Against the Chicago Bears on Monday, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be returning to a venue where he witnessed his first-ever NFL game in person.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune's Chip Scoggins on Wednesday, at the age of four, McCarthy joined his Dad, Jim, in 2007 to watch the Vikings take on the Chicago Bears from inside Soldier Field. In that game, young J.J. witnessed a rookie Minnesota running back by the name of Adrian Peterson put on a clinic by rushing for 224 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the Vikings to a 34-31 victory.
McCarthy probably doesn't remember much from the contest, but for those who believe in destiny, it probably wasn't a coincidence that the first NFL game he ever attended resulted in a Minnesota win.
Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy grew up rooting for the Chicago Bears
Before attending the University of Michigan and getting drafted by the Vikings, McCarthy grew up in La Grange Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He was born into a family of longtime Bears fans and his Dad shared with Scoggins that some of his favorite players to root for growing up included Matt Forte, Johnny Knox and Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher.
But now, McCarthy is a member of Minnesota, and his commitment to the franchise and the state it represents was made extremely clear on Wednesday when he responded to a question about how much he will let himself enjoy being 30 minutes from home on Monday when he plays inside Soldier Field against the Bears.
"I feel like home is in Minnesota. At the end of the day, it's just a business trip. We're going to go down there, execute some football plays, and see what happens."
That answer from McCarthy was just more evidence that he's fully embraced his spot on the Vikings' roster and how focused he is on not letting any outside distractions prevent him from leading the team to success.
Sure, he grew up just down the road from where he will be making his first NFL start on Monday. It's a fun storyline, but McCarthy's with Minnesota now, so the Bears are just another team. Another team that isn't going to get in the way of his goals as the Vikings' starting quarterback this season.