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Stadium #22 Mall of America Field at the HHH Metrodome Minneapolis, MN |
Detroit
Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings Stadium October 12, 2008 10 - 12 Win |
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Stadium Vitals Opened: April 3, 1982 Capacity: 64,111 seats Playing Surface: FieldTurf Draft Beer: $7.00 Hot Dog: $3.50 Stadium Parking: $30.00 |
 Metrodome Stadium Address 900 S 5th Street Minneapolis, MN 55415 612-332-0386 Get Directions |
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Stadium Review -
The Battle Wagon My trip to Stadium #22 began in the Questmobile as we set off from Detroit, Michigan on a ten hour road trip across the Midwest. I had my frat brothers Marion (from my Quest for 31 trip to the Bay Area) and Jimmy (he's new to he Quest), to accompany me to Minneapolis. After a fairly uneventful trip, including a mobile screening of "Cocaine Cowboys" (that's a sweet documentary), we arrived in Minneapolis late on Saturday evening to meet up with Fellow Quester, Adam Goldstein, of adamsfootballtrip.com. Adam is from the UK. He quit his job, sold his apartment, left his girlfriend behind, and he's in the states during the NFL regular season on a whirlwind, 35 stadium trip. So we had to sit down for a beer and compare notes. After a couple few local brews and a lot of conversation, we closed the bar and stumbled back to the hotel, eager for the next day's activities. Tailgating began at 8:00am and I had prearranged for me and the boys to hook up with Doug and Terry from Battlewagon.net and the fine folks at the Purplepride.org, the premiere website forum for Minnesota Vikings talk. As  I
walked the stadium parking lot , I was struck by two overwhelming
observations. Minnesota Vikings fans are big time, bus, truck and RV
tailgaters. Lots of folks drove in with custom delivery trucks,
panel vans, RV's, and mini buses that were creatively converted into
Minnesota Viking-themed tailgating cruisers. The number of custom
vehicles was impressive, but the other startling observation was
that nobody was cooking up tailgating foods in the parking lots
around the Metrodome. No matter where I looked, there were very few
grills out. Not many folks were putting raw meat to flame and I was
bewildered. Surely I was not among a bunch of NFL-savvy, tree
hugging, vegans, was I? I couldn't understand it. Coming
from Houston the previous week with all their custom grills, meat
smokers, and pig roasters, it was like a culture shock to the
system. No brats? No burgers? What was going on here? I ended up pulling aside the Battlewagon 
crew for an explanation and apparently, according to those in the know,
when Vikings fans go to a football game they don't go all the way
down the the stadium to eat ... Vikings fans go to the football
games to drink ... and drink heavily. (now this was a local custom I
was interested in giving my full support!) Why ruin a good buzz by
packing your stomach with food? Upon further examination, I realized
that it's really just incredibly wasteful of the fine locally brewed
beverages available in the state of Minnesota. Potentially an
insult to my NFL hosts. My only recourse was to drink more beer.But I digress ... our first stop on the Vikings tailgating tour was to check in with Doug and Terry from www.Battlewagon.net. Their Minnesota Vikings Battle Wagon is easily the cream of the crop for Vikings tailgating cruisers. These guys took an old delivery truck and converted it into the ultimate home away from home. The paint job is pristine, as the truck is decked out in Viking purple and gold and the front fascia proudly  displays
a set of Viking horns, but for the Battlewagon, what sets it apart
from any vehicle out there is its interior. The interior is a wood
paneled cavity with a floor of astro turf, housing Viking artifacts
such as Bryant McKinnie's size 18 shoe and of course the wall of
fame. But the coup de gras is the working gas fire place positioned
next to the barco lounger that warms the interior, providing a safe
haven from the elements during the coldest Minnesota winter day. The
fire place is incredible and coupled with the flat screen TV and
satellite dish, there's not much reason to leave the comfort of its
welcoming confines in order to brave the legions of Viking Fans that pile
into the dome each week. But for me, with the Quest as my focus for
the weekend, I resisted temptation. As we hung out at the Battle
Wagon consuming our fare share of local brews (Grain Belt, Summit),
all types of famous Vikings fans stopped by including Ragnar, the
Vikings official mascot, the Spiking Viking, and Syd Davy, the man
with the "Big Old Arms," according to John Madden, that used to
hoist Randy Moss into the stands after touchdowns. Syd even clued us
in on a Monday Night Football behind the scenes preview - He was
flying into New England for the Patriots vs. Broncos game to pull
Randy into the stands one last time if he scores a touchdown on
National TV. We'll definitely be watching Syd.As for the Vikings / Lions game it was actually pretty dull. The first half was a showcase in mediocrity as neither offense seemed to get  going
and the Vikings actually made the Detroit Lions look good for a
change. The atmosphere in the Metrodome was electrifying, as fans dressed in
Viking horns and lots of purple packed the house and made sure they
were heard. These fans knew how to use the dome to their advantage,
unlike what I saw in St. Louis. Each time the opposing offense was
on the field, a wall of sound swirled around the dome in an effort
to distract them and wreak havoc with the visitor's snap count. The game ended
on a 26 yard field goal off the leg of Ryan Longwell to give
Minnesota the 12 -10 home win. It wasn't pretty and Adrian Peterson
did not have the dominant performance I expected, but good teams
find a way to win the close ones ... hopefully for Vikings fans,
that's what they have.For more information on the city of Minneapolis, MN check out my other reviews by clicking on the links below: NFL: September 27, 2010 - Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings NFL: April 12, 2007 - Mall of America Field at the HHH Metrodome Stadium Tour |
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| City of Minneapolis Local Information | |
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Top Tourist Attractions: Mall of America Land of 10,000 lakes - fishing, boating, swimming Lake Superior in Duluth Local Foods: Walleye Wild Rice Morey's Smoked Fish from Lake Superior What They're Drinkin': Summit, Schell's, Gluek Tailgating Hotspots: Purple Lot 1 next to the Metrodome Fan Resources: Pocket Map of Minneapolis Stadium Policy Stadium Parking Map Fan Forum: Purple Pride.org, VikingsValhalla.com Local Sports Media: The Star Tribune, Minneapolis Tribune, St. Paul Pioneer Press KFAN 1130AM - Listen LIVE |
Popular
Bar Districts: Downtown Minneapolis (Brits Pub, First Avenue, Nicollet Mall Bars) NE Minneapolis Uptown ( Tony Jaros, Mayslacks, Gasthaus, Nye’s Polanaise Room, Stasius (men's room a must-see) Dinkytown ( U of Minnesota Bars ) Warehouse District Sports Bars(Joe Sensers, Benchwarmer Bobs, Hubert’s, Bunny’s)
Best Restaurants: |
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| Adam Goldstein - adamsfootballtrip.com | The Great Syd Davy - Moss Catcher | The Boyz and I at the Battle Wagon | ||
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| Brandon, Justin, and (Sorry man, e-mail me) | PurplePride.org | I Should've got a Viking Helmet | ||
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| The Party on the Plaza | Fellow Quester Adam Goldstein | Check me out | ||
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| I think I'm drunk, is that a monkey? | These guys were pros | Ah, the Beer Wench. | ||
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| Mookie - Air Guitarist Extraordinare | Hangin' with the Purple Pimp | Exhibit A | ||
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| What is going on here? | How the other half lives... | Viking Pride | ||
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| Jimmy, Marion, and myself | Hall of Famer, Doug, from BattleWagon.net | Stadium #22 - HHH Metrodome | ||
| COMMENTS? Please feel free to post any suggestions or comments you might have for my journey to Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, including the following: - Local Hotspots (Bar Districts, Restaurants, Clubs) - Local Foods (Traditional Cuisine, Micro Brews) - Tailgating Traditions - Your Experiences or Helpful Hints - If you saw me let me know! All commentary will be moderated. Your e-mail address will not be published. |
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 Minnesota Vikings Fight Song Skol, Vikings! Let's win this game. Skol, Vikings! Honor your name. Go get that first down, then get a touchdown. Rock 'em... Sock 'em... Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Skol, Vikings! Run out the score; You'll hear us yell for more. V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol, Vikings, let's go! |
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Lawrence D Johnson from Cleveland,
Ohio Date: Thu, November 5, 2009 12:05 pm |
i am a really huge Viking
fan and plan on coming to the very last game...Giants vs Vikings on Jan.
03, 2010.....but i am not sure of your whereabouts....I have the
Directions to the Metrodome....is it located in DT Minnesota? that way i
know where to stay and i wont have to rent a car. also can u reccommend
a motel 4 me or cheap hotel prefer under $85.00/nite.....i would really
appreciate it thanks. Lawrence, the HHH Metrodome in indeed located in downtown Minneapolis. You're going to want to locate yourself in Purple Tailgate Lot 1 adjacent to the Metrodome. Park anywhere you like, as getting a parking pass in this lot is nearly impossible, but be sure to make your way there or to any of the other Purple Tailgate Lots for the best tailgating in the Twin Cities. As for hotels, I stayed in the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis right downtown. I booked it using the priceline.com widget on my website above, entering my bid of $70 into the "Name your Price" section. That's what I recommend doing to get a great deal on an incredible hotel room. Good Luck! |
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