'Minneapolis Miracle' leaves Vikings fan banged up in Bangkok

SHAKOPEE, Minn. (KMSP) - It's supposed to be the agony of defeat, but the Vikings' latest victory brought one fan plenty of pain.

In his 49 years, Jim Kale of Shakopee has suffered his share of sports injuries. His most recent happened during the "Minneapolis Miracle" even though he was half a world away from U.S. Bank Stadium.

"I knew right away what happened because I did the same thing to my left one 20 years ago," said Kale. "So, I knew exactly the feeling and the sound."

Kale was in Thailand on a business trip and found a Mexican restaurant in downtown Bangkok where he could watch the Vikings playoff game at 4 a.m. local time with three other Vikings fans he didn't know.

When Case Keenum threw his "Hail Mary" to Stefon Diggs for a last second touchdown to win the game, Kale says he jumped for joy and immediately knew something was wrong.

"Then touchdown and then boom out of my chair," said Kale. "I came in to high five a guy. I felt the pop. The throbbing, the cold sweats kicked in."

It turns out Kale's emotional outburst tore his Achilles tendon, which landed him in a Bangkok hospital for three hours. After deciding not to get have surgery in a foreign country, it took him 36 hours to fly from Thailand to South Korea to Detroit and then home to Minnesota, where he'll have his tendon repaired by no ordinary orthopedic surgeon on Friday.

"I asked 'Is he a good doctor?', the one who is going to fit me in? They said he's actually a Vikings team doctor and he was on the sidelines of the game, so I probably saw him. One of the Vikings team doctors will be seeing me," Kale said.

Kale says it may take three to four months for his injury to fully heal, but he says he'll never forget the Vikings victory that swept him off his feet.

"A personal message to Case and Stefon, they owe me a Super Bowl victory because of this. That will make it all good," Kale said. "If they get a Super Bowl win. It will make it worth it."

Kale isn't the only Vikings fan who hurt themselves celebrating the catch. Fox 9 got e-mails from one fan who dislocated her knee and another who ruptured his Achilles tendon doing the very same thing.