Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Dropped a Genuinely Unforeseen Tidbit into Post-Draft Press Conference
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is a numbers guy, someone who praises the “mathletes” (his word) on staff while noting that he’s quick to return to his Excel spreadsheet (again, per the man himself). But just because those parts of the GM shine through commonly, it doesn’t mean there isn’t another side to him.
Work hard, play hard, right?
Apparently, the Vikings are going to be having a post-draft party, as mentioned in the press conference. After all, the event is a major one in the offseason schedule (arguably the major one), so Minnesota’s employees deserve the chance to blow off some steam. One of the things to come out within that mention of the party is that there could be karaoke. Even more specific is the revelation about Adofo-Mensah’s go-to song.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Go-To Karaoke Song
(Words I Never Expected to Write)
Readers looking for in-depth analysis will need to look elsewhere. Right now, the focus is on what the Vikings’ GM likes to sing when it’s his turn to grab the mic.
The media had to do a bit of coaxing, but Adofo-Mensah eventually surrendered a specific band and song. At karaoke, Adofo-Mensah often turned to O-Town’s “All or Nothing.” I’ll admit it: I had no idea what this song was, so you can imagine my surprise when I learned that the song proceeds pretty slowly.
If someone is a great singer, then a slow song makes sense. What about those of us who haven’t been blessed with that kind of talent? Often, the decision is to roll with something that has some pace; try to get the crowd into it to mask the quality of the singing (or lack thereof).
Apparently, Kwesi is willing to risk it. The impression one gets is that he isn’t going to win American Idol anytime soon, but maybe that was the GM being modest.
Initially, the topic comes up when Adofo-Mensah mentions a “post-draft party coming up here soon.” After mentioning the possibility of karaoke, Adofo-Mensah was asked to disclose what he would sing. The GM says it’s a bit “embarrassing” before recalling “an O-Town song I used to sing with a buddy of mine when I was at Stanford grad school.” He claims he doesn’t sing it “very much anymore” but went on to clarify that the song was “All or Nothing.”
After naming the song, things returned to normal as he took on a question about where things are going with Justin Jefferson’s extension.
But while there’s been some important work that has been done and more that’s still ahead, the brief detour into singing karaoke is a good reminder that Adofo-Mensah is a real person with interests and experiences that extend beyond just football (he mentioned not seeing his wife very much recently, so hopefully the executive can step away from work to be with his family).
Earlier in the press conference, he even compares the work on Day 3 of the draft to flipping a tape over to the b-side, a comparison that prompts him to reveal that “Bicycle” is his favorite Queen song.
During the season, Creed’s “Higher” became a bit of an anthem for the Vikings. At a different point in history, the Vikings may have leaned on something by Prince. The latest news tidbit, though, loops O-Town’s “All or Nothing” into the fold.
If the Vikings win the Super Bowl, maybe Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can fire up the karaoke machine and celebrate in style.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.