As the Metrodome's final events trickle on, here is an homage to Monster Jam — the popular monster truck show held numerous times at the Dome, with the last one scheduled for Saturday. We had a chance to chat with Dennis Anderson, veteran driver of Grave Digger, for some of his thoughts:
• On lasting memories of performing at the Dome: "I have a lot of history there. And when I say that, I have good and bad stuff. I have torn up hundreds of thousands of dollars of Grave Digger parts for the fans there. I did one of the biggest stadium jumps ever seen in a monster truck. ... That place and those fans. They have fire and fun for what we do, and that's what I love about it."
• Are you a little sentimental that this is the last one at the Dome? "I am. I always have the love for the old buildings. It's hard to convert over and get that new building going. Hopefully the new building will be monster truck-friendly because I don't want us to go away. There are people from Minneapolis who drive to my house in North Carolina to come see me. They come every year."
• How does the Dome compared to other venues in which you compete? "The floor size is good for us. The main thing at the Dome is that we planted this seed and grew this old tree and now it's bloomed into all of these fans. That to me is the history of what we've done. Back in the day when we started, it was the good ol' guys who came to see us. Now we have all walks of people. Mom, dad and the kids, and they love us. There's something like those old domes I love. It's almost like a circus atmosphere.
• Any special plans for the finale at the Dome? "I'm an older dude. I'm 53 years old. You can look at me and tell I don't work out at the gym, but I'm used to what I do and it doesn't bother me. Right now we have a whole staff of people preparing. ... I just hope I can grind this baby into the ground one more time for the fans. We've got a few surprises in the element of the show. But it won't be a surprise if I tell you. It's just like Christmastime. We're coming."
Michael Rand
