Former Chief Allen is a big hit in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS | It’s impossible to avoid the larger-than-life persona of Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen in the Twin Cities.

Step off the plane, and there’s Allen’s purple Vikings jersey hanging on the wall at the security checkpoint. Walk past Mall of America Field, and a poster of Allen’s menacing visage stares from the stadium walls.

Tune in Thursday nights and listen to his weekly radio show, or turn on the television and watch him pop on as a guest on the Vikings’ weekly television program.

Jared Allen owns this town.

“That’s Jared,” said fellow defensive end Ray Edwards. “He’s a lovable guy.”

Allen added to his popularity as the Vikings reached this week’s NFC championship game at New Orleans with their 34-3 pulverizing of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

Allen helped spark the win with his sack and strip of Dallas quarterback Tony Romo — one of six sacks by the Vikings — as he enjoyed the first playoff win of his NFL career.

“It took a while to get one,” said Allen, who was part of playoff losses with the Chiefs at Indianapolis in 2006 and with the Vikings against Philadelphia last season. “But we finally did and got it in a big way.

“It’s all perspective. This is just one. The only way to go out on a winning streak is to win the Super Bowl. So if you lose the next one, it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Allen, for the second consecutive season, finished the regular season with 14 1/2 sacks, second in the NFL. But 7 1/2 of those sacks came in two games against Green Bay, and he had just two sacks in the final five games.

Still, the Vikings led the NFL with 48 sacks for the season, and the ability to get to Romo so often was critical in the win over the Cowboys — and will be equally as important against New Orleans’ Drew Brees this week.