Vikings Make Special Valentine’s Visits to Twin Cities Children’s Hospitals

The Vikings delivered warmth and love on a cold and blustery Valentine’s Day.

Players, Legends, staff, cheerleaders and — of course — Viktor the Viking made visits to three children’s hospitals Friday, connecting with patients and family members and handing out Valentine’s Day goodies.

Brady, 16, is currently a patient at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital and is a big sports fan. So when Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy and his fiancé Katya stopped by, Brady and his dad John were thrilled to chat about football and father-son activities.

John, ironically wearing a hoodie representing a division-rival team, explained he had “officially” declared himself a Vikings fan after seeing the culture Head Coach Kevin O’Connell has built within Minnesota’s locker room.

That culture was on full display Friday.

“We’ve met other [athletes], too, and they’ve all been so great, but J.J. really went above and beyond, relating with Brady and playing video games with him,” John said. “He also gave Brady a nice little pep talk and said what he’s going through is much bigger than what they do [on the football field].”

When Brady, who also undergoes treatments in Pittsburgh, and John showed McCarthy a photo they’d taken in front of Penn Stadium, McCarthy pulled out his phone and scrolled, then showed them a snapshot of himself at a younger age with his own father. The two were standing in front of a college stadium.

“My dad and I did the same thing,” McCarthy told them with a smile.

“It was really cool,” Brady later said. “J.J. was so good. He was so nice.”

McCarthy asked John if it would be OK for him to stay in contact with the family and receive updates on Brady’s treatments.

The gesture spoke volumes.

“Again, he went so above and beyond and was so comfortable, said he wants to stay updated and these things,” John said. “It was very cool. It made us very, very happy today.”

Cashman, who visited the same hospital during his collegiate days at the University of Minnesota. “The kids here, they don’t often get to get out and have a new experience, so to give something fresh and exciting during hard times, I think it just brightens their day.”

He and Blackmon enjoyed meeting 15-year-old Naomi, one of 10 siblings who joked that her brothers would be jealous when they heard she’d met a pair of Vikings.

“Meeting these patients, having these conversations with families — like Naomi’s family full of Vikings fans — there’s a lot of common interest we can share and talk about and just spend quality time together,” Cashman said.

Blackmon was sidelined for his rookie campaign with a torn ACL but said he’s still enjoyed investing in the Twin Cities community and spreading joy to Vikings fans.

“When I was younger, not in the same situation as these kids, but I wished somebody would have come and given back, come and met me, so I wanted to do something like this,” Blackmon said. “And with it being Valentine’s Day today, they’re a little more amped up with us coming to see them and give them a little love.”

He especially was touched by one room visit, where the family of a 9-year-old boy had received extremely difficult news the night before. Upon entering, Blackmon didn’t hesitate to comfort the boy’s grandmother in a heartfelt embrace.

“I kind of teared up myself,” he said. “It’s just so hard to see these families in these different situations. These kids are all younger than us, and they’re going through such hard things.

“You could tell they needed us here today, so I’m really glad that we came,” Blackmon added.