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This interest in the newest Minnesota Vikings, though, has stretched beyond the ability of these rookies to upgrade the roster. Her radar has mostly been focused on the surnames themselves.
The Vikings called prior to their first Super Bowl appearance,Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic, needing placement of a special NFL 50th season patch on the shoulder. The Vikings have been dropping their purple jerseys off since then, accounting for about half of the work for Bryce and her three employees, with another big portion devoted to Hopkins High School. Embroidered Christmas stockings have their time of the year, too.
She'll watch the game this weekend, naturally,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, scanning the names and the patches on the screen to make sure they're straight.
"It was a nice honor to meet her and her staff," Greenway said. "They obviously do a great job."
"I was thinking, 'Oh, I hope they don't get Bridgewater," Bryce recalled this week at her shop,Wholesale NHL Jerseys, Hopkins Garment Lettering Service, meaning no ill will toward the current face of the franchise. "That's such a long name."
Last year, the Vikings needed a quarterback, and one of the top prospects was, of course, Teddy Bridgewater. Talk about a seam route.
HOPKINS,China Jerseys, Minn. (AP) — Like many NFL fans, Penny Bryce has long been drawn to the pre-draft media speculation about which players her favorite team might pick before eagerly tuning in each spring for the results.
Well, the Vikings got Bridgewater and his 11-letter last name all right, with the last selection of the first round after pulling off a trade for an extra pick. Their first choice that night was linebacker Anthony Barr, whose four-letter surname is about as easy as Bryce will ever encounter.
The biggest challenges, beside Bridgewater?
Bryce and her co-workers were invited to watch practice one day earlier this season, and coach Mike Zimmer invited the women to lead the breakdown of the huddle afterward. Linebacker Chad Greenway was one of the players who signed autographs for them.
"Whether you're a pee wee or little leaguer or a pro, you still give them the same quality of work," Bryce said.
"I was like, 'Oh, yay!'" she said, "and then I fell asleep."
Vikings equipment manager Dennis Ryan will make one of his regular visits to Bryce's store with the latest pile of uniforms, needing the latest league-mandated patch or name of a recently acquired player. Most of the jerseys come with the number already applied. Bryce's job is to cut rectangular sheets of a stiff fabric to frame the name, iron on the letters and then sew the entire piece on the back.
Defensive back Neal Guggemos. Kicker Donald Igwebuike. Tight end Jim Kleinsasser. Center Godfrey Zaunbrecher. Done in both purple and white, of course, and sewn with vintage black Singer machines dating to the 1950s. One of them, Bryce proudly pointed out, was pulled out of a junkyard and cleaned with kerosene by her great uncle, Clarence Soles. It's still usable.
Now 66, Bryce has rarely been far from a sewing machine. Her great aunt, Vi Soles, took over a shop in Minneapolis in 1952. It moved in 1968 to Hopkins, a suburb a few miles north of Eden Prairie where the Vikings are headquartered. Then in 1989, Bryce bought the business.
"Normally I just sew around once," Bryce said. "Until Daunte Culpepper came."
"Dennis got out his good old double-faced carpet tape, and he made it through the game, but after that we sewed his on twice," Bryce said. "That's the only player we've ever done that for."
Her job is to sew them on the jerseys, and the Vikings have been a customer since 1969.
When she woke up, Bridgewater was on her list, too. The introductory news conferences and photo shoots for first-round picks are usually the day after at team headquarters,Cheap Jerseys From China Outlet, so fastening fabric after the draft has typically been one of her most time-sensitive tasks in a lifetime of sewing names, patches and numbers on all kinds of garments.
"The next day,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, they're holding it up in front of the cameras," Bryce said.
The former quarterback's rugged running style drew plenty of contact, and once his name plate came loose during a game. |
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