Watch Gov. Tim Walz’s Mankato West High football team introduce him as vice president nominee

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday to cap off the third and penultimate night of the party’s national convention in Chicago.

Moments after U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar hyped up the former congressman and teacher, a group of Mankato West High School alumni took the stage to talk about the impact Walz had on them as a coach for the football team.

“You want the people in charge to be genuine, compassionate and trustworthy,” said Ben Ingman, who spoke about Walz and ushered his former teammates onstage during his oration.

As he spoke, hundreds of people watched the convention in a packed gymnasium at Mankato West High. Ingman went on to praise Walz for his compassion and leadership.

“We’d always wish that someone like that in our neighborhood would run for office,” Ingman said. “In my neighborhood, someone like that did run for office.”

During his acceptance speech, Walz drew parallels between the presidential campaign and his football team’s state championship bid.

“We played through to the whistle on every single play and we even won a state championship,” Walz said. “Never close the yearbook, people.”

Walz has long credited his experience as a geography teacher for his entry into politics. During the 2004 presidential campaign, he led a field trip to a rally for then-President George W. Bush where students supporting John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, were turned away at the door.

While he didn’t recount that story during his speech Wednesday, Walz gave a nod to his time at Mankato West High.

“It was those people and my students that inspired me to run for Congress,” he said.

Watch the Mankato West High alumni greet Walz in the video below: