Ep. 55: Paul Allen, Voice of The Minneapolis Miracle

[00:00:00] Mall of America for more than 30 years. It has been a retail leader and an international destination, and it remains the largest mall in the U.S. Not to mention it welcomes millions of guests from around the world. It's huge, but it's also so much more.

[00:00:15] In this podcast, you're going to hear the real stories of how it started and why it continues to thrive. You'll hear about challenges we faced along the way and what you can learn from them. We will feature guests and experts from all walks of life and business,

[00:00:28] and along the way, you'll laugh, learn, and maybe even change the way you look at things. So if you're a fan of the mall, a brand new visitor, an entrepreneur, or a dreamer, prepare to dive deep into so much more. This podcast is presented

[00:00:42] by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hey, welcome to So Much More, our Mall of America podcast. I am Jill Renzlo, your host for today, joined by Dan Jasper. Welcome, Dan. Hey, Jill. And we are excited to have the one,

[00:00:56] the only, Paul Allen with us in studio today to talk about all things sports. Paul is a Minnesota legend here, a sports commentator who is called play by play for the Minnesota Vikings for over 20 years. He's the voice of the Vikings radio network

[00:01:11] and for horse racing at Canterbury Park. He also hosts a morning sports show on K-Fan, and he's done that since 1998. So we are excited to hear his story and talk about Minnesota sports. So PA, welcome. It's an honor to be here.

[00:01:25] It's an honor to get to a certain part of Mall of America that really nobody knows exists, specifically in the bowels to this fantastic studio you guys have. And really my biggest concern, not that I'm a concerned laden guy, is that somehow I get to leave

[00:01:41] with this unbelievable Mall of America coffee cup they're demanding that I hide. So thank you very much for having me. I love it. Yeah, the cup's gonna stay here. You're trying to, you know, I'm kidding. Well then I'll take the feel in Jersey

[00:01:52] since he's no longer on the team. Hello, we're gonna kick this off. We're talking about Minnesota has a long sports history and you've been a fabric of that, the voice, the talent, I'm bringing that story to all of us. So take us back. How did it all start

[00:02:08] in bringing you here to Minnesota? Well, I'm a racetrack announcer by trade. So therefore this will be my, I believe 30th season calling races at Canterbury Park. It used to be Canterbury Downs. They closed, reopened in 95 as Canterbury Park. I started as a racetrack announcer in 1993

[00:02:26] at a racetrack in San Francisco, that area called Bay Meadows. So you're able to see races around the country even if you go to Canterbury. It's called teleracing or simulcasting. So they saw me early in my career and they just liked something about the energy

[00:02:43] or they didn't wanna go with like an announcer that had done it for a million years. So they hired me. So for five years, 93 through 98, my life was that of kind of a gypsy trail where I'd work six months in the San Francisco area

[00:02:59] and they're racing at Mall of America. And then I would go to Grand Island, Nebraska and call races at Foner Park for a month and a half, come up to Chacopay, call races at Canterbury and rinse and repeat for five years. K-Fan radio when it was AM 1130

[00:03:17] was doing Saturday shows at Canterbury in 97 and they asked, does your announcer know anything about sports? And I said, I think I do. So then I would go on K-Fan Saturdays when they were at the racetrack. And I wasn't even living here at that time

[00:03:32] except for the spring and summer. They heard something they must have liked and Jesse the body of Ventura, former governor but also former radio host at K-Fan, Jesse and I really hit it off and because music and like watching live music on YouTube

[00:03:50] that's like my number one hobby outside of biblical studies and stuff like that. Well, Jesse and I knew a lot of the same performers that I would go see in the Bay Area. So Jesse and I hit it off. He helped me land it full time,

[00:04:04] started at K-Fan full time in 98. Then K-Fan switched, excuse me, the Minnesota Vikings switched from WCCO radio to K-Fan in 2001. I went for that job and I had never done play by play at any level in my life. So what I did is when I caught wind

[00:04:24] that there may be an opening, 2000 I would go to the Metrodome and call games for an emerging internet site known as Vikings.com because people around the world wanted to hear the call and CBS, the parent company for CCO wanted nothing to do with it.

[00:04:42] So they came to K-Fan and said, anybody wanna do this? And I'm like me and I'd never done it. So but after that season, I had 16 games of tape. I'd say 10 of them live home and road, six off television.

[00:04:58] So we did whatever it takes to get to that spot. And they liked it. And in fairness, they also liked that I had a radio show and that you guys would know as Mall of America that whenever you get a chance

[00:05:11] to have somebody glowingly speak of your product and you don't have to pay exponentially more for it. And so that also played into them considering me for play by play. And I got beat. And so I went for it.

[00:05:26] And it was a bunch against a bunch of people who made play by play as their career, including the one who won it, who was a former San Diego Chargers and USC Trojans football announcer. So really I had no shot. I got beat.

[00:05:40] And then that guy got fired for various reasons like one game into it preseason. So then on a day's notice, they said to me, he's out. We're not guaranteeing you, you get the job. We need you to call this preseason game against the Steelers tomorrow night.

[00:05:56] And I'm like, and so I went and did it and it was raw and it was emotional and it was a different experience. But that opened their eyes to the flexibility, the amenable nature of me. And so then that led to me getting the job full time in 2002.

[00:06:17] And really I just give thanks to God frequently for putting me in these jobs with, I didn't go to college. I auditioned to be a K-Fan, auditioned to be a racer-rack announcer, auditioned to get into the NFL and I want them all.

[00:06:33] And I've held them all for X amount of years. It just gives me chills to think that that's how it worked and it's still happening. And here I am at one of my favorite places, Mall of America. Well, we love it.

[00:06:46] And you have a very unique talent and skill when you announce and it's the passion. Your passion is magical. It captures viewers' fans in just a remarkable way. Even when the Vikings lose? Even when the Vikings lose. Cause you just engage the fans in such a special way.

[00:07:05] So how do you keep that energy and that focus and how do you prepare for that? Because it's very genuine and it's just exciting as a fan to listen to you. Well, if I didn't spend every Saturday at Mall of America

[00:07:18] helping myself up with Paw Patrol related items, no. It's just the way I was constructed. It's the, you know, I'm not a believer in individuals identifying their own gifts. I believe that's for other people to be, hey, you have the gift of hospitality.

[00:07:36] Hey, you have the gift of serving. But I think it's abundantly clear to me that the gift of energy and caring and really the serving part of it has been a common thread for me all of my career. But really more so the last five years

[00:07:52] since I've really learned truly what serving means is I have a high level of reverence and respect for you, you, everybody else who take time on a Sunday at noon to listen to K-Fan and I'm part of it.

[00:08:07] So you're not there, maybe you're there to listen to me. The game is the A topic. I'm an ancillary piece, but you have to make that choice. Am I gonna listen to it? Whether I like the guy with three chins and one eyebrow or not

[00:08:22] or same thing with the K-Fan 9 to new radio show people make a choice to listen to me. That's moving to me. It's very moving to me. And the minute I or those in my field and there are a lot of them who don't look at it this way

[00:08:39] the minute we forget we serve you as opposed to you're lucky to have us, we fail. So that's my approach. Well, Malva America has a lot of history with sports and Dan is our historian of all things Malva America from our history. And so I love for Dan.

[00:08:58] We got trivia coming up here. For Dan to share some of the history because before Malva America here was here we were a sports stadium. So that was before you transcended on Minnesota but hopefully you had a chance to maybe visit the Metropolitan Stadium.

[00:09:08] But Dan, do you want to talk a little bit about our history? Sure. This was home of Metropolitan Stadium and right across from us, of course was where the North Stars played as well in our North parking lot. Do you know the first professional team

[00:09:21] to play in that stadium? Not to test you. You mean so it's not the Minnesota North Stars? No, in Metropolitan Stadium. So it's Twins against? No. Oh, you got me. The Minneapolis Millers were actually, the AAA team were the first they played

[00:09:36] I think four seasons before the twins came and the twins were who before they became the twins. Senators. They were the senators. Yes, well I'm from Washington DC. So therefore I was the football loving youngster who would tune into CBS and see Brent Musburger say

[00:09:53] you are looking live at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota. And then there's Bud Gran or whomever, Ahmaud Rashad, Chuck Foreman, purple people eaters and it's all cold and everything and it's the frozen tundra. Yeah that bit me. You know like when it would be you are looking live

[00:10:11] at Silverdome in Detroit and whatever. You are looking live at this stadium but when they would come to Metropolitan Stadium. It was wonderful. It had an aura. It was magic. You know it was magical. It's been the colors and just the fan base

[00:10:23] and how they had to dress to take in the games. Yeah that definitely bit me. And a bit of NFL history was made here. It was a playoff game. The Vikings versus the Cowboys. Roger Stabuck, Tom Landry. December 28th, 1975. Do you know what happened?

[00:10:39] Yeah you know what happened. Drew Pearson and the push off. He pushed off on who? Yeah on Nate Wright. Nate Wright of course he did. I have photo evidence of that. Yeah you know and how I remember that was it comes up so frequently

[00:10:53] in Minnesota Vikings immortality history. Yeah it is. So you have the purple people leaders and then like 09 Brett Favre and everything that went into that Adrian Peterson and one of the greats ever but that's always part of the fiber in the common thread. It is.

[00:11:07] Specifically in a state that you know outside of the twins in 87 and 91 it's been very difficult to get to championship games or series or certainly win them and I could just tell not even living here or being here for you, for Dan and for all the hard school,

[00:11:26] hard coral old schoolers that one bit really hard. It was hard I was 15 and I remember watching that game with my dad. Made you quit school right? Yeah it was close, it was close. But we have a storied history here with sports at Mall of America

[00:11:42] on this property of course. I'm gonna shift gear really quick if I can have something else. Was it home plate in Nickelodeon University? It is yes. Yeah that's right I've seen it. And Joe was one of the team, the core team that when we developed Nickelodeon Universe

[00:11:55] made sure that home plate was not moved. Yes we watched every construction drawing and made sure home plate stayed true to the location because we knew that it was a nostalgic component that people loved to see, loved to take photos with. So we have home plate,

[00:12:08] we have the red chair from the Harmon Kilibrew longest home run in the stadium. We also have the 50 yard line identified as far as for football fans. And so we continually look at the nostalgia of history of sports here in Minnesota. Well, the reference I would assume

[00:12:24] the Drew Pearson-Nate Wright spot was blown up. And it's like now we ain't gonna have that spot anymore as to get it out of the minds. Yeah exactly we don't talk about that. No and that is actually the play that Roger Stabba coined the phrase Hail Mary.

[00:12:39] Oh wow really? That's where it happened. Geez. Yes it had been used in college football, had never been spoken in professional football. After the game media asked him how'd you make that incredible play? He said I closed my eyes and I threw a Hail Mary.

[00:12:51] That's the first time in NFL history happened right here on our property. Holy cow. And you know why that resonates with me deeply? Because like if I do interviews or I do, you know, Paul Allen let's start back when you were a kid

[00:13:04] and you know a lot of divorces in my life so I moved all over the place but I ended up in Southern California in the Los Angeles area from 79 really up to 93. And the LA Lakers played by Playvoice was a guy named Chick Hearn.

[00:13:20] The LA Dodgers played by Playvoice was Vin Scully, maybe the greatest in the history of what I do. So I was the kid who would lay in bed after I moved from DC and listened to those guys call games.

[00:13:31] Why it's pertinent to what you said off Roger the Dodger is Chick Hearn invented the phrase slam dunk. Sky hook triple double. You know so I'm listening to that. You know, in my formative years and I knew I wanted to be a limb on his tree

[00:13:48] but mid 30s starting racetrack announcing I wrote for newspapers for five years, Pasadena Star News and USA Today which really helped with the grammar and the language and everything which the English language is very important to me. But it was also instilling things in me

[00:14:05] that I didn't know at that time that I now share with the audience who chooses to listen to me and I don't do it purposely. I just call on it because it's there. And one more question, you're self-made, right? You talked about not going to college.

[00:14:19] I read somewhere that in high school your mom did your homework perhaps and that you spent several years in community college but the point is you're a self-made person. Tell us about the cork and how you learned diction. Wow, that's a great question.

[00:14:35] Well, I would not have graduated from high school had my mom not done a majority of my homework. I've been there, by the way. In 1984 and kids watching the podcast or listening, we do not encourage that. However, that was my lot of life at that time.

[00:14:51] So that's true. And then I went to junior college for five years and managed to not get a degree at Pasadena City College because I didn't, it's just, you know, the best way to put it is, we're not all wired the same. Absolutely right.

[00:15:04] So the analytics of statistics and math and geometry, geometry at that level, science and all that, I mean, it just, it did nothing for me. Now English and history and literary work and prepositional phrases and non-essential clauses and split infinitives. Well, like people are like, what?

[00:15:29] Well, that's how the English language was constructed. So it's not like every single sentence I say is like, hey, go back to where you came from. I'm not gonna change everyone to go back whence you came but I know it's go back whence you came.

[00:15:43] And it's, I've just taken the, I've enhanced the level of importance of taking longer sentences and shortening them. So it's a 61 yard Minneapolis miracle, boom, boom, boom, boom and he's loose. Okay, so that pops. People seem to like it and it's truncated.

[00:16:04] So I feel if you're able to get to the point with the strong verbs and adjectives defining the noun in pithy fashion, that not only gives the analyst more time to talk, but bam, it pops as opposed to this

[00:16:20] in the 50 and the 40 and the 30 and wow, look at digs. He stayed in bounds and the rookie safety from Utah blew it and touchdown. The Vikings are advancing. So that's my mindset. It's very important to me. I don't like reading, you know, outside of the Bible

[00:16:34] I don't read much, but I listen to a lot and I pick up on a lot. And you know, that has just always stuck with me. The diction, articulation, enunciation, I was doing all of that and into all of that before I got any of these jobs.

[00:16:50] So I just think it's beautiful how I be, how I was wired at a time in my life to do certain things that I had no idea where it was leading. Now I know. I love it. We've talked about historical events

[00:17:01] and you talk about phrases or things that have stuck and you mentioned Minneapolis Miracle. Talk a little bit about that day, that moment, that component in history. It's iconic. I mean it's 2017 Vikings game. It was... Well take it a step further and tie it to Mall of America

[00:17:22] because being at Mall of America, which is this place for me and you can go back in my Twitter, you can talk to people who know me. Mall of America specifically around the holiday season is immortality for me. And I have a schedule.

[00:17:37] I take off days at K-Fan to do it right. I'll get into that momentarily. But with the Minneapolis Miracle, let's not forget, that's a divisional round game. They beat the New Orleans Saints. All right? The last thing you heard me say was something like

[00:17:52] it's next week is 50 and blustery in Philadelphia and we're bringing a purple rain, something like that. That was at the end of the whole thing. Well, Philadelphia was next. All right, we scored the first touchdown, we're winning and then we get killed.

[00:18:07] I mean it was just a disaster after Kyle Rudolph caught that touchdown blast. Well, what made it a disaster for me is one of my favorite places in the world, Mall of America is a place I didn't wanna come to because it was Radio Row, third floor,

[00:18:22] right where we close to where we are now down a little bit for the food court and all the radio stations and all the players. I'm like, wow, man. We almost had Radio Row at one of my favorite places and the Super Bowl with the Vikings

[00:18:38] at US Bank Stadium, but that. Yes. So it was difficult coming here early in the week to do those radio shows. But with the Minneapolis Miracle, it was such an emotional game. It's a playoff game and the Vikings jump up like 17-0

[00:18:56] and they're just killing one of my least favorite teams, the New Orleans Saints. They're not one of my least favorite teams anymore because they're coach Sean Payton. It's, I don't, you know, hate's not a word in my vocabulary. I just really don't like how he operates,

[00:19:09] mocking the Skoll chant. You know, then he got a miracle put on him and he couldn't handle it. So I just don't, you know, the bounty gate of 09 and everything, you don't like it. So that felt really good beating him and them,

[00:19:21] but winning at halftime the way the Vikings were, it was unbelievable. Well, Drew Brees is one of the great quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. I think he went, he went no huddle shotgun, hurry up 25 consecutive times and it was fast.

[00:19:37] And it was, hey, look what's hitting us now. Here they come. And they passed us in well-timed fashion. So we come out of a break, Bursage and I, Ben Leaver on the sidelines and I don't script calls. So I said to Pete,

[00:19:52] oh, looks like we need a Minneapolis Miracle to get this one first in 10, blah, blah, blah. Play, play, play, play, play. Then the pass to Diggs and the raw emotion from me and the analyst. And then when it's done, I stamped it with, it's a 61 yard Minneapolis Miracle.

[00:20:10] And everybody seemed to like it. And I get them getting a lot of national calls, you know, like, how'd you come up with that? And you're the analyst jumped on you, is that bug you know he gets to talk to.

[00:20:22] But what surprised me was the, it wasn't outrage, but people frustrated I said Minneapolis. You know, the Vikings are a Minnesota team. It's a Minnesota Miracle, St. Paul counts too. And so does Fridley and so does Andover and so does Waseca. I know they all count.

[00:20:39] But go ahead at that emotional moment, not scripted off a teleprompter or whatever. That's the beauty of these games. It's the true definition of reality TV or radio. We have no idea what's coming next. So I did the best I could there with the Minneapolis Miracle.

[00:20:56] I was just surprised. Now this is frustrated Vikings fans who, you know, would tear something down to feel better about the moment because we all were hurt. But that's how that went. Well, I was thrilled cause I actually watched it live. I think the rest of my family

[00:21:11] and many other Vikings fans probably walked away at that point because they had thrown in the telep. If they were halfway at that point two years ago when we were down 33 zero at halftime to the Colts, they probably moved. And then we came back and we got them.

[00:21:26] Well, we are true Vikings fans and we love your voice to curious through those games. But you did mention Malva America during the Super Bowl and it was a proud moment for a lot of us here in Minnesota because in 2018 we hosted. Yeah, it was a fantastic opportunity

[00:21:41] for us to showcase Minnesota because we really can offer something and deliver something different than other cities and communities can. And having radio wrote here, the media center we had both teams staying in our two hotels. We hosted the media parties for both teams. It was exciting.

[00:21:56] A million people came through our doors and those four days during the Super Bowl. Is it Radisson Blue? Radisson Blue and JW Marriott. Yeah, that's great. So now just another thorn in the metaphorical side of a Viking fan.

[00:22:07] I missed out on a comp week stay at JW Marriott with the unbelievable lobby smells that I guess you can buy but then when you plug it in it's too much for a small house. It just keeps getting better. I'm really glad I did this.

[00:22:20] We will welcome you back anytime. We'll set you up and Radisson Blue. And I also met a man named Jesse Azick who is the, excuse me, Jesse Singh who's the CEO of AZIC Corporation and they run a deck building company called Timber Tech

[00:22:37] and Jesse and I met there and he's a huge Vikings fan and we were kind of lamenting together. Well, subsequently Timber Tech, me and Kay Fan got together and they're still advertising on the fan. So it's not like I owe Mall of America commission or anything.

[00:22:53] I might not have wanted to go down that road but that originated at a place that honestly it's Minnesota immortality and I'm not breaking news here. You know, a lot of the first questions people will get when they're coming to town is, what's it Mall of America?

[00:23:08] Do I get to go to Mall of America? How long does it take to walk all the floor? Stuff like that. So to be an immortality like reference point for a state that's great but it's earned and it's earned with equity and over the course of time.

[00:23:25] So bravo to you guys. And like I mentioned earlier, you know, this is fact you know, it's not because I'm sitting here, you know compensated with hopefully a copy cup. I hope I don't have to steal. I say this from the heart

[00:23:37] that every December, you know, my kids Derek my son's 23, my daughter Nicole is 21 goes to a school at Colorado Boulder University of Colorado. So she and I used to come here all the time just to walk around together and be with each other but I will take off

[00:23:55] I will save off days at Kayfan for four or five days in December and they will be weekdays and you used to open at 10 now you open at 11 but I timed that thing up. So I'm in the East parking lot Starbucks side of the rotunda

[00:24:11] where all the you do all the kids sing and that whole thing and the big beautiful silver Christmas tree. So I'll wait there and I'll come in because I want to like one vacation day is floor one. I love it. And avoid the rigamarole of the crowds.

[00:24:28] So I got Lululemon, I have Athleta assuming it's still here and all of those stores the pro shops and everything boom taking care of a bunch of people floor one next day another off day. That's floor two we have Tillies. We have all the stuff that my kids

[00:24:45] when they were 14 to 18 or 19 really loved. Hey Derek here's your 19th Tillies gift card and then the food options obviously are unbelievable. The food court has changed over the years with just different places variety. So that would be a stop.

[00:25:04] And now I have people in my life where there are children who are three years of age or younger. Well, now all of a sudden that 20 minutes at the Paw Patrol Park. I mean, I've learned more about Chase and Sky or whatever it is.

[00:25:18] I was just there three weeks ago for the 20 minutes then you gotta leave and then you walk around and get the tickets and everything and you come back 20 minutes again with a crying three year old who wants to stay 25.

[00:25:30] So yeah, I mean, I know it inside and out and that's part of my life and has been part of my life for many, many years. And it's not like I'm being old guy get off my lawn here. Yeah, okay.

[00:25:40] I'll go to an online spot to get calcium from my hot tub. Yes, I will shop online occasionally but I like shopping in person. I like going through the racks and looking at the pants or the shirts or the suits or the ties. I like that.

[00:25:57] And you know, my life is predicated on public interaction. Well, I'm not saying this disparagingly but sometimes you just wanna hide and be quiet. Mall of America is an awesome place to just mindlessly walk around, quasi-hide even if you live a public life,

[00:26:14] get some peace and some serenity and coffee and sit in a nice place, look at your phone, get up, do it again. So that yeah, ever since I've been here that's been part of my life and it feels like I should get about $5,000 for that infomercial

[00:26:29] but it's true, it's born of authenticity and honesty from my heart and I love Mall of America. Well, we appreciate you being a fan of ours and you're welcome anytime. We'd love to host you during the holidays and your round, we'd love to have you here.

[00:26:42] So is there anything you wanna tell our fans, your fans of what you've got next? What's on your bucket list? What's next for you? Oh wow, I don't really know if you wanna hear the answer. What's next for me is I run a chapel in Chakape

[00:26:57] on the track at Canterbury Park. The chaplain died a couple of years ago, he saw me pray in the paddock with a jockey and he asked me to speak at that chapel and I mean, I had called 30,000 horse races 400 football games and I'm like this

[00:27:12] when he asked me to do that. So it took me a month to respond, why did it? And I liked it and I liked it a lot and subsequently I've taken a lot of classes and I've studied and I don't know when it's gonna happen

[00:27:24] but it's up to God, not me. But my identity is rooted in Christianity. It's not rooted in Minneapolis miracle. This is nine to noon and they're racing at Canterbury. It's not rooted in any of that. Those are blessings to be able to do

[00:27:39] and provide distractions for other people who are looking for distractions in their lives. Again, I'm very blessed to be able to do that. Forget the path to get there which is that of improbability, I'm there and I've held it.

[00:27:54] So what's next is going to be, I don't know. I mean, it might be buying an RV and traveling around the country to chat about what we're talking about and I'll call it Brother Love Travel and Salvation Show. It's something that I don't know what it is

[00:28:08] but I know it's coming and I know it's coming quickly. So I'm not saying that I'm gonna leave all my jobs tomorrow but that's what's next. I just don't know when. Follow your heart and your passions and we appreciate you. Thank you for spending time with us today

[00:28:22] and thank you to all of our fans for so much more. We love, you can keep the cup, we promise you can keep the cup but we love the crossover of sports fans and fans of Mall of America. There's a lot of passion and emotion

[00:28:33] that goes with our connections and our experiences. So for all of you listening and watching, join us next time and follow us where you listen to your podcasts and we'll see you again soon. Thank you for tuning in to today's episode of So Much More.

[00:28:46] If you wanna hear more, be sure to subscribe to our podcast wherever you find your favorites including Spotify, Apple or Google Podcast and you can also watch a video cast on YouTube. Go to podcast.mallofamerica.com to leave a review,

[00:29:01] ask a question or give us an idea for the show. Until next time, thanks for listening. So much more is presented by the Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, the official destination marketing organization for the city of Bloomington, Minnesota. Before your next trip to Mall of America,

[00:29:18] visit bloomingtonmn.org for answers to all your travel questions, deals and packages for hotel stays and so much more.