Below is the Viking Chicken Story by Rubber Chicken Recruiter Susan Gudenkauf.

Since I've known you, I swear there has always been a rubber chicken close
by.  I guess it started when I was in California at the office one day
(which isn't very often, since I'm from Minnesota).  I got up to use the
restroom and when I got back to my desk, "someone" had put a rubber chicken
key chain on my laptop bag.  Being that I was gone only about 5 minutes, I
knew it had to be someone close...but who?  I guess knowing that you and
rubber chickens are synonymous, that helped me figure out who did it.  ;^)

Later, you told me about a guy you were friends with that had Muscular
Dystrophy and how he collects sports autographs.  Well...that immediately
hit home for me.  No, not because I have MD or know anyone with MD, but
because I, too, collect sports autographs.  I wish I could say that I was
intrigued by something else or that I had a personal reason to be involved
with MD, but that wouldn't be true.  However, having said that, I am big
into helping other people, no matter what the reason.  I think that if more
people were just willing to go out of their way to help others (whether it
is to help someone move, baby-sit or dog sit, raise money for a charity, or
just being a good listener) that people would be a lot happier in general.
I'm a firm believer that helping someone else is a great way to help
yourself, too.  I know that I do it because of the other person needing it.
But it's inevitable that one feels good about oneself too.

When you gave me the rubber chicken, I wasn't sure how I would get it
signed, or who would sign it, but I knew it would be done before your next
trip to see Justin.  I had no doubt in my mind that it would be signed.
(yes, that rhymes).

  So, I printed out the pages from Justin's
web site and carried them and the chicken around in my car for the next 6
months.  Just in case I ran across a professional athlete.  I never did.
Then, I renewed my season tickets for the Vikings in January and was soon
sent my reminder about the upcoming draft party.  That's when I knew what my
next plan of attack was.

On April 23, 2005, Carla Gurewitz and I (along with another friend) had
planned on going to the Minnesota Vikings NFL Draft Party at their
"Winterpark" training facility.  I had gone last year and loved it, so knew
I was going to go this year.  But this year, I knew that I wanted to get the
chicken signed by as many players as possible, so I bought VIP tickets for
us.  That meant that we were able to go to a special, roped-off, section and
have more time with the players.

My only concern going in to this event, was that you cannot bring anything
in to the event to be signed.  The only things that the players are supposed
to sign is what is bought there at the event.  So, I had to smuggle the
rubber chicken in (thank God it's flexible!) at the bottom of my purse and I
put a bunch of other non-contraband things on top of it, so they wouldn't
see it when they checked my purse on the way in.

I got the rubber chicken in with no questions asked.  But that was the only
time of the day that there wouldn't be questions.  The second I took the
chicken out of it's "Louis Vuitton Coop", I was bombarded with stares and
questioning looks.  After everyone had a chance to have a beer, people
became brave and started coming up to me asking about the chicken.  At this
point, it hasn't been signed yet, so I'm still trying to figure out my
approach to get the first guy to sign it.  There were 18 of them all
together that day, and my goal was 100% signage.

The way the event worked, you stood in line (sometimes for quite awhile) to
see 3 or 4 players who were seated at a table.  Everyone had caps, footballs
or helmets for them to sign (among other NFL authorized things)...but not
me.  I walked up there with a rubber chicken.  The guy looked at me like I
was a crazy woman.  Before he could say 'no' (since it obviously wasn't
purchased at this event), I told him about Justin and how much a simple
signature on a chicken would mean to him.  I explained his fight against
Muscular Dystrophy and his love for sports (and the signatures from the
adored athletes).  I even showed them pictures from his web site and told
them about Roger Staubauch.  All 4 of the guys at the table signed without
question.  Although, they DID make fun of me for carrying the chicken around
and they laughed while signing it...but they were all eager to help.

This continued for about 4 or 5 hours.  Each hour (or so) there was a
different table of 3 or 4 Vikings.  However, there was a different type of
activity going on now.  Instead of people just looking for the autographs
and the players, it seemed that people were looking for ME!  I was becoming
known within the VIP arena as "The Rubber Chicken Girl".  People were now
(many beers into their afternoon) coming up to me asking about the chicken
and what on earth I was doing with it.  MANY people heard about Justin's
love for sports and his huge heart.  His picture was seen by many dozens of
football fans and players.  It was amazing how many people were asking about
it and had told their friends, etc.  I even had my picture taken with a
regular fan that thought it was funny that I had a rubber chicken with me.

A funny bit about this story.  Joey Browner (Minnesota Viking from 1983 to
1992 and a 6 time 'Pro-Bowl attendee') sat at my table for lunch.  He and a
guest were talking with us and laughing, we were all telling stories, etc.
He was so funny and nice...even accommodating.  So, after about 45 minutes
of chit-chat, I decided to get Mr. Browner to sign the chicken.  I walked up
to him and held out the chicken (which, by now, had about a dozen other
signatures on it).  He looked at the chicken, and looked at me and said
"Ain't no way I'm signing that damn rubber chicken.".  He was laughing (sort
of) when he said that (and I'm vaguely paraphrasing what is in quotes)...so
I said "Oh....but I think you WILL sign this chicken.".  I explained the
story of Justin and how much it would mean to him.  I also pointed out that
he didn't want to be the only one that didn't sign.  I'm pretty sure he was
just giving me a hard time and fully intended on signing the chicken, but it
was fun having to muscle him into it anyway.

The last part of the day was the best.  I had reached the last table of
Vikings and had gotten through to the last Viking at that last table.  So
basically, this was the last person that needed to sign the chicken.  It
worked out in a way that I would never have known to script.  The Viking at
the end of that table was Darren Bennett.  Mr. Bennett was the kicker for
the Minnesota Vikings until being released on September 4th, 2005.  After
asking about the rubber chicken and hearing my explanation about Justin and
Muscular Dystrophy, Mr. Bennett's eyes started to water.  It turns out that
he has a son with MD.  He was so touched that he could sign the rubber
chicken for Justin that he told me if there was anything else he could do
for MD, to just let him know.  Muscular Dystrophy is a cause that is very
close to his heart, and having the day end while watching Darren Bennett's
eyes water (and mine as well) made the entire event WELL worth it for me.  I
can only hope that it means as much to Justin to receive it as it did for me
and for the players who signed the chicken.  This will truly be a day that I
will never forget.