This was the coldest I’ve ever been walking up to a football game at the Dome.   The -21* wind chill made my face numb in a short 2 1/2 block jaunt.  I was rushing to find some kind of shelter from the wind.  The air temp was -4* and I really wondered how one would be able to drink a beer in the wind without having the can freeze to your face.  One of the fans said his beer "froze" on his walk up to the stadium.

I firmly believed that the weather really set the tone and made crowd control a non issue for the Vikes last game at the Dome.   An hour before the game, the plaza was nearly empty and most folks were bustling to get inside...not drinking and partying.  If it was sunny and 4o* like it was on Saturday, I do believe people would have soaked up the sunlight and the suds.  With some "liquid courage" in these folks, I think this place might have been a bit nuts by 11:30am.  But literally, the cold keep the peace and stadium officials could have sent those 100 extra police officers home early.  Inside the game their was a lot of photo taking and you could see families and friend pointing out old memories not pointing out how to unbolt a row of seats.

On the field, the only fuel for the crowd was Cordarrelle Patterson who continued with his big play rookie season.  His touchdown run was definitely the football highlight of a very ho-hum game.  The most entertaining part for the crowd was when DE Jared Allen was declared as an eligible receiver.  Cheers met this announcement but a letdown ensued when the incredibly wide open 6' 6" ball player was badly overthrown while dragging across the end zone.  Jared Allen ended up with an ovation for his jog off the field as his one shot at a touchdown was wasted.

It was very uneventful day and the only surprise by today's crowd for me was seeing so many folks (est. 20,000) wait for 9 minutes to see the closing ceremony begin.

- Written by Eric Fowler, aka "The Puzzler."

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