Guess who's coming to dinner

Kim Edson is one of the biggest Minnesota Vikings fans around.

"Lifelong,'' she says. "As long as I can remember. I grew into it.''

That would be true.

"My dad (Kent) got me hooked,'' she says. "He started to follow the team when they first entered the league (1961).''

Her growing-up period took her from the Twin Cities, to South Dakota and back to Minnesota where 16 years ago she started to work at the Rochester Public Library where she now serves as the head of Readers' Services.

It was then, in 2000, when she got two Vikings season tickets and has missed only a handful of games since.

One time, she was nursing a broken foot. One time she was simply too sick.

"Another time my nephew got baptized in Fargo and the Vikings were playing the Packers in a 3 o'clock game. After the baptism and lunch, I drove back and got to the game in the second half,'' says Edson, 51.

Lives with a rival

Half of her house is sprinkled in purple, but only a half. Her spouse (Angie Joyce) is an avid Green Bay Packers fan.

"Sometimes we go at it pretty good,'' she says, "but all in good fun.''

So all that said, why is Edson about to attend a dinner hosted by Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers? After all, the Vikings and Packers don't exactly like each other. Vikings fans know that anything to do with "cheeseheads'' is off limits.

However, for one time, Edson is making an exception.

Next Monday night at Lambeau Field, she will, indeed, be attending a dinner with Rodgers as guest of honor.

Here's the deal.

On Oct. 2, Edson was at Lambeau Field for the Vikings and Packers game, which was also the launch of an Associated Bank promotion called finding "Aaron Rodgers missing wallet.''

Had her own Lambeau Leap

That night some 28 wallets — presumably all lost by Rodgers — were hidden under fan's stadium seats. At the end of the first quarter, fans were encouraged to look under their seat with hopes of finding the missing wallet.

Rodgers, courtesy of a video posted on the in-stadium Tundra Vision, played along, attempting to find the wallet.

And? Sure enough, one of the "lost'' wallets was under Edson's seat. She made her own "Lambeau Leap.''

"Lambeau has alumni benches but you can rent a seat with a back and that's what I did,'' she says, "but I had a hard time making it work.Now I know why.''

During the promotion which ended mid-November, approximately 100 Rodgers' wallets were lost at different locations throughout the state.

Now the good part.

One heck of a dinner date

Edson took the wallet to the service counter and a couple of weeks ago received an official invitation to attend the dinner, along with a guest.

She will also receive a mini-Packers helmet autographed by Rodgers and a chance to have a photo taken with him.

And here's where it might get tricky; no way will Edson wear anything green and gold and instead, plans to wear her Vikings purple No. 4 Brett Favre jersey to the festivities.

"I know that's not going to be a popular thing to do,'' she says, "but how could I not? I'm certainly not going to wear Packers stuff.''

Associated Bank has been doing the same wallet promotion with the Chicago Bears (Dan Hampton) and Vikings (Randall McDaniel).

The bank will donate $10,000 to the United Way as its part of the promotion.

"Why couldn't I have found Randall's wallet,'' says Edson. "That would have been so cool.''

Her guest at the dinner will be a friend, Sharon Barchacky, who happens to live in Green Bay and is a big Packers fan. This event is limited to 225 guests.

"Sharon is more excited than I am, obviously,'' Edson says, "but I'm still honored to go. I don't like what Aaron Rodgers has done to us (Vikings) over the years, but I do respect his talents.

"And who knows, maybe some day down the line he'll be playing for the Vikings. Just like Favre.''