Watch Gov. Tim Walz’s Mankato West High football team introduce him as vice president nominee

Moments after U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar hyped up the former congressman and teacher, a group of Mankato West High School alumni took the stage to talk about the impact Walz had on them as a coach for the football team.

“You want the people in charge to be genuine, compassionate and trustworthy,” said Ben Ingman, who spoke about Walz and ushered his former teammates onstage during his oration.

“We’d always wish that someone like that in our neighborhood would run for office,” Ingman said. “In my neighborhood, someone like that did run for office.”

During his acceptance speech, Walz drew parallels between the presidential campaign and his football team’s state championship bid.

“We played through to the whistle on every single play and we even won a state championship,” Walz said. “Never close the yearbook, people.”