MINNEAPOLIS -- Harrison Smith wasn't going to be able to participate in his second annual charity kickball game on Tuesday night because of a knee injury that kept him out of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons. But before the event in the Minnesota Vikings' field house, the guest of honor still needed to make an early arrival.

"When they're in the locker room, they take pictures of everybody's locker. They want to see what's in your locker," Smith said. "I came here early, just so I could clean mine up. I remember last year, I didn't, and they were disappointed in me."

Smith's kickball game, in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters, differs from many of his teammates' charity functions because of its venue. The kickball game gave 20 pairs of big-and-little brothers and sisters a chance to take part in the popular playground game on the Vikings' indoor practice field. But it was the access to the Vikings themselves -- a tour of the team's practice facility and a question-and-answer session with Smith, safety Andrew Sendejo and cornerback Captain Munnerlyn -- that seemed to be as big a draw as the kickball game.

Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn had his kickball pitching form on point. Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

"I really think they just like meeting some players and talking to us," Smith said. "They really love going in the locker room and the weight room, just seeing where we go to work every day. I think that's the biggest thing."

Smith began working with the youth mentoring organization in 2013 and said he drops in at other events throughout the year, "just to hang out and see how everybody's doing." But when it came time to set up his own event, Smith wanted to find something where kids had a chance to be active.

His first choice was dodgeball; the safety said that was his favorite game as a kid and recounted how he enjoyed catching throws targeted for him before returning fire on another opponent. But "we couldn't do that, because of legal concerns," he deadpanned.

Big Brothers Big Sisters opened online registration early one morning several weeks before the event; it took about one minute to fill up. Two teams played in the Vikings' field house for about a half-hour; Smith and Sendejo stood off to the side with their knee injuries while Munnerlyn pitched for his team. In the Q-and-A, Munnerlyn said Adrian Peterson was the toughest player he'd ever had to tackle, while Smith named Marshawn Lynch and Sendejo picked Tavon Austin. Then the group got its chance to tour the facility, well after Smith's locker had been tidied up.

"I couldn't do too much tonight, but watching them play is fun," Smith said. "Answering their questions, talking to them, taking them through the locker room, I think is something they'll remember. Even if it's just something small, like telling them that we struggled at some point in middle or high school and were able to overcome it, if that can help them along, it's worth it."