With Congress out of session for the summer, Minnesota senator Al Franken is here in Mankato for his annual visit to Vikings training camp.
Franken, who brought his son along for the visit, chatted with General Manager Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer. He also shared a laugh with veteran linebacker Chad Greenway, who walked over to Franken's golf cart during the morning walkthrough and playfully told the senator, "Lower my taxes, please!" That is apparently a rite of summer, too.
"Chad and I have a running thing. He basically says, 'Don't raise my taxes.' And that just gives me more determination to raise taxes for people in his salary range," Franken jokingly said after the walkthrough. "It's a great relationship. He's fabulous and I think he's meant a lot for the Vikings."
Asked if Greenway might have a future in the Republican party, he replied, "Yeah, he seems like a Republican. … I'm a huge Vikings fan and if you're playing well you can be a Republican in my book. But you better play well."
Jokes aside, Franken is cautiously hopeful about the team's chances of winning a Super Bowl in 2016, calling the Vikings "a very exciting team."
"This is the most optimistic I've allowed myself to be in a long time," the congressman said. "I'm not counting on going all the way. No Vikings fan ever is. But I think Minnesotans are very excited about this team."
