If you ask the average person, they might have to Google where the Super Bowl is being played this year. If you ask Patrick Peterson, he knows exactly where it’ll be.
“How could I not?” Peterson joked during an interview with KFAN’s Dan Barriero. “I think it’s a place they used to call The Toaster.”
“The Toaster” Peterson is referring to is actually State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It’s a building that Peterson knows well, having played the first 10 years of his career with the Arizona Cardinals.
His new team, the Minnesota Vikings, currently doesn’t have a trip to Arizona on the schedule, but if Peterson has it his way, they can make that happen during the second half of the season.
“We’re not just satisfied being divisional leaders,” Peterson said on the Twin Cities radio station. “We’re trying to be one of the best teams in this league. That’s the beauty of it right now. We have guys in this locker room that are so hungry that are not just satisfied with where we are right now.”
That group includes Peterson, who scored an emotional victory over his former team on Sunday afternoon. The 32-year-old boldly proclaimed he would get two interceptions against the Cardinals, and was seen screaming at the Arizona sideline during the first drive of the game.
“I was yelling at whoever wanted the smoke,” Peterson said. “The first thing I heard was, ‘We heard you say you were going to get two picks. We’re coming after you all day.’ I was like, ‘alright, that’s what I want.’ Be my guest and I’m going to show you that I’m going to get two picks.”
Kevin O’Connell eventually had to step in and remind Peterson to keep his emotions in check but there were still times where he showed his emotions on the field, namely a celebration after Harrison Smith’s interception in the third quarter.
“I told Harry that was my bad,” Peterson said. “I was just so in the moment. I blacked out. I didn’t know where I was on Sunday. I knew I was playing football, but I didn’t know where I was. I kind of blacked out a little bit.”
The @Vikings defense breaking out all the cellys after picking off Kyler Murray #SKOL
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— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 30, 2022
When Peterson returned to the locker room, however, he aired a grievance that he said had “been brewing for a while.” He recalled his final years in Arizona – he estimates between 2018 and 2019 – when he would find printed emails at his locker, one from a fan who said he “tackled like a girl,” was “soft” and would no longer buy season tickets if Peterson was still on the team.
“It’s all type of bull that I’m reading,” Peterson said. “Why would somebody give me this? Why am I receiving this?”
Peterson said he discussed the situation with owner Josh Bidwell and general manager Steve Keim. Peterson admitted that it still bothers him.
“You don’t do someone like that you say you love,” Peterson said. “That’s why it hit a lot different to me because the things was told about ‘Oh, retire a [Cardinal.]’ I know people are saying things just to say things at time but then when you’re actually shown differently throughout the free-agent period, you’re not holding your end of the bargain by being a man of your word. I’ve been nothing but a man of my word [over] my entire 10 years there.”
While Peterson has been fueled by the past, he’s also focused on the present. The Vikings currently have a 3.5-game lead and the tiebreaker over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North.
“That’s always the obvious goal to win your division, but at the same time we are in a pretty comfortable lead in our division,” Peterson said. “We can’t get blindsided by what needs to happen for the bigger picture because we’re playing for the first-round bye. We want to be one of the best teams in the league.”
With a fast start, the Vikings are well on their way. If things continue, Peterson could have his ultimate revenge in the same stadium where he began his career.
Related: Matthew Coller: Vikings are all in with trade for TJ Hockenson
Related: Patrick Peterson to Arizona GM Steve Keim: ‘Stop running’
