Act of kindness pays off for Vikings fan Freeman

In the Monday, October 31 edition of the Independent, a photo was published of Headlocks Bar owner Dennis Freeman and his wife, Karmen, playing host to Minnesota Vikings legend Chuck Foreman for autographs and fan conversation Saturday, October 22.

But, as the late radio broadcaster Paul Harvey said, you haven't heard "the rest of the story."

As it turned out, there was a mechanical issue with Foreman's car after he made his rounds in Carrington, and he was unable to drive back to the Twin Cities.

A leaking radiator from an accident left the 1970s NFL running back great without working transportation.

"He hit a raccoon by Melville, and that put a hole in his radiator, so we knew when he got here he wasn't going to be driving his car home," Freeman said. "That gave us a few hours to come up with a plan."

Enter Freeman, who agreed to lend Foreman Karmen's vehicle to get home.

"I told Chuck, 'Where I come from, we're taught to help others, whether you know them or not,'" said Freeman.

Several days later, Freeman got a call.

It seems the powers that be in charge of suite seating for the Vikings heard about his act of kindness to Foreman.

"I'd been in contact with Chuck all week about his car, and he called me Sunday morning and invited me to be his guest in the suite," said Freeman.

The team offered him the chance to sit in the team's alumni booth at U.S. Bank Stadium for the team's game against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, October 30, as part of former defensive end Jared Allen's induction into the team's Ring of Honor at halftime.

Freeman has been driving the Headlocks Bar fan bus to Vikings games for years, but with this once-in-a-lifetime invitation, two seats, which would be Dennis and Karmen's, suddenly opened up.

On this occasion, he brought 23 people down for the game against Arizona.

Freeman was able to sit with Allen's parents, along with past defensive linemates Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, known affectionately as "The Williams Wall" when they played side-by-side on the interior with Allen.

"If you go to Vikings games, there are always old players out and about signing autographs and hanging out with the fans," he sys. "The players were all behind me having a good time, talking about their playing days."

Carrington's own Jim Kleinsasser also was a teammate of Allen's as a tight end/blocking back for the Vikings from 2008 to 2011.

However, Jimmy was not around on this weekend, which was Freeman's only regret about the trip.

"It would have made me feel a little more comfortable if I would have actually known someone in the room," he said with a chuckle.

Freeman also got to meet up with some other Vikings legends, including running back and Cando native Dave Osborn, along with linebacker and current radio broadcaster Ben Leber.

"Dave's a duck hunter, as I am too, so we talked about that for a bit as well. Really a great guy to talk to," Freeman said.

So, he got to enjoy the revelry of the Texas-born Allen's induction ceremony, which included the gregarious quarterback hunter taking the field on horseback and cowboy hat in an obvious homage to his traditional sack celebration mimicking calf tying.

Allen played for the Vikes from 2008 to 2013, and finished with 136 career sacks, 31 forced fumbles and six interceptions.

And the best part, as always, was another Vikings win by a score of 34-26, to improve the team's record to 6-1 and their NFC North lead to 3 1/2 games over Green Bay.

"As a lifelong fan, I would say it couldn't have been any better. These guys are just normal people," he said.

It all added up to an experience that Freeman will never forget.

All because he did what most any North Dakotan would do in his situation.

"The lesson is pretty simple," he said. "When I grew up in Carrington, I really feel most people would have done this. To me, it really wasn't a big deal, and I didn't do it to get anything back. I'm pretty sure most of the people I grew up with would have done the exact same thing."

He concluded, "The bottom line is, at some point in our lives, we'll all need some form of help. I always preach to my young [Pitcrew] wrestlers that the most important thing you will ever do in your life is help people in need."