Small-town experience like Minneapolis!
— Chad Omdahl in Hatton, North Dakota (home of Dave Lee)
I’m admittedly not a huge wings guy, but I have really enjoyed snagging a beef on weck sandwich in Buffalo. Having watched a lot of Bills games during my youth (they were on TV a lot in Tennessee before the Titans came to town), it was special to me to visit that stadium, which has some great sightlines and a togetherness aspect offered by bowl seating. This is the venue’s final season, so if fans just wanted to see a game and not have the added stress of a Vikings-related outcome, a trip to upstate New York for a Bills and whoever game could be a nice diversion.
My third Vikings game was in the DFW Metroplex against the perennially overrated Dallas — I’ll be civil and call them the — Cowboys. It was 1998, and we were partying! Pun intended. Randy Moss was the rookie phenom. Thanksgiving Day, [Irving], Texas. WOW! The first TD on a flea flicker was hilarious. Robert Smith had a clear path to the end zone but lateraled the ball back to Randall Cunningham who pitched it to a WIDE-OPEN Moss for the TD.
Dallas countered by doubling Moss. Smith chewed up yardage on the ground and Carter was catching first downs. Then it happened! The Cowboys called single coverage on Moss. I saw it. I started screaming, “Throw the ball. He is open,” before they snapped the ball. This agitated a lot of fans around me. Cunningham also saw it and chucked a perfect pitch for the TD.
Dallas went back to doubling Moss. The Vikings went back to Smith and Cris Carter. Then it happened again! I saw as they broke the huddle Moss had single coverage. Again, I stood up and started screaming. “HE IS OPEN, THROW HIM THE BALL.” Needless to say, this really agitated the vicinity I was in. Then Cunningham hit Moss as he danced and tiptoed down the sidelines for TD 3.
Then my greatest moment as a Viking fan happened. The folks a few rows back started changing “go home Yankee, Go Home Yankee, GO HOME YANKEE!” I was in the aisle seat, 11th row. The chant’s volume rose loud enough to be heard on the broadcast. I stepped into the aisle, raised my arms in victory/joy, and took a very theatrical bow.
I kept that ticket in my wallet until it faded to shreds.
— Robert B. MacLeod in Austin, Texas
That’s certainly a great game to have attended and enjoy a bit of bragging rights. Glad the exchange was more humorous instead of turning hostile.
The only time I’ve been to Dallas for a game was the 2019 Sunday Night Football showdown that had some amazing catches by Stefon Diggs and Amari Cooper and one of the best pass breakups a linebacker can make to help seal the deal. That postgame locker room was bananas. That venue is quite a bit away from the downtowns of Dallas or Ft. Worth, but it does deliver on a large scale.
There’s an abundance of great food throughout Texas, and I’ve always enjoyed friendliness on business or personal trips there.