Gladiiators

Finally, my chance to experience first hand that which I have occasionally observed on the flat screen - the clash of modern day gladiators on the football field. As a big football fan over the years (that’s sarcasm, for those of you that don’t know me), it had been a long time since I had the opportunity to attend an NFL regular season game. 

Part of the motivation was to see the new US Bank stadium sister Evelyn’s architecture firm had designed. We had toured it earlier in the year, but then it was quiet and in various stages of start-up. Now it was filled with tens of thousands of fans, all waiting for access to the concession stands or exploring their new surroundings. The true differential from previous professional football venues, however, was made very clear during the program just before the game. 

On this day, the Vikings recognized veterans, given the upcoming Veterans Day holiday. The military was in prominent display, and the program included a long line of reservists in dress uniform holding a very large American flag, which they unfurled across the field at the start of the singing of the national anthem. The combination of the visual extravaganza and the harmony of the quintet doing the singing through a very excellent sound system brought goose bumps to my arms and moisture to my eyes. 

Following that program, the drum corp banged and the cheerleaders wiggled and the film clips flashed on the huge screens occupying each end of the field. All leading up to the introduction of the team. That’s when the hype really cranked up. 

A large representation of the front of a Viking ship, complete with dragon head, was positioned at the mouth of the tunnel leading to the players locker room. Smoke generators belched a fog out of the end of the ship, and noise of various decibels and frequencies came from everywhere. Then the chant began.

“Skol, Skol, Skol…” with every Skol accompanied by all the fans in the stands clapping their hands once over their heads, first very slowly, then accelerating. The rhythm was supported by someone banging on a huge drum, which was highly amplified. As the pace got to a point that folks couldn’t keep a beat,  a military representative positioned at the end of a huge horn gave the impression of blowing the horn. That’s when the real engineered hype started. The bass tones from the highly amplified horn were almost sub-sonic, rattling teeth and shaking beer out of their cups. The resonance could have been confused with an earthquake, as the crowd, now standing, sought support. 

A ball of fire erupted out of the nose of the dragon. The drum beat was supported by various guitar sounds in a cascade of noise. Then a player ran out of the tunnel with an American flag. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy, cheering the flag (again bringing moisture to my eyes). I imagined what it must have felt like in the days of gladiators in a Roman colosseum.

Whoever engineered the sound system, and choreographed the program knew what they were doing. It was quite a production, almost worth the price of the ticket. And certainly the highlight for me, as I spent the majority of the game asking our guests, the Crandall’s, who are avid Vikings fans, exactly what was happening on the field. I figured out that if I watched the huge screens, the action would be replayed so Robin or Jackie could help translate it for me. While the program and the hype made the live experience different and valuable, it seemed to me that I was better suited for watching the game on television.