The Heart Behind the Voice of the Vikings

Paul Allen is embedded as a Minnesota sports icon - the beloved voice of the Vikings, radio show host at KFAN sports, and horse track announcer at Canterbury Park. He’s the watchman, describing events with exclusive access as trusted trumpeter of moments, linking his voice with audience fandom! 

Question: “Paul, what is it that listeners expect from you?” 

Paul Allen: “What I expect from myself is a constant reminder and authentic approach to all of these unique jobs God has given me. I'm serving the listener. It's not the other way around. The privilege and the honor to hopefully make them laugh or give them good feelings inside themselves and pull them from whatever distractions they may be having in their lives.”   

Question: “Similarity and differences calling a football game, calling a race, sports radio?” 

Paul Allen: “It's really more simplistic than I think some people make it. I wrote for the Pasadena Star News and USA today for five years. That really helped me gain an appreciation for the English language and the truncated nature of roots to formulating sentences, with vocabulary and diction and enunciation. It's just projected. That eliminates the inclination to scream; to sound like something you don't sound like. And that's a major, major key.”   

Question: “Enunciation. The way the story goes, you had to rely on a wine cork?” 

Paul Allen: “My drama teacher at Pasadena City College gave me a cork and he said, ‘why don't you try this, put it in your mouth, and then bite down on it, put your tongue against the back of it and read, and then take it out and read that same thing.’ So, you do it like this, as if I'm reading, ‘come to me all who are heavy laden and I'll give you rest.’ Come to me all who are heavy laden and I'll give you rest. And I established muscle memory around my mouth that really helped with articulation and enunciation. And that's the first time that I've ever talked about this.” 

Question:  “While it's your voice that's recognized and heard, how much of listening is a foundation for that?” ¬

Paul Allen:  “It's incredibly important. It's incredibly und¬¬erutilized by me, a lot of people in society. Most days, the prayer heading into KFAN is, ‘Father, please provide me with patience. The ability to lay back, the ability to love in a way I've never loved, and ¬to listen better than I've ever listened. The art of listening is something it's very difficult to perfect. Uh, but I work on it every day.”

Question:  “You're painting pictures for audiences. Do you find that you then become more aware of observation of situations and people?” 

Paul Allen:  “I think inherently God has developed observation related skills with me that I really never knew I had, using binoculars to call horse races and football games and then going down and looking at the small font of a football roster or a horseracing program, I put my eyes through calisthenics for pretty much 30 years. It's clear to me God, wants to keep my vision at an abnormal rate at this stage of my life for things gospel related that are transpiring at this time of my life.”   

Question:  “How do you build a crescendo to keep everybody on point?” 

Paul Allen:  “Yeah! I've called 31 some odd thousand horse races and 400 some odd football games. No need to build a crescendo to do it the right way. Always changing adjectives and verbs to keep things fresh. Uhh, ‘McCarthy takes the snap, shakes the shoulders, pumps, fires to the left side, caught by Justin Jefferson, heads to the right inside the 20 to the 10 touchdown Vikings’! It’s crescendo building, to serve those who take time to listen and you want to do it to the best of your ability.”

Question:  “What’s that message that is nearest to who you are?” 

Paul Allen: That I would share with people? When it comes to identifying, one thing most deeply rooted in my heart is that the route to heaven is Jesus plus nothing. There's nothing we can do as sinful man to earn our way to heaven. And that's not my opinion. That's what's taught in the Bible. So, Jesus plus nothing. Nothing else! Only Christ. And that would be the one thing”.

Question:  “When you're joined in a booth by a guest, you will personalize it. Respectfully asked, if Jesus Christ were to join you as your guest in a booth, how would you introduce him?” 

Paul Allen:  “Wow is that a weird question but a beautiful question. …Joining us now is a man who is divine and known not only biblically, but in so many different ways as our savior. He is the first and the last. He's the alpha and omega. He is the bread of life. He is known as the son of man. He also is known as Yahweh. And the, I AM from Exodus. Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome Jesus of Nazareth to the show. The Christ is with us now, and it's an honor to meet you … But, um, can I clean your feet? Please?!  

Question:  “Do you think all of us are in search with a hope for a crescendo in our lives?” 

Paul Allen: “I don't care what I seek, Because I find myself becoming prisoner to this sometimes. It's what's put in front of me by God and how I handle that. It's about how much he loves us. Unequivocal amount of love that is given to us by God, through his son Jesus. Once you recognize wholeheartedly and authentically, that's the answer, it helps guide us to the crescendo.”