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Good deed doesn't go unnoticed

Jan-14-2006 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

This article was originally published two weeks ago, but we just came across it recently.

Link to Full Article
Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

Today, we will watch Mike Tice stalk the sideline in his customary black garb.

Some of us will see a gridiron Johnny Cash dancing in a vocational ring of fire.

Some of us will see a lame-duck coach slogging through his contractual duties.

Somewhere in the Metrodome today, though, there will be four sets of eyes viewing Tice as a man with a heart as big as his Long Island accent.

"It's a long story," said Riikka Jacobsen.

She was happy to tell it.

Jacobsen's husband, Captain Bill Jacobsen, was killed by an insurgent's bomb in Iraq a little more than a year ago. He was 31.

A friend of Tice's saw a story produced by a reporter embedded with Jacobsen's unit, and noticed a reference to the Vikings.

The friend contacted Tice, who contacted Riikka, who lives in Charlotte, N.C.

Today, Riikka and her three sons will attend the Vikings-Bears game, courtesy of Tice.

Today, Santa Claus wears black.

"By doing this for my boys, he's honoring my husband," Jacobsen said. "And that means the world to me, that people remember him, and think of him, and understand what he was doing for his country.

"What better way to honor my husband than to pay attention to his children? This is very touching to me."

This is a story that reminds us that the whiny, wacky world of sport can unify far-flung people.

"My husband was killed in Iraq a year ago," Riikka said. "He was with the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment out of Fort Lewis, Washington. He was killed in the mess-hall bombing on the 21st of December [2004].

"It's kind of complicated, but one of his soldier's family is good friends with Mike Tice. One soldier came home on R-and-R, and he was very concerned about my children and myself, and he just wanted to do something. They found out that my oldest son, Billy, is a great fan of the Vikings, and also my husband's battalion commander, Col. Erik Kurilla, is a Vikings fan.

"Even before they deployed my husband, he would take my three boys to Col. Kurilla's office and they would see all these Vikings decorations.

"My son, Billy, collects football cards, and after my husband was killed, he wrote a letter to Col. Kurilla and sent him some Vikings cards. A reporter that was embedded with the unit in Iraq saw the letter and wrote about it."

A friend of Tice's saw the story and contacted the coach, who began exchanging e-mails with Riikka.


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