Vikings back where they belong

How awesome is it going to be at TCF Bank Stadium on Monday when the Vikings play host to the Bears in the team’s first outdoor home football game in exactly 29 years? Their last outdoor home tilt, played at the old Met in Bloomington, took place on Dec. 20, 1981. I was at that game and still have a pennant with a likeness of a stone-faced Bud Grant on it pinned to the wall of my old bedroom. All these years later, I still remember being there. Sure, I froze my you know what off, but it’s an experience I’ll always remember. Now, 29 years later, the Vikings are back where they should be: outside. The Dome collapse has caused myriad headaches for the team and now for the University of Minnesota as well, but they’ll pull it off. It won’t be perfect in the eyes of many, but for purists, it certainly will be. Coincidentally, the team is celebrating 50 years and honoring its past — could you get more fitting than this? The players, I’m sure, will complain because it’s too chilly, but then again, these aren’t your father’s football players. Today’s Vikings might be stronger and faster, but they’re not tougher than legends of the past who, for the most part, welcomed wintry conditions with open (and unsleeved) arms.