Heading into Halloween 2025, the Vikings running backs and offensive line groups hosted their traditional holiday festivities for Twin Cities children's hospital patients Tuesday.

C.J. Ham led his squad at Children's Minnesota – St. Paul, while Brian O'Neill led offensive linemen down the runway for a costume fashion show with M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital patients.

Vikings Running Backs Reverse Trick-or-Treat

A young boy with platinum blond hair posed proudly with a hand-drawn image of a Vikings logo, eliciting audible gasps in a room of new and friendly faces equally amazed by his artistry.

James Howlett, a.k.a Logan, or Wolverine, flanked the boy's right side, and Kal-El, a.k.a Clark Kent, or Superman, stood to his left. Bookended by superheroes, the boy summoned a super confidence and flipped the piece of paper he was holding in his hands. The other-side drawing was anyone's best guess.

And everyone's least favorite letter – a giant "G" on a green oval backdrop outlined in yellow.

You betcha, it was A Nightmare on Smith Ave!

In a swift response to the unbelievable unveiling, Zavier Scott stayed true to his character and playfully jabbed his svelte, non-retractable foam claws in the boy's direction, looking just like the X-Men mutant.

"Zavier would pick the one costume where his arms could be out," Ham quipped to his wife Steph.

Vikings running backs Ty Chandler (Superman), Corey Kiner (Mario) and Scott (Wolverine), plus the veteran fullback Ham (Woody from Toy Story) and his incredible partner (Mrs. Incredible) dressed in costumes at the Children's Minnesota St. Paul campus for reverse Trick-or-Treating.

Instead of answering doorbells and jokingly chastising kids for reaching for too many pieces of candy, the majority of the 2025 Vikings backfield visited with groups of children in the in-patient mental health unit, taking photos, sharing bits of their individual lives — like their favorite fast foods — and delivering goodies.

Additionally, in the Child Life Zone, a state-of-the-art, therapeutic play area enhanced with mini basketball hoops and a full-fledged entertainment room with a green screen and rock band setup, the players greeted patients who were amidst extended treatments or visiting for clinical appointments.

"We got the word out that the Vikings were going to be here, and everyone was so excited," said Ashley Lawson, Senior Community Engagement Officer for the Children's Minnesota Foundation.

Lawson noted "there was a line out the door" with patients eager to interact with the Vikings players.

"It means so much to our patients and families to be able to see that the community cares about them, especially when they're facing some of the hardest days of their lives," Lawson offered. "And for our staff, and the clinicians and kid experts here at Children's Minnesota, it's just so incredible to see people rally around our patients and families, because that's really – for us, it's all about kids; it's kids first."

She continued, "To see the joy that the Vikings can bring, especially on days like Halloween when some [patients] might not get to trick-or-treat in their communities, to bring that joy here is just indescribable."

After hanging for 30 minutes in "The Zone," happily signing autographs and snapping photos, the football players disguised as superheroes embarked on a venture to the hospital's mental health wing and entertained children and adolescents ages 6-18 who were there for mental health services.

It's a "treat being able to come here," Ham said. "It's just as much fun for us, if not more, than the kids."

Steph's presence made the afternoon even more enjoyable for the Duluth native in his 10^th NFL season.

"It's amazing," said Ham, whose children have previously attended the pre-Halloween hospital surprise. "She supports me in everything I do, and many of the things I do are because of her and her heart and what she wants to bring to the community. … At the end of the day this is what it's all about. Who you are and the people that you influence are going to mean much more than anything else you do [in life]."

Vikings offensive linemen walk the runway

Luigi and Pluto and Bluey, oh my!

Vikings offensive linemen strutted their stuff — and their costumes — on the runway when they joined M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital patients for the annual Halloween Fashion Show. This year's event was held at the Minnesota Vikings Museum.

If you're wondering how a 6-foot-7, 310-pound O'Neill fits into a Halloween costume … well, he doesn't, fully.

But O'Neill and his teammates were good sports throughout the evening, each player donning multiple get-ups that coordinated with the young person accompanying him. O'Neill received quite the reaction dressed as a giant, inflatable baseball and later transformed into a wizard and then a scarecrow.

"We were fighting over who got what costume," O'Neill laughed. "There was a Mr. Incredible, and I really wanted to do that. I've been told I look like him, so I was trying to get that one, but I lost."

It was rather Vershon Lee who won the coveted muscle suit and strolled alongside a pint-sized Dash from the 2004 Disney film. Lee and his runway partner struck a few different poses before Dash broke into The Griddy, much to the crowd's delight.

Walter Rouse, Henry Byrd (who stole the show in an inflatable chipmunk costume), Joe Huber and Max Pircher also showcased their catwalk skills.

Rouse opened the show as a larger-than-life JonnyPop, the Minnesota-based popsicle company that joined this year's fashion show as a colorful sponsor, joined by two miniature JonnyPops, and delivered his usual energy.

"Being able to connect with the kids, get to know them, and walk down the aisle and show off our costumes, there's nothing better than that," Rouse said. "Doing this for the first time last year, I couldn't wait to do it again, and here I am."

After his first costume, Rouse also managed to be Luigi (two separate times), Peter Pan, Blue and Harry Potter.

Is there a strategy to the speedy outfit changes?

"You've gotta be fast, but not too fast," Rouse noted. "You're gonna get [your arms] caught and stuff. You've gotta be fast but slow. As soon as you round the corner [backstage], you've gotta be sprinting. Have the hat off first, that's easy, then the shirt, then the pants."

The Vikings value a longstanding relationship with the hospital, and the fashion show has typically been specifically an offensive line undertaking. Originally a favorite event of former center Garrett Bradbury, the torch has been passed down to O'Neill.

"It's on us to keep it going now, but it's a lot of fun," the right tackle said. "If we can be a bright spot for an hour for these kids, it's a bright spot for us, too."

Petra Eastling of M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital emphasized the impact.

"This is such a fun event for our patients and families," Eastling said. "We have kiddos here who experience challenges when they're in the hospital, but then they also get to experience these fun things outside of the hospital setting — and that's part of the normalization process we want to see.

"We look forward to this every year with the Vikings," she added. "The kids see these guys, and they're big, they're intimidating, [they] play football — and then to do something fun like this with them and be part of a larger community, I think it's so awesome for kids and a special experience for these families."