How frigid were the conditions at kickoff for Sunday’s Seattle Seahawks-Minnesota Vikings playoff game? Colder than all but two games ever played in the history of the NFL.
The thermometer read minus-6 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, with the wind chill dipping all the way down to minus-25.
It's -6 at the stadium with a -25 wind chill. It's officially the coldest game in #Vikings history, 3rd coldest in NFL history.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 10, 2016
Straight-up smoke machine status in Minnesota right now. https://t.co/BCNlhjKiF8
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) January 10, 2016
88-year-old former Vikings head coach Bud Grant took the field.
In a short-sleeved polo.
In -9 degree weather 😎 pic.twitter.com/zd2bho4iSp
— NFL (@NFL) January 10, 2016
Only the 1982 AFC Championship Game and the 1967 NFL Championship Game were played in chillier conditions, and those games are best known by their nicknames: the Freezer Bowl and the Ice Bowl, respectively.
Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Game was the first playoff game played outdoors in Minnesota since 1976, and the Vikings’ famed Gjallarhorn apparently could not handle the elements. The horn reportedly shattered before kickoff, forcing the team to bring its precursor out of retirement.
Deep freeze shatters #Vikings #Gjallarhorn. Kickoff forecast: -3. #SEAvsMIN https://t.co/woGDfPZwV8 pic.twitter.com/XrLHiwNHSA
— KARE 11 (@kare11) January 10, 2016
Next Gjallarhorn up.
The 2009 version is 1-0 in the playoffs. #ForgeAhead pic.twitter.com/f6WybnHXXL
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) January 10, 2016
Some motivation for Mike Zimmer’s squad: If the Vikings beat the Seahawks, their next game would be in balmy Arizona against the second-seeded Cardinals.
Thumbnail photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
