TJ Stransky - Chief Collector
I was born and raised in Owatonna and went to St Johns up in Collegeville. Married my high school sweetheart and have three great daughters. The oldest is working on her PhD, the middle one is married and the youngest (14) is still at home. We live in Seattle now, but still consider ourselves as Minnesotans who have just been temporarily away from home these last 27 years. We have our own small business and I coach Junior Olympic Volleyball.
I started collecting seriously in 1979 when I bought a football pack for fun and got a Fran Tarkenton. Finished the set 2 weeks later and have been collecting ever since. Started focusing on Minnesota stuff in the early 90s. Now I collect anything dealing with Minnesota sports- Pro, college, High School whatever. Enjoyed the Twinscards.com site so much that when Joe asked me about doing a Vikings (my first true love) sister site I jumped at the chance. It's been a blast and a great group of guys to work with. Hope it will be a great resouce for all Vikings fans!
Contact - tj@vikingscards.com
Gene Ramsay - Vikings Fanatic
I have been a Minnesota Vikings Fanatic for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Midwest and I watched my Vikings play every Sunday on the television. We moved to the sunny South and I felt out of touch because then all I could watch was college football and the Falcons (or whatever National game was on that week). I anxiously waited for Monday nights in hopes that my Vikings would be on. I would get the occasional "gift" and that would satisfy me for a little while.
Then it happened. DirectTV came into my home and the Vikings were once again a part of my life on a regular basis. I also continued to grow as a fan and I now consider myself a Vikings Fanatic.
In the last few years as a Minnesota Vikings FANATIC, I have had the opportunity to interview players and coaches from the Minnesota Vikings. I also have my own columns on football.com and purplepride.org. All of this started as a direct result of my love for football and for my Minnesota Vikings. I also do Minnesota Vikings fantasy football analysis at fantasyinsights.com.
Writing about my team has been as much fun as talking to people about my team. To be able to talk to some of the players and coaches I watch on TV every week is a blast and I hope to continue doing it for some time to come. Maybe one day there will be a face-to-face interview for me and some player or coach. Only time will tell.
I have also had the opportunity to put together some motivational PowerPoint presentations for the Vikings. Some of my presentations have actually made it into the Vikings meeting rooms.
As a kid, I can remember all I wanted for Christmas since I was 6 was Minnesota Vikings stuff. The biggest thing I ever asked for was a Fran Tarkenton jersey. I would get Vikings pajamas and bulletin boards and even sweatshirts from time to time, but never that jersey.
As I got older and started my own life, that unresolved issue surfaced again as my fandom revived itself. I finally got that Fran Tarkenton jersey...along with a few other Vikings items that I am very proud of.
My collection was featured in Beckett Football Card Monthly in November of 2001. The biggest irony of that is that the cover featured none other than Packer QB Brett Favre. Makes you want to laugh and cry all at once doesn't it?
My work can also be found at www.vikingsfanatic69.com
Contact: fanatic@vikingscards.com
has had one goal; providing Vikings fans and collectors with an all-in-one resource for Minnesota Vikings information. Although a sibling site of TwinsCards.com, VikingsCards.com has been formed with some minor changes and slight differences. The staff from TwinsCards.com has contributed much to this site, including structure and skeletal design, thus the similarities.
that vision that the staff of VikingsCards.com greets each day. Fans are invited to express their ideas openly on this site, and generate heated discussions about Vikings stuff past and present. An historical blog and interactive forum provide great staging grounds for some of the best discussions you'll find anywhere in cyberspace. Thanks goes out to all Vikings fans and collectors who make this site what it is today and will be tomorrow.
