Bursts of breath will spew from facemasks, like 22 miniature smokestacks. It might feel like old times for fans, at least in the portions of their bodies that don’t lose feeling. The high is at TCF Bank Stadium is expected to be 1 degree Fahrenheit, per Weather.com, with 12-mph wind. At dusk, the temperature could sink to -8. It could be one of the coldest games in NFL history. Don’t forget your coat.

The chill will kindle memories of Metropolitan Stadium, the dump of a converted minor league ballpark known as the Ice Palace. The Vikings played there from 1961 to 1981, and they won seven of 10 playoff games in temperatures that ranged from 8 degrees to 31. When they moved indoors to the Metrodome, the Vikings lost part of their soul. Sunday, perhaps one time only, it will be back.

AD

AD

“We kind of embraced the cold,” legendary Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall said. “It was our identity. When we played in the cold, we always felt we had an advantage.”

An outdoor playoff game returned to Minnesota by way of scheduling. The Vikings moved out of the Metrodome two years ago, but they don’t move into sparkling new U.S. Bank Stadium – which has a fixed roof – until next year. In the interim, the Vikings have played home games outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of Minnesota Golden Gophers. They missed the playoffs last season, but this year claimed the NFC North for a trip to January.

The conditions, of course, will be far different for players Sunday than in the 1960s and 70s. The field itself will be heated. Players will sit on heated benches in front of massive heaters and rest their helmets on heated poles.

AD

AD

“The hardest thing will be for the fans,” old Vikings Coach Bud Grant said. “There’s not enough schnapps and blackberry brandy to keep them warm.”

Under Grant, the Vikings became invulnerable to winter conditions, both by design and necessity. They had no practice facility, so every day the Vikings practiced on frozen or plowed fields, regardless of the weather.

Grant addressed the weather with his team, but only once each season, always the same way. As winter approached, Grant would give a speech. He told the players how Eskimos built railroads in Alaska and never complained about the cold. They didn’t have thicker skin, Grant would say; they just approached their jobs with a particular mindset: no matter how cold, it was just another day.

“You don’t stay warm,” Grant said. “You’re cold. So what? We never had anybody who froze to death playing football. You probably had somebody who died from heat stroke playing football.”

AD

AD

Grant enacted strict rules for games: No gloves, no long sleeves, no long johns, no hand warmers. The Vikings would watch other teams gather by heaters on the sideline and fiddle with hand warmers. “And we kind of giggled at it,” quarterback Fran Tarkenton said. “They had to look at us and say, ‘These people are crazy.’ ”

Grant’s most infamous rule: No heaters on the sidelines. To be sure, other teams used them. “We were a little envious of them,” Marshall said. “But we knew our advantage was to not recognize how cold it was and to concentrate on your skills and what you need to do to win.” Beyond psychology, Grant had sound reason. When he looked across the field, he noticed a trend.

“What are the players doing?” Grant said. “They’re huddling around the heaters. Our players watching the game, ready to play.”

AD

AD

The Vikings’ ability to play in the cold became mythical. In the 1969 NFL Championship Game, the Vikings beat the Browns, 27-7 in 10-degree weather with a wind chill of -1. The Rams came to Minnesota from sunny Los Angeles three times from 1968 to 1976 and lost all three times. They Vikings tried to convince other teams of their indifference to the cold. Fullback Bill Brown would stand at midfield, wearing short socks and short sleeves, pick his scabs and smear blood over his white uniform.

“We kind of hammed it up a little bit,” Grant said. “The other team would be all warmed up. We’d go out without our warm-ups and had short sleeves. We kind of mocked the other team. We showed them and the fans – this is cold, but this is Minnesota.”

Coach Mike Zimmer will allow the Vikings to wear sleeves Sunday, but he tried to maintain some advantage. The Vikings practiced outdoors this week, albeit on a field that been heated with an underground coil to prevent freezing.

AD

AD

Regardless of preparations or sideline comforts, Tarkenton expects the Vikings will have an edge Sunday. Just living in the Minnesota winter compared to the Pacific Northwest, he believes, will help the Vikings.

“I was a Viking, so I was used to the cold,” Tarkenton said. “We didn’t think about the cold. It didn’t affect us in any form or fashion.”