The Minnesota Vikings surprised a lot of people when Adrian Peterson’s status on the injury report changed just prior to Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. The update described his ailment as “illness” and had many people on social media concerned about his ability to play.
When the initial story hit, it was that Adrian was enjoying some chewing tobacco on the plane ride to Detroit when some bumpy weather caused him to swallow some. The media ran with this excuse, including us at The Viking Age, as we saw that reasoning to be really strange. It turns out that it was all a joke from offensive coordinator Norv Turner that got out of control according to an article on the ESPN website:
"“That situation was just so simple, and I really just wasn’t feeling well, but they had to report it, and coach Norv Turner made a joke, and it just took off, about the dip,” Peterson said."
Even though that story was crazy, the real reason for Peterson’s illness was just as strange. It was not chewing tobacco, but instead was Adrian Peterson having an allergic reaction to eating some shrimp. The even more surprising part of this story is that Peterson has had problems with seafood in the past. During 2012’s training camp, the running back ate some seafood gumbo that caused him to need an Epi-Pen injection.
Still, Peterson decided to have some shrimp prior to the Lions game anyway.
"“Yeah, I had shrimp,” Peterson said. “You know, people would be like, ‘Why do you eat shrimp when you’re allergic to it?’ Well, here’s the thing: I’ve eaten shrimp my entire life. Shrimp is not my — you know, when you get the tests done, you have, for instance, scallops, lobster, shrimp and, let’s say, peanuts that they’re testing you for. You might swell up more when there’s lobster. You might have a bigger allergic reaction to lobster than you do shrimp. Shrimp might just swell you up a little bit. Shrimp is like a little reaction [for me]. Lobster and especially scallops, that’s when I really swell up. So I can kind of get away with it, eating shrimp.”"
Oct 25, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) carries the ball as Detroit Lions cornerback Rashean Mathis (31) tackles during the fourth quarter at Ford Field. The Vikings won 28-19. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Sounds like Peterson likes to live a bit more dangerously than most. Typically, people with food allergies, no matter how “little” the reaction is to the allergen, tend to avoid the cause of their reaction. Then again, Adrian Peterson is a different kind of human being. He has shown to have amazing healing powers during his ACL recovery after tearing the ligament back in December of 2011 and there’s no reason to think that his Wolverine-type superpower doesn’t help him when dealing with allergic reactions.
Despite that, Minnesota’s star running back vows to take things a bit more easy when it comes to his choice of foods before game day.
"“Yeah, I’ll be a little more cautious of what I eat,” Peterson said."
Barring any other problems, you can catch Adrian Peterson on Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings travel to Illinois to take on the Chicago Bears. Check your local listings for time and availability.
Next: Minnesota Vikings 2015 Game By Game Previews
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