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‘I Was In Shock’: Vikings Halftime Hot Air Balloon Disaster Recounted 50 Years Later

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — In his downtown Minneapolis law office, attorney Rick Snyder recalls a big event as a little boy.

“I was in shock,” Snyder said.

Looking back all these many years, one clearly sees that there are special moments in everyone’s life that often define us.

“Seeing the ground drop away from underneath me, I’d never been in a balloon that high before,” Snyder said.

The defining moment came at the old Metropolitan Stadium on Dec. 14, 1969.

“I didn’t know enough to be scared. I was only 11,” Snyder said.