The Vikings on Friday night began their two-year stint at TCF Bank Stadium and the preseason game was a "housewarming party for the fans and team alike, and most left feeling like they would coming from a friend’s new digs -- comfortable, impressed." The Vikings "were admittedly scrambling a bit pregame trying to adjust to their new surroundings" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/9). There were "plenty of attractions greeting ticket holders outside the stadium's gate." The road between the stadium and nearby Mariucci Arena "was closed down and fans could wander among tents offering games, contests and face painting" (ST. CLOUD TIMES, 8/9). Univ. of Minnesota Police Chief Greg Hestness said that the game "wasn't much different in terms of crowd behavior than a typical Gophers game" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/9).
There were "not enough fans to obscure the enormous gold M on the seats in the lower deck, or the gold Minnesota spelled out across the upper-deck seats." UM logos also "were visible everywhere." But even with "all the maroon and gold," there was "the feel of a Vikings home game" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/9).
