater network, the Scene Projects, has quite a bit of a footprint over there.
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  So I'd love for you to shout out the the group that you run.
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  Yeah.
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  We we I help run The UK and Ireland Minnesota Vikings fan club.
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  Yeah.
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  We've been going for just over ten years now.
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  But, yeah, with the Vikings playing so many games over here in the last couple of years,
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  it's really grown exponentially.
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  And to any of your, fans who come over for a game, look us up because we do a great party on
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  this especially on the Sunday morning.
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  I mean, the Vikings the first time we played over here when we were part of the club was the
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  Saints game, and the Vikings came down.
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  We're kind of babysitting us, just guiding us.
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  Then since then, they were just like, no.
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  No.
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  You guy you guys do the Sunday morning.
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  We don't wanna get involved.
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  You do that too well.
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  We don't wanna get involved in that.
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  We'll we'll do our own thing, but you guys on the Sunday morning, no.
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  That's all I was to you.
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  We'll send our fans your way.
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  Just incredible.
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  And I love the buy in from the team to make sure that they are nurturing those
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  international fandoms.
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  And talk a little bit about that because, you know, we're we're playing sometimes late in the
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  evening.
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  You know, the night games are a lot harder.
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  There's a six hour difference between Minneapolis time and, your local time there in
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  The UK.
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  Do you find it difficult sometimes just to engage live with the games, or has the
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  technology that we have now really made that a nonissue?
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  It really has made it a lot less of an issue now because fans are fans that we we've got a
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  couple of different chats, everything like that.
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  We've got European fans we've chat to as well.
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  So so we all feel so connected now.
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  It's not not like you're just sitting there, like, what what it was ten, fifteen years ago
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  when you'd feel like you're sitting there alone.
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  The only person in the only person watching this game at silly o'clock in the morning at
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  start kicking off at 01:00 in the morning over here.
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  You don't feel so alone.
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  You've got fans.
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  Oh, that's a great great catch.
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  Oh, I well, I stream haven't caught up with that one yet.
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  Quite.
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  You get a couple couple with thirty seconds difference.
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  But, yeah, it's it's brilliant, and it's just yeah.
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  It's the the enthusiasm of all European countries for the Vikings is exponential.
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  It's one of and it's due to the Vikings putting so much effort into their international market
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  because it's just I cannot speak highly enough of them and key Keisha Wyatt, who's director of
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  international marketing, she will go absolutely above and beyond.
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  She's put players over here where we've we've done meetup.
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  They've organized big meetups with fans and players.
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  It's just absolutely amazing, and I cannot speak highly enough of everything the Vikings
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  are putting into the international marketing over here.
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  Yeah.
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  I just think it's incredible.
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  What a what an awesome organization to get to work beside.
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  We are good friends with quite a few members now of the Viking World Order, super fan group,
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  season ticket holders in section one forty.
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  We'll be doing some pregame action live from their tailgate hosted by sir death later on
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  when the season gets going.
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  But when we're not and we have the away games, we're here in studio.
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  So we'd love to have, some of you international fans, people from your group, and the other
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  European fans that you know to to come on with us and help celebrate this team and talk a
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  little ball and talk about, you know, the perspective from an international fan's sake.
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  I think it's really important for us to build those bridges in the fandom as well, not just
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  with the team, but with each other.
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  So I really appreciate you taking a few minutes for me today, chiming in with us.
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  You're always welcome on any of our shows and to come back and to talk Vikings football
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  football with us whenever you like, John.
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  Thank you so much for having me, and I'll definitely take you up on that offer.
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  Definitely take you up on that offer.
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  Well, we've all been seeing your face all over Vikings Internet land, and it's been an
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  absolute pleasure getting to know you a little bit better today.
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  Getting to hear a little bit about that experience on stage.
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  And, we can't wait to, connect more with you and the rest of your fan base and to keep
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  growing.
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  So thank you for being on the show tonight, and thank you for being part of the scene.
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  Thank you very much for having me.
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  Thank you.