EAGAN, Minn. — Barbara Rudolph cradles the leather football in her hands, turning it over and running her fingers along the seams.

She smiles and looks over at her husband, Richard, whose face also reflects their shared joy over being so near a sport they've always loved.

"I wish I could still go out there and play," says Richard, taking in the Vikings Saturday morning walk-through session.

"I love the sport," Barbara emphasizes a few times during their visit, which includes a tour of Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center.

It's a special day in more ways than one for Barbara, who is celebrating her 93^rd birthday. She and Richard, 96, have been married since 1957; they are accompanied for their day with the Vikings by their son Rick (Richard Jr.).

"We're a football family," Barbara proudly tells me.

That really is an understatement.

Barbara is the daughter of Louie Pahl, a true pioneer of Minnesota football. A St. Paul native, he played several seasons for the independent St. Paul Ideals and in 1923 signed with the Minneapolis Marines, Minnesota's first National Football League team.

On Sept. 26, 1920, the Rock Island Independents, a founding National Football League (it was the American Professional Football Association from 1920-21) franchise based in Illinois, hosted Pahl and the Ideals at Douglas Park. Although the Ideals were not in the APFA, the contest is the first involving a league team. The following was written in the *Rock Island Argus* in advance of the historical matchup, which the Independents won.

The Ideal football team is composed of some of the best independent players in the Twin Cities […] relying on speed and teamwork as the main factor in defeating opponents.

In Louie Pahl they have one of the classiest quarterbacks in the state. He is clever, fast and shifty, and has been sought by the Minneapolis Marines ever since Rube Ursella left that team. He played two years with Central High School and for the last five years has been with the Ideals. He is captain of this year's eleven.

Ursella played and coached Rock Island against St. Paul.

Pahl went on to play fullback for the Marines in 1923, during which he started 10 of 11 games and played against athletes such as the legendary Jim Thorpe.

Though Barbara wasn't born until long after Pahl's football career, she recalled her father hosting gatherings at their West St. Paul home for former Ideals teammates who became lifelong friends. She remains deeply proud of his legacy and the foundation he and his teammates helped lay for the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings — whom she's followed religiously since their inaugural 1961 season.

"Growing up, we spent every Friday, Saturday and Sunday outside at football games — usually high school teams," Barbara shares.

Though her mobility is compromised and she now relies on a walker or wheelchair, Barbara slowly and proudly stands up to shed her winter coat and reveal a red Minneapolis Marines sweatshirt. On her chest is the team's iconic logo, and a PAHL nameplate is across the back.

Barbara shares how her father instilled a love of the game, though organized teams at that time did not allow for female players.

"I should have been born a boy," Barbara quips.

Still, she found a way. As it turns out, the Pahl family was the only one in the neighborhood that owned a football and other equipment; and so, Barbara was invited to join the boys for backyard games.

What position did you play?

"Quarterback," she says, grinning at the fond memory. "I had the ball, so I got to play quarterback. I was the only girl."

Barbara went on to attend Monroe High School in St. Paul, where her father's previous Marines teammate, Martin Norton, served as principal. Richard also attended Monroe and shined on the football field as a right guard (he was inducted into the school's athletic hall of fame last year), but he and Barbara never crossed paths during high school.

It was nearly 10 years later when they met at a mutual friend's New Year's Eve party.

"I was at the party with someone else," Barbara tells me, laughing. "But that didn't last long."

She and Richard have enjoyed telling stories during our tour through the Vikings facility — "God, this place is beautiful," Richard softly says at one point — from notes about Louie and their own childhood football recollections to ways the sport has been passed down through the family, including their son and two grandsons playing at Cretin-Derham Hall, and another grandson, Daniel Freund, playing at St. Thomas Academy and then Princeton University.

Rick shares his own memories of growing up in a football-centric family, noting trips to the Old Met to watch the Purple People Eaters play or, in more recent years, stirring old fashioneds and viewing games together at home.

Barbara, unsurprisingly, has always been a fan of the quarterbacks, from Fran Tarkenton and Warren Moon to Brett Favre, one of her personal favorites.

Vikings Director of Legends Relations Tom West points out moments of franchise history that adorn the walls of the facility's "Super Highway," including a brand-new Vikings Ring of Honor Display.

Before entering practice, Barbara is pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Director of Player Engagement Jasper Brinkley, who played four seasons for Minnesota, as well as Harrison Smith and his former teammates, Jamarca Sanford and Andrew Sendejo. The group warmly welcomes Barbara, and Sendejo gets them started with a round of "Happy Birthday" as Smith presents the special guest with a custom jersey.

The purple jersey includes "BARB" on the nameplate and the No. 93, which prompts a joke when Barbara tells them, "You know, I'm 93 today!"

"Oh! I thought you were 39," Sendejo quips, pointing to the digits in reverse order.

It's clear the morning has meant a lot to the family, and it's fitting to wrap the visit with observing Minnesota's walk-through in its Indoor Practice Facility. Barbara and Richard are gifted the football, which they take turns holding tightly to, and are greeted throughout practice by various players and coaches.

Many express their gratitude for Barbara's father and the groundwork he and his teammates laid for the modern-day Vikings. Running back Aaron Jones, Sr., grasps Richard's wiry hand in his own and thanks him for his service in the Korean War as a postal worker — a gesture that visibly touches the military veteran.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is quickly recognized by the couple as he approaches with a wide smile and shares similar appreciation for their family's story and their continued support of the team.

"I think we gave them some good luck," Barbara says emphatically after her conversation with O'Connell.

And as O'Connell later gave a friendly farewell, Barbara encouraged, "Coach, you go beat that Wisconsin team tomorrow."

As it turns out, the Vikings did just that. Maybe, just maybe, thanks to a little good luck from Barb.