Vikings Players Say They're Ready For Bitterly Cold Playoff Game
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's going to be bitterly cold at kickoff when the Minnesota Vikings host the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday.
What the Vikings are trying to downplay is what everyone else is talking about.
Let's start with the obvious. This week, there are few questions about Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch coming back and what Seattle did to the Vikings the first time. But there are for more questions about the weather and what the conditions will be like for both teams.
Here is the way it works: The coach tells the players the cold won't be a factor. The players are then obligated to say they're not bothered by it.
"Cold weather? I like it. I don't know, I just feel like the cold weather is just like football weather," safety Andrew Sendejo said. "Even though I am a Texas native, I'm excited to play in the cold this weekend."
A local company, WSI, is actually producing warm weather clothing for both teams. It's based on heating up when it's warn on the skin.
None on this team remembers the days of the Old Metropolitan Stadium. It's simply legend now at Winter Park. But the current team does know this.
"You know what with the cold weather you just deal with it. Just deal with the cold weather, You've gotta play in it. There's no way to get out of it," Everson Griffen said. "You've just got to play in it."
And if they need help, they have a teammate who can tell them all about January in Minnesota. He grew up here.
"Yeah it's a normal day in Detroit Lakes," Adam Thielen said. "It'll be warm out there for me. It's going to be cold, but we'll be ready for the elements."