By: Rob Kleifeld
The Van Ginkels sure know how to bring it on game days.
Andrew, the impressively humble, long-haired son of Rock Valley, Iowa, parties with sacks, tackles for losses and pick sixes, and generates national acclaim — not that he's the least bit interested by fame.
His wife Sam's specialty is embraced by a smaller cohort of Andrew fans, many of them journeying from their hometown of 4,000 on weekends when Minnesota hosts unlucky prey at U.S. Bank Stadium.
She coordinates a 55-person group (give or take a few each game) consisting of immediate and extended family, friends, and old coaches and classmates. Multiple generations of support rendezvous at 9 a.m. outside of the Van Ginkel home in Eden Prairie for high noon kickoffs, load onto a motorcoach and transform it into a party bus for the 40-ish minute ride featuring "Sam Shots" and the Vikings fight song.
Because they're living an unthinkable life, the vibes stay high.
"It's a celebration of his path every time we go to a Vikings game," Andrew's older brother Nate said. "Not many people know the work that it took. Seeing that cultivate into where he's at, it's just exciting."
Sam recalled her cautious reminder to the caravan as it arrived for the Sept. 15 home opener.
"I warned them," she said. "'You guys have to remember, Andrew's coming back from an injury. He might not be the same Andrew that he was last year in Miami.' And he blew us all out of the water. Everybody was just so happy, emotional – being close to home and playing for, we call it, 'Our hometown team.' "
Andrew shared in his habitually hushed voice, "It's special. It means a lot. I've got a big family – six siblings, and I've got a lot of cousins, a lot of relatives that come and show their support and love for me, and then I have friends. One week, I had like 20 friends – 10 friends and their wives – all come."
Never Even Dreamed
Andrew started the first game of his senior basketball season with a baseline drive and dunk.
Reactions were predictable: Oh! Wow! That's crazy! And then he did it again, and again, and again.
"He should've had five, but he attempted a windmill and missed it," Marcus Van Kekerix laughed.
Marcus, one of Andrew's cousins and closest friends, and his family lived in the country, 6 miles from Andrew's childhood home in town. They played pool in the basement, games in the yard, bantered about sports, often with Marcus' father Ber in earshot, and of course watched football together.
They were teammates, too, which lent Marcus an acute awareness of Andrew's abilities.
"Sometimes he'd need help getting down [stairs] just because he'd be so sore," Marcus said, reminiscing about Rock Valley game strategies that involved Andrew touching the football as frequently as possible.
In retrospect, Andrew's brother Nate said, there were glimpses of his rare football skills in high school: 90-plus yard rushes on offense. A penchant for playmaking on defense. The signs were there – of a great talent – but no one, not even a family as tight-knit as Andrew's, anticipated his complete evolution.
"I'm just proud of his work ethic, and to get to where he is today; it took a lot of hard work and he's got a lot of God-given ability and he didn't waste it," Ber said with a quietness resembling Andrew's demeanor.
Ber dialed his nephew March 11, after learning about the two-year deal bringing him to Minnesota. Only, Andrew didn't answer. He did, though, dial right back. And his first words to Ber were, "Happy Birthday!"
"That was a dream come true," announced Ber, who celebrated his 57th birthday when the news leaked.
"Andrew looks like Ber. Andrew acts like Ber. Those two, they are two peas in a pod," Sam commented. "Ber's just always been there for him, so it's a really, really special relationship that they have together."
Ber humorously clarified: "I'm a pea in a pod with him because I don't like to answer questions."
How about an inquiry dealing with Andrew – what moment this season has amazed you?
"There's so many good things he does, it's hard to pick out a favorite," Ber noted. "I just wish he would [score on a pick six] in front of me live once. I'm hoping that he can do that at a home game some time."
At 29 and in his sixth NFL season, Andrew has engraved his name next to Pro Football Hall of Fame DE Jason Taylor as lone rangers since 1960 to notch 10-plus sacks along with two interceptions returned for touchdowns in a single season. Taylor did so in 2006 and won NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors with two pick sixes and 13.5 sacks. Andrew gathered sacks Nos. 10 and 11 in the Week 16 win at Seattle.
Marcus is at a loss for words trying to describe what it's like seeing Andrew play in Purple now.
"I never dreamed that that would ever be a thing," he shared.
Nate labeled the feeling surreal. But even that fails to encapsulate the extremeness of Andrew's journey.
"I try to keep things in perspective, because it's hard to imagine, seeing where he's at, knowing where he came from as a kid," Nate expressed. "It's almost unimaginable to think [how] everything's transpired."
Sam gets a headcount for the bus via group text message threads every week. The presence — and closeness — of family and friends is a blessing. So is everything that Andrew has managed to accomplish.
"It's something that, I always feel bad saying this, but I never, ever dreamed of this life that we're living," Sam admitted with a sincere gratitude. "I never could have imagined that when we first started dating when I was 14-15 years old, that he would be where he is today. Ever. It's very surreal and it just reminds you to thank God every day for what he's given you because it can be taken away just as quickly."
This past June served as a reminder when Rock Valley was ravaged by flooding, including the basement of the Van Ginkel house. They're continuing flood relief efforts by selling merchandise to raise money.
Next to none
Nate is five years older than Andrew and helped his budding brother navigate uncharted territory.
"Everything was good, but it could always be better," Nate said, generalizing Andrew's path.
Sam detailed a conversation between Andrew and Nate that urged exploration: "He said, 'Andrew you can do really good, big things if you go further away from home and really get your name out there.' "
The due diligence steered Andrew to South Dakota, then Iowa Western Community College, then Wisconsin. In Nate's mind, each stop was a stepping stone, a necessary chance to confront a challenge.
And then move up and onto the next.
Andrew's craving for fulfillment carried naturally into the first two chapters of his NFL career in the form of a fifth-round rookie deal with Miami and a re-up on a one-year contract that pushed him to "go get it."
Nate has observed his brother's comfort level rise in his "hometown" threads.
"But he's still playing with an energy to be the best he can," Nate affirmed, circling back to Andrew's uncommon devotion. "Really, what he's doing off injury, to me, is absolutely stunning. It blows me away.
"It's his competitive spirit," Nate added of the key to Andrew's comeback from a Lisfranc injury he suffered in Week 18 last season. "There's very few people built [like him]. He's talented, definitely talented, but to take it beyond that level is his competitive drive to be consistent at what he's doing."
Andrew plays with his blond locks of hair on fire, an intense contrast to his usually introverted nature.
"He's not a guy that's gonna change for the cameras or flip a personality switch," Nate said, pointing out Andrew is rather fond of fitting in. "Most people ask how he can perform like that on the field, being such a mellow, lowkey dude off the field. But I truly believe there's something inside of him from a competitive spirit – I don't know what that is or where it triggers – that allows him to play like he does."
Andrew's been like that for as long as memories last.
"It goes back to even when we were younger, lifting weights and stuff. We would work concrete construction from 7 in the morning until 6 at night," Marcus recalled. "Before we even got home, he would drag me to the weight room – sets of 10 that we'd have to do, he'd make sure that we did 11."
Marcus continued with certainty, "The work ethic in general is next to none with him."
It's an edge instilled by the 55 or so people who love to come and watch Andrew play – such as Ber's side of the family, whom Nate referred to as "some of the most competitive people I know," and Andrew's brother Kyle, an Army Ranger who recently trained in Belize and flew in from Georgia to attend the 23-22 win over the Cardinals at Minnesota's Salute to Service home game, and Andrew's college roommate from South Dakota who trekked 8.5 hours from Rapid City. They all pack the bus in support of No. 43.
"Some of those old roots," said Nate, "have allowed him to branch out, and they still hold him together."
Family over everything
Sam pored over Zillow in the 2023 offseason, manifesting an opportunity to "come home."
"I actually found a house that I adored, and the funniest part is that Flo' (Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores) and his wife ended up buying it," Sam recalled in disbelief. "I'm like, 'What are the odds!?' "
Later, Miami put its one-year offer on the table and Andrew signed it. His worth surged laying in wait.
Among the items that motivated Flores to vouch for a player he drafted to Miami was Andrew tallying a then-personal best 6.0 sacks, recording his first interception returned for a touchdown as a pro – his first such play since a nifty pick six off Ohio State's J.T. Barrett in the 2017 Big Ten Conference Championship – and a practiced versatility that feels destined now for the inventiveness of Flo's smart, disguisable tactics.
When the 2024 offseason rolled around, Andrew and Sam felt a higher power tugging them.
"There was, honestly, no debating," said Sam, sharing Andrew wasn't swayed by the exact same offer from a different club before his decision. "We looked at each other, and it was just like, 'Let's go home.' "
And then Sam was quick on her toes like Andrew springing into his rush.
She quipped, "I immediately texted Flo's wife and I said, 'Are you going to give me my house back?' "
Andrew and Sam, with their young sons Leo and Ripken, dropped anchor in Eden Prairie instead.
"Oh my gosh," Sam reacted when asked whether the children have enjoyed this homecoming phase of Andrew's football odyssey. "I have to play the SKOL Chant and the Vikings fight song daily, not even kidding you. The first thing that Leo wants when he wakes up in the morning is to watch 'Daddy ball' and we have to watch Andrew's highlights on YouTube. Our kids live and breathe it. They love this so much.
"I get talked to every couple weeks from their daycare because they won't stop tackling other kids at outdoor time," Sam continued. "I'm like, 'Seriously? This is what we're doing now guys? C'mon!' But how do you tell them not to do what they're watching their dad do every single Sunday? They adore him."
Andrew trades his reserved character for superhuman behavior in two places: on the field and at home.
"I like to say I spark a little life into him," Sam joked, adding the way Andrew is perceived is accurate. "He's super quiet. The only time he's really outgoing is with the boys, and that's just how he always is. He wants no attention. He goes [to work], does his job, comes home and turns on 'Dad Mode' right away."
To say Andrew has well represented the northwest Iowa community he grew up in is an understatement.
In his Vikings debut, Andrew housed an interception and commenced a three-game sacks streak. On Oct. 6 in London, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers wise-cracked to Andrew, "Christmas came early," after Van Ginkel outwitted the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player and scored career pick six No. 3. Refreshed out of the bye week, Andrew sacked Detroit's Jared Goff twice, and in Week 11 had as many takedowns of Tennessee's Will Levis. Ditto at Seattle. Andrew's competitive spirit has excelled at every turn this season.
"One of his biggest worries with playing for the Vikings was actually disappointing people from our hometown," Sam said. "I don't know if that's kind of like a little chip on his shoulder, just knowing we have so many people from home cheering on the team, but his whole attitude – everything's changed.
"He goes out there every week with a smile on his face," she added, reiterating thankfulness for everything. "He doesn't like to be mic'd up, but I would have loved to hear his giggle after his pick sixes."
Andrew has seldom asked a relative to drive his truck home and joined the bus ride from U.S. Bank Stadium back to Eden Prairie. Normally, he prefers postgame solitude before chowing on pizza and guiding conversations away from his historic exploits and to what he truly cares about – the clan of 55.
"I think, well, for me, just being from a small town," said Andrew, "it's 'family over everything.' "
