The Vikings Reader Q&A

In honor of the official NFL season kickoff (today!), we interviewed Armand Peterson, editor of The Vikings Reader, about his earliest Vikings memories, his Game Day routine, and of course, Brett Favre.


Q: On Sept. 17th, 1961, you attended your first (and THE first) Vikings regular-season home game at Met Stadium. Can you tell us about it?

A: The football field was laid out roughly along the baseball right field foul line. Since the (Minnesota) Twins (baseball team) still had some games left in their season, the baselines and infield areas of the baseball diamond were left un-sodded, and the mound was skinned down to football-field level. Attendance was only 32,236, but it was a near-full house. At the time, the left field bleachers were temporary and were moved toward the infield for football games (construction of permanent left-field stands in 1965, as well as other upgrades, eventually pushed the football seating capacity to 47,900).

Compared to today's games in the raucous Metrodome, that first game was almost eerily silent. I do not recall any cheerleaders or a mascot parading around the field. There were no special celebrations by players after a touchdown. (At times), I could easily hear the quarterback's signal calls and the sound of pads when players collided. The overall noise built up when the Vikings scored their first touchdown, and got louder as they surged into the lead in their upset 37-13 win over the Chicago Bears, but I don't think any fans wished they'd brought ear plugs.

Read the rest of Armand Peterson's Q&A here.