“GAME OF THE YEAR” PUTS VIKINGS PLAY-BY-PLAY ANNOUNCER IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

Paul Allen has been calling the play-by-play for the Minnesota Vikings for 20 years. He is the consummate sports fan and is a leading voice in the NFL. Over the years he has called some of the most infamous (Arizona Cardinals in 2003) and historic (Minneapolis Miracle 2017) Vikings calls in the team’s history. Even though “P.A.” didn’t grow up in Minnesota he has found a great love for this team when he joined the local sports station as the midday host and as the track announcer for Canterbury Park racetrack. His style is very reflective of what the Purple fans are feeling during the games. He will let you know simply by the tone of his voice just how bad or good the play he’s about to tell you about was. He will definitely take you to the highest of highs when things are going well. He will also let you know how bad things are when the Vikings aren’t playing their best or a play has gone “pear shaped” as he likes to put it. There are some that don’t like his style – mostly Packers fans but a few Vikings fans as well however they don’t appreciate what we have as fans with someone reflecting back what we feel. The game Sunday at the Buffalo Bills was the most fun, crazy, emotional, roller coaster anyone watching could ride or listen to. Most are calling it the “game of the year” so far due to how incredible it was to watch. Thanks to some great plays by Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, Eric Kendricks, and Patrick Peterson we got a collection of game calls from Mr. Allen that will carry for several years. When the contest went to overtime we lost the game on TV because the Packers game is the main broadcast in Houston County. Most only had Paul and Pete Bercich, his color analyst to paint a picture of the game for us. People from all over including podcaster Pat McAfee and future NBA Hall Of Fame basketball player LeBron James have taken notice and shared the Vikings’ video of Paul from the booth and his vocal and physical responses. Allen is a guy I have looked up to for several years and have been inspired by, and I will reference when I make calls on high school games. Why? Because it’s fun! This is why you really should be turning off the TV volume and turning on KQ98 during the games and getting the home team announcing.