By Chris Buckingham, VikingsValhalla.com

There are many Vikings fans club all over the place, but I think it is hard to beat the dedication of my friends at the Arctic Vikings Club. The Arctic Vikings Club is located in Anchorage, Alaska and I had really enjoyed my time with my fellow Purple fans in the great north when I lived up there until a couple of years ago. Keep in mind that Alaska is on its own time zone and we would have to be at the Sea Galley, home of the club for many years now, to watch the games at 9 AM. After visiting with some of my old friends during a visit this past summer, I felt compelled to introduce the Arctic Vikings Club to the rest of the Vikings fans out there.

Jay Carey is one of the founding members of the Arctic Vikings Club and the club President. So lets start with a little Q & A with Jay.

VV - Please give a quick overview of how and when the club started?

JC - The idea of forming a club started in 1995 around a table inside the Anchorage Hilton with 5 diehard Vikings fans crying in their beer after a tough come-from-behind defeat to the Patriots. This was when Drew Bledsoe led the Pats to 4 second half touchdowns to over take the Vikes. Long time Arctic Vikings Club member Jim Patka had the willingness to mention after this tough Vikings loss that it would be comforting to have a Vikings club, people could get together on a regular basis to talk about the good & the bad. It was these fans; Jim, Dave Carey, Dirk Brodish, Drew Peterson & Jay Carey that moved forward with the idea. The club's official start came in '96 at Eddie's Sports Bar when 20 members joined the first week of the NFL season. Dirk & Jay handled the registration while the 3 others helped spread the word that a Vikings fan club called The Arctic Vikings CLub had been formed. At that time members paid a $15 membership fee. In '97 membership grew to 40 resulting in the club getting a private room at Eddie's to watch the games. It was in this same year that the club registered thru the Minnesota Vikings office as an official Vikings fan club. In '98 the club received its 501 c-7 non-profit status under the IRS as a recreational club. In 'May or 99 we had our Articles of Incorporation approved by the State of Alaska and our by-laws filed. It was in this year that the President Jay Carey put together a Board of Directors to help with the operations & decision making. At the end of the '99 season Eddie's wanted to go in a different direction for using the private room which forced the club to look for a new location. After 4 establishments making their pitches the board decided in May of 2000 on the restaurant/bar called Sea Galley. It has been home ever since. During the 2000 season membership was at its peak with 136 strong even though dues had climbed to $20. More families joined & the average attendance was 73, the second highest figure. After the 2007 season membership totaled 89 with an average attendance slightly above 60. Our membership has avg. 86 & attendance avg. has been 56 during our 12 years.

VV - Who are the current board members and what are their roles?

JC - Current Board Members:
Jay Carey, President
Darla Lodoen, Vice-President
Alan Bauer, Secretary
Craig Von Holdt, Treasurer
Jesse Bloom, Marketing/Sales

VV - What kind of activities are offered to club members?

JC - Pre-season game party, 2 tailgating parties, Vikings trivia contest , silent auction of Vikings merchandise, draft contest at our Dairy Queen fundraiser, chance for members to win weekly prizes during the season.

VV - What are your favorite moment(s) from the club history?

JC - My favorite club moment was in '99 when I introduced Jim Marshall in front of 130 fans & presented him with an Alaskan gold pan.

VV - How important is it to have the Minnesota Vikings finally recognize the club as an official Fan Club?

JC - It's extremely important that the Minnesota Vikings recognizes The Arctic Vikings Club because we have always been with them like family & never have given up hope in winning a Super Bowl. What we need most at this time from the Vikings organization is commitment from them in getting us resources that can help us grow our membership. What I mean by this is more dialogue (communication) coming our way & gifts being sent like pictures, posters, calendars, buttons, key chains, autographed football, etc... that we can give our members that shows that the organization really cares about their fans.

VV - How does someone contact the club if they happen to be in Anchorage?

JC - The club can be contacted by calling 907-250-0296 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

VV - Is there anything else you would like to add?

JC - The club also brought up John Turner before Marshall in 1998. Also, Joe Jackson who played as a back up to the Purple People Eaters defensive line made a surprise visit last year & spoke about how he liked playing for the purple & gold. And of course Matt Blair this past summer!--that was awesome!!

This club has had over 100 people cheering on the team in recent years (they don't require you to become a member and welcome anyone to enjoy the game!) and some weeks you better plan on getting there early to get a seat. I also contacted Mike Berube who is one of my old “table 57” cohorts.

VV - How long have you been a member of the Arctic Vikings Club?

MB - I've been a member since the year after inception (10 Years) After I moved from Minnesota in 1996, it took me a year to discover the club. It became very necessary to help relieve the pain of homesickness then, it also became like a family to me.

VV - What is your favorite thing about the AVC other than have a place to watch the games?

MB - It's a place where you can develop friendships with people you share common interests with. The nice thing about is the people who come to the games are from all walks of life with vastly different backgrounds so the subject matter may not be just about the Vikings during commercial breaks.

VV - What is your favorite memory as a club member?

MB - There are so many to choose from! Recently I met Matt Blair. I shared a beer at Fletcher's in the Hotel Captain Cook with Jim Marshall. Beyond meeting Viking alumni for which I am very grateful, the fondest memories are with my friends at the Sea Galley! Our special "table 57" tends to draw out a peculiar brand of humor, whether it be making fun of the referee's remark about a receiver down-by-contact in the 'upper leg', or accurately diagnosing a Brett Favre interception before it happened in one particular Christmas Eve game, and who could forget how we wouldn't let coach Tice's 1st down 'Sig-hail' signal die? That went on for weeks afterwards!

VV - Do you have any pre-game or in-game traditions?

MB - We have a shot of Tuaca (a Northern Italian Liquer or Brandy) and toast it to the defense. First call isn't until 10:00am (games start at 9:00am Alaska time) so we hope the defense is just about to take the field around that time in the 2nd quarter. Usually when the shot makes its way into the bloodstream, the defense often does something spectacular! They might recover a fumble or pick it off. But sometimes they even make it off the field on a 3rd down play! Three&out!!! We haven't found a decent toast to the offense, but we're working on it. Check in with us a year from now!

VV - Is there anything else you would like to add about the club?

MB - You know you have diehard fans when the same people show up every Sunday-even when the team is 5-11 or 6-10. It's gotten to the point where just seeing the same people every Sunday celebrating, mourning, cussing and otherwise hanging on every single play right alongside with you is more important than the outcome of the game, sometimes. We all have the hope that the Vikings will win a Super Bowl sooner rather than later, but we're all going to be at the Sea Galley in our favorite stools with our favorite friends regardless: to the bitter or Sweet End! "We've all gone ashore, burned the boats and never looked back!" (Brad Childress)

I don’t know if I could have said it much better than that myself. If you ever happen to be in Anchorage, AK during the season make sure you stop and watch the game with my old friends. To Jay, Channing, John, Darla, Gary, Mike, Eric, Alan, Bill and anyone else I missed….. enjoy the season and SKOL on. Watching the games with you all is one of the few things I miss about living in AK. SKOL ON!