McFeely: 'It's like a fairy tale' for Cody Mauch's family, friends as former Bison makes NFL debut

The usual purple sea of Adrian Peterson and Randy Moss jerseys was infiltrated Sunday by an island of red and light orange jerseys bearing the number 69.

The Mauch family from Hankinson, North Dakota, and surrounding areas had arrived.

Carter Mauch, a large young man wearing one such jersey, estimated there would be 400-to-500 people from Hankinson and Richland County inside the big stadium once the game inside between the Vikings and the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers began.

"It's crazy. It ridiculous. It's exciting," Carter said. "There's too many adjectives to describe it."

The occasion? The official regular-season NFL debut of Carter's brother, Cody, the Hankinson High School graduate and former North Dakota State All-American offensive lineman, taken in the second round of April's NFL Draft.

The big redhead with missing front teeth who enthralled national TV types with his backstory of being a scrawny walk-on tight end from a tiny rural town who transformed into a massive and dominant college lineman would start at guard for the Bucs. There was some question about that because Mauch was listed as questionable late last week with a back injury.

"He's playing," Mauch's high school coach Jason Monilaws said a few hours before kickoff, smiling the sly smile of someone in the know. "We got the text."

It was the perfect set of circumstances. Mauch's hometown is three hours away from the city in which he played his first real NFL game. It wasn't in New York or Seattle or Phoenix. It was in Minneapolis, against the team many Hankinson residents and Bison fans root for. Couldn't have scripted it any better.

That was good news for all the Mauch fans who made the three-hour trip to the big city, including Cody's mom Stacey, dad Joe and eight brothers and sisters. Including all the cousins, uncles and aunts there were probably 100 Mauchs alone at the game.

Who was left back home?

"We're just excited. I mean, I don't know when it's going to set in that this is happening," Joe Mauch said. "Is it going to be when we see him run out on the field? I don't know."

"I just said to Joe, 'When is this going to set in?'" Stacey Mauch said. "We're buying the jerseys, we went to all the draft parties. When is it really going to set in? I don't know if it's going to be just, boom, or what."

The Mauchs were surely seeing the support in Minneapolis. The number of Mauch jerseys including some sweet ones in Tampa Bay's classic "Creamsicle" orange was impressive. A pair of Vikings fans making their way through the Gold Lot took note.

"What's with all the Buccaneers fans?" one asked.

"There's a kid that plays for them from NDSU," said the other.

"Oh yeah, that big red-headed guy," came the response.

That makes it official. Mauch is already a legend.

"We've had so much support from the community. And I don't mean just Hanksinson. You've got your surrounding communities, you've got your surrounding farms, NDSU," Joe Mauch said. "We were just talking, there's a bunch of people walking around here with Cody jerseys and we don't know who they are."

Said Stacey: "Yeah, we're like 'Who's that?' We're looking at each like, 'I don't know.' "

The Mauchs, of course, were regulars in the West Lot at the Fargodome before Bison games. This is a family that likes to have fun.

"It does kind of give me Bison tailgate vibes," Carter Mauch said. "Just kind of how everybody you look at is family, friends, having a good time. Just like a Bison game."

Except, of course, Cody is now playing in the NFL. And the opposing defensive line has Danielle Hunter instead of a couple of guys from Western Illinois or Indiana State.

"It's crazy. It's like a fairy tale," Monilaws said. "You got a small town of just under 900 people and you've got a kid you watched grow up who in junior high and ninth grade was just a scrawny little dude. Then he takes off and goes to NDSU and chases his dreams, works hard and becomes a phenomenal lineman in college and gets drafted in the second round.

"You can't write that story."

That's incorrect. Mauch wrote it. The proof was in one of the few tailgate lots in downtown Minneapolis and on the field inside U.S. Bank Stadium. The kid from Hankinson started at right guard for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.