Paul Allen (born January 6, 1966) is a sports commentator who has called play-by-play for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

since 2002. He is the voice of the Minnesota Vikings Radio Network and for horse racing at

Canterbury Park Canterbury Park (formerly Canterbury Downs), is a horse racing track in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Canterbury Park Holding Corporation ("Canterbury Park") hosts parimutuel wagering on live thoroughbred and quarter horse racing at its ...

. Allen has worked for

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

radio station

KFXN KFXN-FM (100.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb ...

, where he currently hosts a morning sports radio show, since 1998.

Biography

Allen previously called horse races at different locations throughout the United States until he came to Canterbury Park in

Shakopee, Minnesota Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of Minneap ...

in 1995. Allen was both criticized and praised by Vikings fans for "ripping" into

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...

after he threw an interception in the 2009 NFC Championship game against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

that ultimately kept them out of

Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...

. He uses personally coined phrases like "Minnesota Moving Company" (offensive line) and "

Minneapolis Miracle The Minneapolis Miracle (also known as the Minnesota Miracle) refers to the final play of a NFC divisional playoff game played between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 1 ...

," the play where the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

beat the

with a last play touchdown in the playoffs on January 14, 2018. Allen is known for his emotional calls, such as the aforementioned 2009 NFC Championship, the 2003 Vikings' regular season finale against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, and the 2015 Wild Card Playoff game between the Vikings and the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. Allen is a devout Christian and does a podcast called Faith and Goal. He also speaks at churches and leads chapels every summer at the Dean Kutz Memorial Chapel on the property of Canterbury Park.

References

External links

The Paul Allen Project - KFAN
Living people American sports announcers NFL announcers Minnesota Vikings announcers People from Shakopee, Minnesota 1966 births {{Amfoot-bio-stub