First-graders' words of support score with Vikings' Walsh

Minnesota football fan heartbreak at TCF Bank Stadium last weekend turned to fidgety glee in Blaine Thursday morning, when Vikings kicker Blair Walsh dropped in on the first-graders who'd offered him comfort after his missed field goal ended the Vikings' playoff hopes.

The first-grade wing at Northpoint Elementary School isn't usually a quiet place, and Thursday was no exception. It may have been a welcome change for Walsh, a four-year NFL veteran whose last public appearance was in Sunday's football game. His wide-left miss on a potentially game-winning field goal against Seattle left many Vikings fans in stunned silence — or worse.

Nearly 100 first-graders wrote letters to the kicker to say they remained his fans. Walsh delayed his off-season by a day to drop by the school.

"First off, I just wanted to come by and say hello to all you guys and girls and say thank you very much for all the letters you wrote, and cards. It is very, very touching to me," he said. "It says a lot about you guys that you were willing to do that and to say such nice things. And thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Seriously. That cheered me up a lot."

Luca Sciara, 7, watched the fateful field goal attempt.

"I thought it was a really good kick," he said. "But it was beside, beside the left pole."

Luca's teacher, Judie Offerdahl, was watching too.

"I just thought, oh, I feel so badly for him," she recalled. "And I thought, oh my goodness, my kids are going to be devastated, because the majority of them are Vikings fans, and what's tomorrow going to be like? What a great opportunity for us to talk about different perspectives, and how others are feeling. So I just came up with: We're writing letters."

Luca Sciara didn't hold back.

"I wrote, like, 'The team still appreciates you, and you're the best player in the universe,' yeah," he said.

A classmate suggested puppies might be a good consolation. Others said that it was OK to make mistakes and suggested that maybe with a little more practice, Walsh might have better luck next year.

And it kept going. And going. And going. Northpoint Principal Judi Kahoun said the Vikings' loss fit right in with the struggles of being a kid.

Walsh returned the good deed with a visit to each of the school's first-grade classrooms. He handed out trading cards and Vikings stickers. The place kicker who led the NFL in field goals this year signed footballs and helmets, sweatshirts and even a folder with a picture of Princess Elsa from "Frozen."

Walsh called it one of the high points of his career — despite the disappointment that brought him there.

"Oh, it's up there," he said. "You have people who, you know, [are] your contemporaries. The other team's coaches, other kickers, other players, guys you've played with. All those are important. But this is really important as well, because these kids don't know me. They don't know anything about me. They just know I'm a Vikings player. For them to show that kindness, and to show that empathy towards me, it's remarkable."

And at Northpoint Elementary, it'll likely be a day remembered a lot longer than the football season.