Rep. Joe Hoppe and Jared Allen

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited by my buddy State Representative Joe Hoppe (R) 34B to attend the State Capitol chapter Ducks Unlimited banquet. While I'm always up for a conservation event, I was excited to hear that the event would be attended by two Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl players- Heath Farwell and Jared Allen.

As a reader of this space, you know that I absolutely love Allen - his play, approach, and activities off the gridiron are awesome (or, as he may put it, badass). It seems that the Vikings are working on some kind of new stadium deal or something, and having a couple of Pro Bowlers slap backs and sign autographs with the politico seemed like a good tactic.

Well, needless to say I brought along my lucky Jared Allen jersey and had #69 sign it for me. Check it out.

Unfortunately for Rep. Hoppe, he was called into service to "handle" Farwell and Allen, and ultimately was called to an impromptu interview of the two players for the crowd.



As you can see, Joe did a great job. Part of it is being a politician; you need to be able to get on the stump and converse. But part of this performance is just Joe. He's talented, funny, and smart. The folks of Chanhassen and Chaska are lucky to have him as their appointed Representative in the Minnesota House.

Of course I won jack squat, but at least the ducks got some of my money, and I got to meet my favorite current defensive player. Allen was funny, affable, and helped his cause. Can't wait to see him suit it up again this year in their attempt to get to the Super Bowl.