Gable Steveson to sound the gjallarhorn for the preseason opener

With the Minnesota Vikings set to kick off the preseason tomorrow when they take on the Denver Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium, they’ve decided to bring in a superstar to partake in the team’s game day tradition.

Per the team’s Twitter account, Olympic gold medalist and NCAA National Champion wrestler Gable Steveson will be sounding the Gjallarhorn at tomorrow afternoon’s game. He will then change and take a few rotations for the Vikings at the three-technique spot.

I may have made that last part up. . .but, hey, Steveson has talked about pursuing an NFL career, so why not? Per the article linked there, Gophers’ head coach P.J. Fleck said that if Steveson wanted to gain some experience in college before attempting to pursue professional football he’d make room for the Olympian on the roster.

A couple of weeks ago, Steveson took home the Gold Medal in the 125 kg weight class with a dramatic last-second victory over Geno Petriashvili of Georgia. He graduated from Apple Valley High School before going to the University of Minnesota to be a part of their wrestling program, following in the tradition of greats like Shelton Benjamin and some guy named Brock Lesnar.

The Vikings will have fans at U.S. Bank Stadium tomorrow for the first time since December of 2019, and those in attendance will be led by an Olympic gold medalist. How cool is that?