LIMBECK:Well, Captain Purple, you better break out your thermal underwear because it looks like the Vikings are going to play outside, and in Minnesota. Of course if you want to see the game in person you might need to be line early Monday afternoon to get a seat at TCF Bank Stadium. Playing on the University of Minnesota campus seems to be one giant hassle. Is it worth playing this game in Minnesota or should the Vikings be facing the Bears in a distant dome on Monday?
FELDMAN: Forgive me if my typing seems a little shaky, I've been in line since Thursday afternoon. What's a four-day wait to see the first Vikings outdoor home game in nearly 30 years? Heck, Helmet Hair, the last time the Vikes played outdoors in Minnesota, you and Sid Hartman were in your 40s, right? It's absolutely worth playing the game in-state. Why? It keeps the Vikings in the spotlight. It gives fans a reason to care. And it gives Zygi Wilf more ammo in his bid to get the Minnesota legislature to finance a new stadium for the Purple.
LIMBECK:Hey, I was at the last outdoor game at old Met Stadium. I don't recall seeing Sid there, but I was just a college student. Saw the Vikings lose to the Chiefs 10-6 on Dec. 20, 1981. I still have a box seat from the stadium in my garage. But back to the present. Zygi is probably both miffed and pleased about the collapse of the Metrodome. The past two weeks has been Exhibit A on why the Vikings need a new stadium. I think it's going to be fun for the Vikings to be playing outside this once, but would they even be playing this game in Minnesota if not for the Vikings celebrating their all-time great team of 50 players?
FELDMAN: Probably not. It's pretty clear by the way they're handling the ticket situation that they don't care all that much about their season-ticket holders (once they have your money, that's all that matters to them). Vice president of sales and marketing Steve LaCroix was on a Twin Cities radio station Thursday and basically said "too bad for you if you have a ticket but can't get in." The Vikes should have guaranteed their season ticket holders entry to this game and cut it off there. … OK, down off the soapbox and back to the 50 greatest. Let's narrow this down. Give me your top five Vikings of all-time.
LIMBECK:Top five Vikings, all-time? That's tough because there have been so many great players. I'm more old school then you, and watched all of the Super Bowl teams. I would go with Alan Page, Carl Eller, Fran Tarkenton, Ron Yary and Randy Moss. Moss might be a big jerk, but he was an elite playmaker with the Vikings in his prime. Who are your top five?
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FELDMAN: Agreed on Page and Eller. I'll take a different jerk at receiver, though: Cris Carter. He was as arrogant and rude as any NFL player I've seen, but if the Vikes needed one guy to make a clutch catch, I'd want the ball thrown his way. My list would also include the team's most recent Hall of Fame entrants, Randall McDaniel and John Randle, the latter of whom was undersized and an undrafted free agent, yet became one of the NFL's greatest defensive tackles. ... While we're talking about honors, do the Vikings deserve to have anyone playing in the Pro Bowl this season?
LIMBECK:Adrian Peterson deserves to be in the Pro Bowl. He's the elite running back of the NFC and has had a strong season despite running behind an injury-plagued offensive line. Other than that, I don't think the Vikings have any locks. Jared Allen is closing in on double digits in sacks and could get in as a defensive lineman. Chad Greenway at linebacker might also get some consideration, but I don't think he'll make it. Antoine Winfield has also been very good at cornerback, but teams usually throw away from his side of the field.
FELDMAN: The one you missed: Chris Kluwe. That's how sad this season has become; the Vikings punter has become their best player. And Kluwe has been very good. It's just too bad he's been needed so much. Maybe I should try to get a No. 5 jersey before they sell out after he makes the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, we'll probably get to see plenty of him on Monday night. Whether it's Joe Webb, Patrick Ramsey or Greg Camarillo playing QB for the Purple, the Bears defense is licking its chops after getting embarrassed last week.
LIMBECK:Yeah, I'm not as big as Kluwe fan as some of the Vikings faithful. He never seems to do as well as the opposing punter. But it might indeed be a rough night for the Vikings offense. If the Vikings get behind early, it could be a long game all the way around: Bears 16, Vikings 6.
FELDMAN: Really, do any Vikings fans out there care about the outcome of the game more than the spectacle of playing outside? I'll have more fun watching for that rube who'll come with face painted and not wearing a shirt. He'll think he's funny until about midway through the first quarter, when he realizes his body is purple, and not from paint. At that point, Helmet Hair, you'll put your shirt on and go home. Just like the Vikes. Bears 23, Vikings 7.
