Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Vikings vets reflect on team’s past 3 stadiums
The Vikings have called four stadiums “home” for at least two full seasons since the founding of the franchise in 1961.
Three of those facilities were permanent, starting with Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. In 2014 and 2015, the team played on the campus of the University of Minnesota before the opening of U.S. Bank Stadium.
As Sam Ekstrom of Zone Coverage pointed out, only four current Vikings have played in Minnesota’s past three stadiums: Everson Griffen, Kyle Rudolph, Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes.
Ekstrom spoke with all four of them to hear some of their memories about Metrodome, TCF Bank Stadium and U.S. Bank Stadium. Below are some highlights:
“I think it depends what time in your career it was. That was my intro to the NFL, so I’ll always remember the Metrodome for that. […] I loved playing there, it was loud. Everything was kind of in tight.”
– Smith on the Metrodome
“I wouldn’t compare [playing on campus] to playing in college. Only thing I would say that was great about it was playing within the cold. We had teams that really weren’t used to playing in that cold, and we had that advantage because we practice in it. If you’re not in the Midwest, you’re not really used to it at all, so we used that to our advantage.”
– Rhodes on TCF Bank Stadium
“It’s state of the art, yet it’s still very traditional. I think they did a great job in that balancing act. It’s the best there is in football right now, but it’s not over the top with all this crazy stuff. It’s a great fan experience, and for us as players, when we play there at noon and the sun’s out, you feel like you’re outside. The doors can be open, you get a little fresh air, so an incredible home-field advantage.”
– Rudolph on U.S. Bank Stadium