From Gridiron Coach to VP Candidate

Before Tim Walz decided to dabble in the brutal and unforgiving world of US politics, he was an ordinary high school teacher in Minnesota. It was actually an experience during his time as a teacher that shook his sense of civic duty, convincing him to pursue a career in the political system.

President George W. Bush was in the middle of a re-election campaign when he rolled into Mankato, a small city nestled in the heart of South Minnesota where a certain Mr Walz taught. Although the high school geography teacher didn't exactly share the president's politics, he acknowledged the immensely powerful opportunity to expose young minds to politics in action. Opportunities like this didn't come around everyday - and certainly not to places like Mankato.

Walz therefore rounded up a group of students and arrived at the rally, only to be turned away at the entrance after one of his students was found carrying promotional materials for John Kerry, the Democrat candidate. The young minds were certainly getting an insight into the murky waters of national politics - it just wasn't the sort of insight Walz was intending to share with them.

"It just seemed so wrong that there would be a gatekeeper, especially stopping young people from seeing the president in their hometown," Walz would later say.

That moment never left him and he immediately became involved in Democrat politics. Within two years, he was running for Congress.

But ask anybody from Mankato about the current Democrat vice presidential candidate, and it's their memories of Tim Walz the coach that they remember most fondly. That's the aspect of his legacy that still shines brightest in that small corner of the United States.

Walz was well-travelled by the 1990s, teaching in China and his native Nebraska, before settling down with his wife in Minnesota where they both got jobs at Mankato West High School. As a former high school football player back in the Cornhusker State, he was drafted into the school's coaching staff. And the school needed every scintilla of help they could get. At the time, they were in the throes of a 27-game losing streak. They hadn't been given reason to cheer for three seasons.

Walz stepped up and his impact was immediate. The future politician initially joined the team as linebackers coach, but quickly progressed to defensive coordinator. By the time the 1999 season swung around, everyone knew that there was plenty of potential talent in the school - it just needed to be harnessed. The side still stumbled out of the starting blocks, losing four of their opening six games of the season. For most teams, that would've been enough to pull up stumps for the year.

But Walz, according to testimonies provided by former players and students, had a way of making people believe in a project, a trait that he carried through his political career and into the current race to the White House. He convinced the team that they could still have a say in the championship and provided the spark for a run that nobody else saw coming.

Following the below-par start to the season, Mankato West High School registered eight wins on the bounce which took them all the way to the state championship where they ultimately came out on the right side of a captivating 35-38 victory.

Walz expectedly played a fundamental role in the success, with his defence ensuring the opposition's running back, one of the most highly regarded players in the state who had rushed for more than 250 yards in the semi-final, was limited to just over 100 yards. The fingerprints of the defensive coordinator were all over the win. Within three years of joining a programme in disarray, Mankato West High School were state champions. They remain a powerhouse of high school football in Minnesota, winning four more titles in the intervening period.

When Walz eventually entered politics in 2006, defeating the seven-term incumbent candidate Gill Gutknect, he still believes it was the 1999 championship success that helped him to get over the line.

Earlier this year, he told Pod Save America: "I did 24 years in the military, I did teaching and then I started running for Congress. And I'm absolutely convinced, and people have told me this, it's because you won that state championship."

Had he failed the catch the political bug, he may well have decided to pursue his career under Friday night lights a little further; based on the accounts of those who witnessed his passion and intuitive mind for the game, that journey could've taken him anywhere. He was an inspirational Ted Lasso-style coach, a constant source of positivity and encouragement on the sideline that never dwelled on mistakes. Those attending games would regularly hear his voice pierce the chilly autumn air, but always in response to a successful play and never in exasperation. Indeed, his interest in high school football has never waned - though he will perhaps be somewhat preoccupied for the upcoming season this autumn. Sport, however, will continue to be a key aspect of his identity, regardless of his upcoming schedule.

He remains an avid fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who came to Dublin in 2022 for the Aer Lingus Classic. He also cycles regularly and, at times, embraces opportunities to speak about the more technical details of football, endearing him to so many Americans in the Midwest who see football not just as an athletic pursuit but as a touchstone to their culture and roots. As Governor of Minnesota, he regularly visited the Minnesota Vikings training camp. Ahead of the 2023 NFL season, he impressed Listeners with his level of knowledge of the game when he had an in-depth conversation about the evolution of high school football with Paul Allen, the man known as the Voice of the Vikings. He's also exhibited a very solid arm when throwing the opening pitches for the Minnesota Twins and St Paul Saints games in recent years.

Alas, the only sport he'll be pursuing over the coming months will be political pugilism as he attempts to deny Donald Trump for a second stint in the Oval Office.

For the people of Mankato, that may finally eclipse his 1999 exploits. Just about.