MINNEAPOLIS — The Eagles and the Patriots may be playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday, but football fans here will be seeing a lot of former Minnesota Vikings, and they will be hearing a lot from one — Carl Eller. Maybe more than the N.F.L. would like.
Every year, retired N.F.L. stars who played in the city hosting the Super Bowl are trotted out to sign autographs, raise money for charity and work as ambassadors for the league and the home city. In Minneapolis, where the football team has yielded far more heartache than happiness, Eller is part of the most hallowed group of former Vikings — the brilliantly named Purple People Eaters, a defensive line that carried the team to four Super Bowls in the 1970s.