EAGAN, Minn. – Adam Thielen is a pretty happy guy most days.
Don't just chalk his chipper mood up to "Minnesota nice," though; the Detroit Lakes native said it's simply hard to show up grumpy to a job you love.
Even on a hot, blustery day at his 10th Vikings Training Camp, Thielen had smiles to spare.
The almost-32-year-old joked that he "tends to have a little grumpiness" now that he's getting up there in age.
"No, I try to make that a point. I love this game, I love being able to come to this building," Thielen said. "I obviously love my family and love my kids, but it's just amazing to be able to come in here and spend time with guys.
"I think the more years you put in, the more you realize you don't take it for granted. Rarely are you going to find me in a bad mood," he continued. "But you know, every once in a while, I'll have a bad practice [and] I might be a little moody – but it's tough to be moody when you love what you do."
It's even easier to be upbeat when your teammates match the energy, and Justin Jefferson certainly does that in the receivers room.
Thielen called Jefferson "a great teammate" who makes it easy to work together and said the younger receiver is never short on energy.
"What he brings into the building right when he walks into the door, he's not a guy that's moody or grumpy or things like that," Thielen said. "He's always got a smile on his face, he's always got energy, he's messing around, dancing around things like that."
"That really aligns with how I play the game," he added.
Head Coach Kevin O'Connell matches that balance of fun and focus, as well.
Of course O'Connell isn't pleased when players drop catches or make a mental error during practice, but even then he maintains a fairly even-keeled approach.
"I think that's what's really cool. It's kind of almost awkward when things aren't going well and you're waiting for Coach to blow up," Thielen said. "But the positivity and the energy that they bring even when things aren't going well is something that's really going to set us up to handle adversity."
"The way that they can coach through those tough moments when we put a couple balls on the ground or things are a little lackadaisical – there's still a sense of urgency, so he's still on us, but the way that they can coach through those is something that I think is going to really set us up to handle adversity through the season," Thielen added.
