For the Vikings with a new stadium comes new firsts
Unless you live under a rock or you just have zero interest in the Minnesota Vikings, you know they are moving into U.S. Bank Stadium this season. With a new stadium, comes new firsts; good and bad. It’s up to the coaching staff and front offices to choose which players are the first to play. It is then up to those players to create the first plays.
Vikings fans and writers alike tend to remember the best and the worst plays in Vikings’ history. This year; however, fans get to speculate as to what happens first in the new stadium. Speculation should not be taken just lightly; it’s all part of the nuances of something brand new in our lives.
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Vikings’ fans all over the globe tend to remember the great and not so great plays vividly. Which brand of plays are we going to see from the Vikings this year? Will the first touchdown be a glimpse into what Teddy Bridgewater will be in the future when he connects with Laquon Treadwell on a 36 yard bullet? Or, will the first touchdown scored in the new stadium be from the hands of Aaron Rodgers?
What will happen first, an Adrian Peterson touchdown or an Adrian Peterson fumble? Vikings’ fans can only hope that when Peterson fumbles, it isn’t in the redzone this time. That’s right, I said, “when Peterson fumbles.” Fans can only hope that statement is incorrect and his work on ball security pays off.
Does Cordarrelle Patterson not only make the team but score the first touchdown by taking the opening kickoff 108 yards to the house? Does Jeff Locke suddenly show poise and punts to perfection since they are now indoors? Does Blair Walsh get the season under way by making or missing his first field goal attempt?
Do the Vikings win their first Super Bowl since they were not able to capture one in their old homes? Do they finally get over the NFC Championship game hurdle and make an appearance in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1970’s? Or, do the Vikings go all “Jeff Fisher” on the situation and finish a miserable 8-8, missing the playoffs?
The point of all this is as fans and writers is we get something brand new to talk about. We get to speculate and dream and wonder, “what if.” As long as we have love for the team we cheer for, most of the guesses will be positive.
However; cynicism still runs deep in the Vikings’ fan base. Some most assuredly think the first play we see will be a missed Matt Kalil block, leading to a Bridgewater strip-sack fumble recovery for a touchdown. Hopefully that play never happens, but the wonderment is still there.
Some of my fondest memories have nothing to do with watching a game, being at a game or even talking about a game. Some of my best memories are of conversations I have had with a few buddies sitting around a campfire and spouting off obscene future outcomes that never came true.
Whether the conversation is talking about a negative or a positive outcome for the Vikings, fans and doubters alike should soak it in. Until the “firsts” actually happen on the field, all we have are the guesses and discussions. My advice is to take in every opinion and relish the fact of having something new to discuss. The speculation process can be nearly as fun as the actual experience itself. Because, up until the actual experience, anything is possible, all speculation is correct.
Justin Ekstrom can be followed on Twitter @thesportscrib21 and wants to know what you think happens first in the new stadium; good, bad or ugly. Like, follow and upvote vikings32 on on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit.
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