Fully-grown mascots will battle youth football players at Vikings-Colts game

Those kids better buckle up...

Sep 22, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; The Minnesota Vikings mascot in action before the game against the Oakland Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Hell hath no wrath like a mascot on a football field against little kids.

Helmets, shoulder and knee pads, it doesn't matter. There is no protecting 60-pound kids when raging mascots are running full speed in front of 65,000 fans who are looking to see a big hit.

It takes a person without a soul to truly enjoy the kids getting smashed by 7-foot-tall mascots like Viktor the Vikings and Goldy the Gopher, yet it's an event that has taken place time and time again at halftime of Vikings games over the years. And it's going to happen this Sunday night, under the lights of U.S. Bank Stadium, during halftime of the Vikings-Colts game.

"Peewees beware," warned Viktor the Viking.

The event is perhaps best described by an X user who noted that the NFL is all about promoting player safety while simultaneously pitting mascots against kids in a football game that frequently sees little Bobby getting thrown through the air like he's being shot out of a t-shirt cannon.

NFL: we care about player safety
Also the NFL: come see a 30 year old give a 5th grader a concussion

— Andre Keons (@heavydirtyskol) November 1, 2024

Fun fact: The most-watched video posted by the Minnesota Vikings on YouTube is the mascots versus kids halftime video from six years ago. It has 7.1 million views. That's more popular than a video about the inside story of the Metrodome roof collapse and the viral video of Vikings players identifying Stefon Diggs as the teammate they'd least want dating their sister.

The fourth and seventh most-watched Vikings YouTube videos are also mascot games.