CHICAGO — Asked last week about making his NFL debut roughly 30 minutes from where he grew up in Chicago’s inner suburbs, young quarterback J.J. McCarthy shifted the narrative with a perfect response, saying, “Hmm. I feel like home is in Minnesota.”

There’s no arguing with that statement as McCarthy steps into the spotlight as the new face of the franchise. If he’s everything the Vikings think he can be, his home will be in Minnesota for a very long time.

That didn’t stop McCarthy’s hometown of La Grange Park, Ill., from showing up in droves to watch the hometown hero in action.

A few hours before McCarthy took the field for the Vikings against the Chicago Bears, his parents Jim and Megan arrived in the tailgate lot adjacent to Soldier Field. It was something of a grand entrance for the

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