So, we’re in that part of the year where all sorts of things are changing or happening at once. We’ve had a few delicious days in the 60s so far, but mostly it still feels like summer here in Minnesota. We’re in the 80s today and it’s humid. But, as the band Ambrosia once told us, “Time waits for no one.” If time did wait for anyone, I think we’d all be doomed, so perhaps (perhaps?) it’s better this way.
School buses are everywhere, the Vikings have already played (and won) their first regular season game, the Twins have only 17 games left, with seven of them to be played at Target Field, and they still are holding tight to the second Wild Card spot in the American League. Seriously, who saw that coming? The Minnesota Wild open training camp today, and the Timberwolves won’t be far behind. And, this is where it gets weird, the leaves are changing color and many are already falling. It’s a strange transition when the trees look like autumn but the air still feels like summer.
The thing is, around here it tends to tip over all at once. We can’t be more than a few weeks away from that first day when the wind comes out of the north and you swear you can smell winter in the air. Snow sticks will get pounded into the ground, the hunt for heavy jackets will take place in the hall closet, and (gasp) the countdown will be on for switching over from AC to the furnace. When you first do that, and the furnace kicks on, it has a certain smell about it. It’s the smell of oncoming winter.
When I was a kid, I didn’t like autumn because it meant winter was coming. In suburban St. Louis that meant endless months of gray skies and gloomy afternoons were on the way, and some snow, and some cold weather, plus some sleet just to add to the fun. Winter in St. Louis was not much fun, actually. Up here, I don’t mind it. It’s an adventure to get through, it’s sunny a lot, and we’ll have multiple winter sports all going at once. Here’s hoping those teams keep us as entertained as the Twins have this summer. Last night, another walk-off win with a home run in the bottom of the 10th. Win Twins!
Barbara and I had the Vikings Monday Night Football tickets thanks to our friends Mary Beth and Joe, who were vacationing in Hungary and Croatia, but as the game neared it was obvious that Barb’s job was intent upon making it so that she wouldn’t be able to go. So, I called Terry Blake and invited him. Terry is a great guy, and one of the funniest people I know, so I figured even if the Vikings looked as bad as they did in the preseason, we’d still find a way to have a great time. It was also September 11th, so we figured there would be some emotional tributes during the event. The national anthem was, as we technically put it, amazing. It also included a massive “card stunt” for the whole crowd to be involved in. Terry and I aced the stunt.
Lo and behold, the game ended up being a defensive struggle until the end of the first half, when the Vikings marched all the way down the field to score a touchdown right before halftime. They kept that momentum going in the second half, as well, and ended up beating the Saints 29-19, and it really wasn’t that close.
We’d been talking to some other fans before the game, and the consensus was that former Viking Adrian Peterson would either get totally stopped by the Vikings defense or run all over them in his first game as a Saint. As we said, “He’s either going to run for 25 yards or 225 yards, but probably not anything in between.” I was leaning toward the 225 end of things. As it turned out, No. 28 only rushed for 18 yards, so we missed it on all counts.
Frankly, it was a heck of a game. The Vikes unleashed a passing offense like we haven’t seen in years, their rookie running back Dalvin Cook ran for 127 yards, and they dominated. The words “Vikings” and “dominated” haven’t gone together much lately, unless the word “were” was placed between them.
And, we had an overall great time at the game, even beyond the football on the field. We got there early, like just about everyone else, and strolled around outside before going into US Bank Stadium, and we did a lot of high-fiving with perfect strangers wearing purple. The only hitch to the entire event was the departure. The parking structure we used is great, but you’d have to drive right into all the departing traffic to take the shortest route home by getting directly on I-94 eastbound, which is the way back to St. Paul and Woodbury. The best way to go is to do a little loop south on city streets, in order to get on I-35W northbound for a bit, then follow the I-94 ramp to go east. That’s the best way to do it if things like on-ramp construction aren’t underway. The ramp to get on I-35W was closed for said construction. Fortunately, for me as the driver, Terry knew another very efficient way to get him back to their apartment in downtown St. Paul, taking I-35W south toward the airport, and then following surface streets to St. Paul. I think that might be the best way to get home from a Vikings game from now on.
Last week, on Friday night, it was actually Barbara and me at US Bank Stadium for the U2 concert, and as it turned out we had plenty of Woodbury company in the huge sold-out crowd, although it was impossible to meet up. I think we all agreed on a consensus review. The show was great. U2 was spectacular. US Bank Stadium is a lousy place for concerts.
The building is enormous, with a cavernous roof. They’ve added some acoustic fabric on half the roof (the half that isn’t see-through) but it still echoes like crazy and the sound bounces around in there like a tennis ball in the dryer (not that I’ve ever put a tennis ball in the dryer, but you know what I mean.) Still, just to get to see U2 was a thrill for me. And they played their hearts out despite the lousy acoustics.
Those same echo-filled acoustics, however, make it a great place for football. It gets really (REALLY) loud in there. So much so, I wished I’d taken ear plugs to the Vikings game. Yeah, that’s coming from a guy who spent 20 consecutive years at the NHRA races. It’s that loud when the Vikings are on defense.
The stadium has only been open for a year, so you have to give them a bit of a break, but with the Super Bowl coming to town at the end of this NFL season, the stadium management needs to get a lot of work done. The signage is pretty bad and it’s hard to figure out how to get to specific places. The people working there don’t seem to be too sure of it either. Neighbor Dave and I experienced that first-hand when we worked the sidelines at the Vikes – 49ers game. Most of the people we approached for directions were clueless, and there were absolutely no signs showing us how to get to the broadcast level. And, expert professionals were at a loss, as well. The text I got from our buddy Mike Hohler at KNBR basically said “You’re just going to have to find us. I can’t really explain how we even got up here…”
At the concert, we asked how to get to the Club Level but got only a vague guess from an usher-looking person. We finally looked over a railing to a lower level and saw a sign for our section, so we went down the escalator only to find that we had to turn around and go back up. We were originally only a few steps from the section, but had no idea it was there. I think the US Bank Stadium staff needs to go spend some time at Target Field with the Twins or the Xcel Energy Center with the Wild. And hey, Target Center is just finishing up a massive renovation for the Timberwolves, so that would be a good place to go get some advice, too.
In addition, a lot of the entry gates seem like they were designed without any security in mind. The gate we entered for the concert looked like they’d gotten to work that morning and realized they had forgotten to put any security measures in place. Problem “solved” with massive amounts of temporary chainlink fencing all over the place. That’s probably not the look you’re after for the Super Bowl.
All things considered, still a great time and I’m thrilled to have seen U2, thrilled to have seen a Vikings win, and I learned a new way home from the stadium. Tons of fun was had by all. And, it was an honor and a real pleasure to hear Terry tell me that he’s about 2/3 of the way done with my book. His comments were not only very positive, they were very insightful. He sensed and recognized some themes and deeper meanings that made perfect sense, although I wasn’t fully aware of them as I wrote. Terry is an excellent professional communicator, whom I respect as much as anyone I’ve met who works with the written word, doing media relations, or just plain writing. His comments might’ve been the highlight of my week.
Tomorrow, I’m off to Charlotte to spend Saturday at the track. Looking forward to getting back to zMAX Dragway and seeing my extended NHRA family.
Thanks for reading and remember… If you read this and you enjoyed it, please click on the “Like” button at the top. The more “likes” the merrier.
Finally, it would be hard for me to believe that anyone reading this blog is still “thinking about” buying my book but hasn’t yet. If that’s the case, though, excuse me while I promote it one more time with a link right to the Amazon page. If Terry Blake likes it, that’s about the best Seal of Approval I could get.
Bob Wilber, at your service as a tireless book promoter (whispering “Buy my book” in hushed tones).