Metrodome Collapse Leads to an Unavoidable Situation for Minnesota

A series of what one might call unfortunate events have hit the Minnesota Vikings and their fans hard in the past few days.  Early Sunday morning, after nearly 20 inches of snow had been piling up throughout the state, the roof of the Metrodome finally gave way.  Minnesotans have seen this happen before—four times to be exact.  The teflon roof, built over three decades ago, gave way under a reported 17 inches of snow and ice. 

As workers prepared for a game that night against the New York Giants, the sudden collapse of the dome brought instant concern about where the game would be played.  It had already been moved to Monday night due to the fact that the Giants were trapped in a Kansas City terminal.  Later Sunday night, the decision was made for the game to be diverted to Ford Field in Detroit.

This was the first time that two NFL games were played on a Monday night.  Detroit really went all out in putting everything together for a second NFL game in as many days.  By Monday morning, crews had all the blue banners and flags switched to purple, the Vikings logo was at midfield and "Vikings" was written across both endzones.  The workers at Ford Field even went so far as to play the Viking horn for every first down, and their "fight" song after each score (which was only once).

But this isn't a story about just the game.  Fans and team representatives alike are becoming more and more worried about the condition of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.  The Vikings have been trying to get a new stadium over the last few seasons, and as the Metrodome lease is rapidly approaching a close after next season; fear that the team might have to move to another city is rising.

Don't fret though, Vikings fans!  Having your stadium beaten down by Mother Nature was probably the best thing you could have hoped for this year.  Yes, the 5-8 record isn't great, but more likely than not, you won't have to cheer for the Los Angeles Vikings in 2012.

A state that is 6.2 billion dollars in debt is faced with a very tough decision: Eliminate a 50 year old franchise, or spend 700 million dollars to keep them.  Vikings owner Zygi Wilf has offered to pay for over one third of the stadium, but the rest would have to be paid through taxpayer money, money that the state would rather put towards that already enormous deficit.

Only time will tell, but fingers point in the direction of the Minnesota legislature passing a bill that would grant the Vikings a new stadium by 2013.  Don't lose faith in your team or your city, and keep reppin' the gold and purple Minnesota!