MAPLE GROVE, Minn. – Betsy Fine doesn't like surprises.

In fact, she truly dreads them.

But in this case, even Betsy will admit the unexpected startle was well worth it.

Betsy, a public educator for the past 35 years, exited Weaver Lake Elementary School at the end of a school day last week and immediately noticed a large black van parked beside her vehicle.

"I generally know where everybody parks," she laughed, "so my first thought was, 'Who is driving that?' And then my second thought was, 'I have to be careful when I get in my car; I don't want to scratch that van.' "

Betsy then noticed a handful of individuals standing about 50 feet to her right, one of them interviewing a woman from behind his video camera. Always on alert for the safety of her students, Betsy wondered if media members had been given permission to visit school property.

She didn't have to ponder the situation for long, however, when she heard a commotion behind her and pivoted to see Viktor the Viking leap from the back of the black van, a ginormous bunch of 60 purple and yellow helium balloons tight in his grip.

If you think Betsy looked befuddled then, imagine her expression a few seconds later when Viktor held up a cardboard sign greeting her by name.

Excitement overrode confusion in that moment, and Betsy shrieked in delight and dropped to her knees in disbelief. Viktor – always smiling – handed the lifelong Vikings fan a tablet which, to her continued surprise, revealed fullback C.J. Ham on a FaceTime call.

"What?!" Betsy exclaimed, staring in shock at her younger daughter Abbi's favorite player.

Ham chuckled and greeted her warmly, then delivered the news: "Betsy, you've been selected as the 2024 Vikings Fan of the Year!"

Emotion swelled as Betsy realized how extra special this moment was.

"Oh! My husband is here, too," Betsy laughed through tears, spotting her spouse Bob.

"And Abbi," Bob reassured, flipping his phone around to reveal a second FaceTime call with Abbi – who had nominated her mother for the award.

Betsy and C.J. conversed for a few minutes, the fullback thanking Betsy for her years of service in education and her thanking Ham for his consistent work in raising cancer awareness. Before he got off the call, C.J. told her, there was one final surprise.

A truly flummoxed Betsy followed Viktor's directions to open the trunk of her car – where she shrieked once again at the sight of two larger-than-life tickets and a handwritten message: You're going to the Super Bowl!

"This is real! This is real!" Betsy yelled, grabbing the tickets and jumping up and down while waving at a small crowd of students and colleagues that had gathered nearby. "I'm gonna need two days off!"

Weaver Lake Principal Ronald Salazar came over to congratulate Betsy, smiling at her reaction – and with pride that he'd so successfully kept the big secret.

As Betsy's initial emotions settled, she looked around at the Vikings staff members and, of course, Viktor who had surprised her and said, "I'm just a fan."

But ask anyone who knows and loves Betsy, and they'll tell you she isn't just a fan. She's a lifelong, dedicated and wholehearted supporter whose family and life events have revolved around the team she loves.

She really didn't have a choice, she'll quip.

Betsy remembers growing up in a home where Vikings games were never missed, whether viewed on TV or attended in person. Her grandfather is an original bond holder from the team's inception and inaugural 1961 season.

"My dad and mom and uncle and aunt would go to games at the Old Met Stadium," Betsy recalled. "And at home, Mom and Dad would sit in the family room with the TV on, yelling their heads off. When I was 10 years old, my dad looked at me and literally said, 'You have two choices.'

She chuckles now, retelling the story of her father, Butch, insisting she learn the game and participate in the family fanatics.

"So, I learned the game of football – and I've been a fan ever since," she said.

Butch carefully saved money over the years and eventually increased the family's season tickets so he and his wife, his business partner, and Betsy and her brother could attend Vikings games at the Metrodome.

"My dad's biggest thing in life always has been keeping the family doing activities together," she said. "So, it's kind of morphed over the years."

From the Metrodome, to the University of Minnesota for two seasons and then U.S. Bank Stadium, Betsy and her family have religiously followed the team they love so deeply. She reminisced about the franchise's roller-coaster history that's included games such as the heartbreaking Wild Card playoff loss in sub-zero temps to cap the 2015 season, or the thrill of the Minneapolis Miracle two years later that sent the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game.

"We hugged and cheered," Betsy said, "and I was just so grateful that Bob and I stayed until the very end and could be part of that play."

Just as Betsy's parents passed along their passion for the Vikings, so she has passed it down to her two daughters, Sydney and Abbi.

"Abbi was born on Oct. 1, in the middle of the football season – to the horror of my parents," Betsy quipped dramatically. "Because how could I possibly give birth to a child during the Vikings season? What was wrong with me?

"But Abbi's first words after 'Momma' and 'Dadda,' complete with the hand motions, were 'touchdown' and 'first down,' " Betsy added. "And I'm too old to tell fibs. That's an entirely truthful story."

Betsy drove Abbi to flag football practice and her older daughter to pep band, where Sydney taught her classmates about the game and detailed various football plays.

Abbi planned her birthday party each year not around the date but around the Vikings bye.

"It didn't matter how early or late the bye week was – the party was always that weekend," Betsy noted. "Family celebrations and holidays, as well as travel, would be scheduled around the entire season and everything in between – from the NFL Draft to training camp."

Betsy paints her fingernails purple for nearly every home game, and she's created her own "game-day ritual," as Abbi described, that includes lucky earrings and clothing items … and even Minneapolis parking spots.

"I attend training camp with Mom," Abbi said, "and without a doubt, we are the first people to enter and the last to leave."

Now 25 years old and living in Washington, D.C., Abbi stays in close touch with her family throughout the season, talking to Grandpa Butch once a week about her fantasy football team and planning an annual trip to a Vikings road game with Betsy. The duo has attended a game at the Commanders, at the Falcons and this year plans to be at Jacksonville for the Week 10 matchup.

"We've gotten up early and attended KFAN's Friday Football Feast, just to be sure we're cheering on the Vikings in every way possible," Abbi said. "Mom always encourages friends and family to join in on the fun and has converted lots of people into Vikings fans thanks to her positive spirit and joy for the team and the game."

Betsy is forever loyal, wearing Vikings gear to work the day after every game, win or lose.

"We represent our team always," she said with a smile.

A few years ago at Vikings Training Camp, fans were given an opportunity to pen letters to current players or Vikings Legends. But while Abbi wrote a letter to C.J., Betsy instead addressed hers to Vikings Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf, thanking them for keeping the team at home in Minnesota.

"When the team was being sold [in 2005], we were scared that new owners may relocate the team," she explained. "We're a smaller market, but I do know we're one of the number one fan bases across the country. And we didn't know what to expect.

"But the Wilfs kept the Vikings in Minnesota, and I'm so thankful," Betsy added.

The Wilfs in turn appreciate fans like Betsy who are loyal to the team through thick and thin and who understand how deeply the Wilf family also cares about the organization and success of the team.

Mark Wilf sent Betsy a personalized video message following her selection of Vikings Fan of the Year, thanking her not only for years of fandom but also for her work in the public education field.

Betsy has held multiple roles in education over the years, from teaching students who are academically advanced to working as a behavior intervention teacher and math and reading tutor. At one point, she worked with students to write up "contracts" that allowed them to play football at recess with modified rules and guidelines in place for physical safety without proper equipment.

"My mom's entire purpose in life is to help others," Abbi said. "She shows up early, stays late and has spent thousands of her own dollars on anything possible her students might need."

Betsy additionally teaches at West Suburban Summer School, where she created a week-long class around the scientific benefits both mentally and physically of community service.

"She teaches the students about the power of volunteering and helping others, through guest speakers and field trips and even volunteer opportunities," Abbi noted. "She uses the Vikings as a model, demonstrating that professional athletes spend time giving back to the communities who have served them."

As highlighted, Betsy truly is a fan of the Vikings far beyond wins, losses and box scores.

She's proud to have spent her life rooting for a team that commits to making Minnesota a better place, and she appreciates reading and watching stories about children's hospital visits, social justice work and youth advocacy, among other efforts.

On or off the field, Betsy truly can't imagine her life without her beloved Vikings – which really have made up the thread woven throughout her family.

So even though she doesn't like surprises? This one, she said, was quite fine.

"Of course, in the end, it was pretty phenomenal," Betsy said.

Click here to cast your vote for Betsy to win the 2024 NFL Fan of the Year!