Vikings Fans Try To Send 99-Year-Old Good Luck Charm To Philly

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Prior to Sunday, 99-year-old Millie Wall had never seen a Minnesota Vikings playoff game in person. Now, fellow fans think she could be a good luck charm, so they've taken it upon themselves to send her to Philadelphia for the teams upcoming NFC Championship game against the Eagles.

The Vikings surprised Wall — a fan of the team since its founding 57 years ago — with tickets to Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints — an early birthday gift for her ahead of her 100th birthday in July. Video of her reading the team's letter was seen by more than 184,000 people.

“You’ve gotta be kidding,” she says in the video.

Then the so-called "Miracle in Minneapolis" happened, with Stefon Diggs streaking down the sideline for the last-second, game-winning touchdown. Fans took to Twitter to thank their good luck charm using the hashtag #hailmillie, a play-on-words for the football term "Hail Mary," which refers to a quarterback's desperation heave for teams in need of a touchdown to win.

Before the now-infamous play, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited Wall and her granddaughter Ashley Wall at their seats and presented them with tickets to go to the Super Bowl, which is being held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis this year.

But there's still one game to be played before the big one — the NFC Championship in Philadelphia. After the game, Vikings fans called for the team to "send Millie to Philly."

A GoFundMe account was created to raise money to do just that. It had raised more than $700 by Monday afternoon.

"Our hero and inspiration Millie, led our Vikings to an unbelievable and unforgettable vicotory (sic) against the New Orleans Saints on January 14, 2018," the post said. "What transpired in the final moments of that game will live on in Vikings lore forever. We owe Millie another day on the gridiron and most importantly, our team needs her. Please support our cause in getting Millie to Philly for the NFC Championship game. If Millie chooses to rest on her laurels and root for the Vikes from the comfort of her couch, all proceeds will go to Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. Our team needs us now more than ever! Let's get Mille to Philly!"

On Monday, Wall's grandaughter Ashley Wall posted a statement on Facebook thanking Vikings fans for their support to get her grandmother to Philadelphia, but asked them not to donate money for the cause. Any chance they get to see the NFC Championship and other Super Bowl experiences would come directly through the Vikings and their NFL contacts, she said.

"We appreciate the love and support from people all over the world and are so excited to continue to watch their journey to ‘Bring It Home’ over the next week," she said.

She added: "We will update when we finalize plans for Millie’s NFC Championship game day experience, but appreciate your patience at this time."

Thank you SO MUCH @NFL and @Vikings. Grandma Millie is headed to the Super Bowl! One more to go, let’s #BringItHome pic.twitter.com/vvUoKDTStY
— Ashley Wall (@ashleyjwall) January 15, 2018

What a finish. Grandma Millie told @nflcommish she wanted to go to the @SuperBowl - @Vikings just got one step closer and Millie’s got two #SB52 tickets! pic.twitter.com/W9d24KoNix
— Natalie Ravitz (@NFLNatalie) January 15, 2018

Photo credit: GoFundMe