As you may have read, I was at the Vikings-Cardinals game yesterday. Rather than go through a grueling recap of the whole day (grueling for me, and probably for you), I think I’ll give you a few observations and insights.
The first impression I got, keeping in mind that this was my first NFL game ever in person, was that Vikings crowds are much uglier than Twins crowds. This was a big drunken event, rather than an enjoyable night at the ball game. Everyone was dressed in purple, and I couldn’t help but wonder where Minnesota would be without Prince, or where Prince would be without Minnesota. My absolute favorite sight was a young African-American kid trying his best to be dope or fly or cool or among an elite subclass socially, with his hat sideways, his pants sagging, all under his Jim Kleinsasser jersey. Because nothing says cool in the ‘hood like a burly white guy from North Warhawks.
Second, I mentioned a while back that I liked the Metrodome. Let me see if I can find that post. Yep, there it is. Right here. Anyways, attending an NFL game at the Dome you realize that the stadium was built expressly for football, with baseball as an afterthought. It’s a wonderful football stadium, with good angles, even from where I was on the 10 yard line, (by the way, thanks to the Sylvania company for getting me the tickets), the echos make the stadium unbelievably loud, and the fact that it is indoors makes for much more enjoyable viewing in Minnesota. Zygi Wilf is a bastard for trying to weasel a stadium out of Minnesotans. That’s the Vikings’ 93rd sell out in a row. That’s more than 10 years! That included the Mike Tice era! The Twins and Gophers are moving out, so why not go the cheap route and by the stadium and make it your own? I don’t get it.
As for the opponents, I have to say that Denny Green absolutely out coached the entire Vikings’ staff. He went in with a gameplan that would have worked if Matt Leinart wasn’t thinking about what flavor Gerber he is getting for his kid, or if the rest of the Cardinals (particularly the special teams) hadn’t played hot potato with the football, they may have pulled the game out. The biggest blight on the Cards, as it usually is on a Denny Green coached team, was the defense. If they had stacked the line, like all of the other teams of the past few weeks, Chester Taylor doesn’t run all over them and Brad Johnson has nowhere to throw in his 10 yard window. But that ultimately didn’t kill the Cardinals. The turnovers did. For the record, I would totally hire Green as an offensive coordinator or a GM. Look at his offensive track record!
The best part about the seats was that I was right by the Vikings bench. I got to see them come out of the Vikings ship created, apparently, by Creatable Inflatables, and my goodness, those players are huge. Before the game, I got to see all three of our quarterbacks trot out on the field. Brad Johnson looks like his spine is about to split in half, and I legitimately thought Brooks Bollinger was a kicker until I saw the name on his jersey. He throws poorly and moves like a dork. Not Chris Kluwe dorky, but still, it was painful to watch. And just one glimpse of Tavaris Jackson and I’m hooked. That guy is built. He could do with some upper body strength, but sign me up for the Tavaris bandwagon. As for the game, the Vikings didn’t really impress me, but they did a great job with their concentration. There were very few mistakes on their end of the deal. Aside from a few heavy shots to Brad Johnson, of course.
All in all, I was rather taken by the spectacle of the game. Surely, you get a better angle on the action and get to watch more games at home. However, I have to say I wouldn’t pass up a chance to sit 7 rows away from the cheerleaders again, although with the weird stomachs that most of them had, I would have to go for free again. – Ryan
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