It's Our Birthday, And We All Get Gifts

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today marks seven years to the day that the first article went live here at The Daily Norseman. It isn't much. . .just a little "Hey, how's it going" from yours truly on the site's first day. Since then, we've brought you. . .goes to archives, pulls up Windows calculator. . .carry the 1. . .5,463 stories about the Minnesota Vikings and various other topics that we thought you'd enjoy reading about.

It's been a long and incredible ride being able to do this for all of you folks for the last seven years, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of all of the writers on the staff, past and present, I'd like to thank all of you for making this site a part of your Vikings news collecting experience since July of 2006. And, to the current staff, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything you do to help make this site what it has become and what it's going to be in the future.

But we already know that we have the best fans out there. Really, who's going to argue? (And, seriously, who cares if they do?) We promised you something big, and since we're generally pretty good when it comes to delivering on these sorts of things. . .at least, I'd like to think we are. . .let's get to it, shall we?

Yes, let's. We got some exciting news yesterday afternoon, and there's no more appropriate time to share it with you than now.

As you know, we've been allowed access to Minnesota Vikings' Training Camp the past few years. Thanks to folks like Jeff Anderson and Jon Ekstrom in the Vikings' public relations office, we've been able to get access to lots of Vikings events, including a few days at Training Camp each year, and we're pleased to announce that this year will be no different. Once again, we will have a presence in Mankato to watch our favorite football team prepare for the 2013 NFL season.

So, what days will DN be at Training Camp this year? I'm glad you asked. Here's a rough outline of the schedule:

Every day.

Every single day.

You heard me.

EVERY. . .SINGLE. . .DAY!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. . .for the first time in the history of the site, The Daily Norseman has been granted full access to Minnesota Vikings Training Camp.

(Way better gift than a card, isn't it?)

We're still in the process of organizing who is going to be in Mankato on which days, but as I said. . .barring some sort of logistical issues, we will have someone watching, reporting, and (likely) tweeting from every single day of the Minnesota Vikings' 2013 Training Camp. What does all this mean? Well, frankly, we're not entirely sure ourselves yet. . .apparently there will be opportunities for interviews, watching practices, and lots of other good stuff. With this (before now) unprecedented level of access, we should definitely be able to bring you things that you aren't going to see anywhere else about our favorite football team.

Once again, we have to give a big thanks to the Minnesota Vikings, who have always been great to us, for making this happen for the readers and the staff of this website. We really can't even begin to express how big a deal this is.

So, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. . .it truly is a Happy Birthday for everyone that writes for and reads The Daily Norseman. We couldn't do it without all of you, so take this time to pat yourselves on the back. Oh, and if you're on the Twitter, feel free to send a thank you to Jeff Anderson and Jon Ekstrom.

And, you know, if you weren't already looking forward to Training Camp. . .maybe you can start now.