VOTE In The ASYLUM Poll: Do you agree with the Vikings-Eagles game postponement?

The Minnesota Vikings season is beginning to resemble the third act of This Is Spinal Tap!; I wouldn’t be surprised to see their season finale against Detroit played in an old Air Force hangar. Their game in Philadelphia against the Eagles was snowed out last night, because…I guess the Vikings have hit their snow quota for the year?

“Due to public safety concerns in light of today’s snow emergency in Philadelphia, tonight’s Vikings-Eagles game has been postponed. Because of the uncertainty of the extent of tonight’s storm and its aftermath, the game will be played on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. This will allow sufficient time to ensure that roads, parking lots and the stadium are fully cleared.”

–NFL Spokesman Greg Aiello, via ESPN.

Horrible decision. It’s horrible because, instead of watching football last night, I actually had to have a conversation with family members sitting around me. Just play the game in an empty stadium. Jeez, NFL. Do I have to think of everything?

The Eagles aren’t too bent out of shape about it; they actually clinched the NFC East yesterday after the Giants lost. But they and the Vikes will be the first NFL game played on a Tuesday night since 1946, when Brett Favre was only 7 years old.

The Minnesota Vikings will play their second straight Monday night “home” game tonight, although this one will be a result of design rather than circumstance, and will actually be played within the state of Minnesota. But not everyone’s happy about it. The beer has been shut off (even in the parking lots) and the conditions of the field at TCF Bank Stadium–home to Minnesota’s Golden Gophers–are a bit suspect. Is it a worse plan than just ripping the roof off the Metrodome? Vikes punter Chris Kluwe thinks so.

“The field is as hard as concrete an hour and a half after they took the tarp off, and anyone that hits their head is getting a concussion. … I find it interesting that the NFL can claim an emphasis on player safety, and then tell us the field is fine. It’s beyond hypocritical. … I can only hope, however unlikely, that no one gets catastrophically injured at the trainwreck that’s about to take place tomorrow night.”

Via Twitter, Kluwe said he had been asked to stop tweeting about the playing conditions.

–Kevin Seifert/ESPN.

Of course, the old Minnesota Vikings had their own opinions on the impending conditions tonight as well. Remember that the Vikings franchise held its games in the elements before the Metrodome opened in 1982. The old-timers were very sympathetic to their young counterparts. Just kidding, they barely stopped short of insulting their collective manhood.

“You’ve got to learn to tough it up,” said former running back Chuck Foreman, who played for the Vikings from 1973-79. “That field will be perfect to play on. That’s the way the game has been played for years. These guys get spoiled. Go out there, embrace the weather, enjoy it. Just keep yourself warm. It’s all mental.”[..]

“If you get caught up in how cold it is or the field’s too hard or you can’t get your cleats in the field, you’ve got no shot,” [former Vikings receiver Ahmad] Rashad said. “It’s the same for both teams; you just have to go out there and execute.”

Whoa. It’s pretty bad when Ahmad Rashad starts calling you out. Better suck it up, fellas.

The Bears should be looking to atone for their 36-7 debacle at the hands of the Patriots last week. Next week, the Bears will host the Jets in Chicago, and then they’ll finish their season at Green Bay. And if the majority of the team can avoid frostbite, they’ll probably host a playoff game. When one considers that Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta could also get post-season bids, having home field doesn’t sound very advantageous…

"That's not a Teflon roof, Lobster Dog! It's a tarp!"

The Metrodome is still falling apart and we’re powerless to stop it. I’m so scared right now, if one of you could just hold me and tell me everything’s gonna be all right, that would be great.

[O]fficials halted repair work until they could resolve what director of facilities and engineering Steve Maki called “an unsafe situation” after a fourth panel gave way Wednesday night He said there was concern that still more panels could collapse under snow and ice still sitting atop the deflated roof.

–Chicago Breaking Sports.

As for the Vikings themselves, they’re not faring much better: Joe Webb will make his first career start when the Vikings host the Bears on the University of Minnesota campus. The conditions could be best described as…somewhat adverse.

“The whole season has been talked about — player safety, player safety, player safety,” Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said. “And then they’re going to say, ‘Hey, go play on some concrete and enjoy yourselves.’”

–Detroit News.

Oh, Ben. Player safety only applies to the offense. You should know that by now.

If you haven’t seen the Metrodome roof buckling under the weight of a foot and a half of snow, you certainly haven’t realized that the Minnesota Vikings’ next home game is just five nights from now, when they will host the Chicago Bears. It has been a season of loss for last year’s NFC North champs. They’ve lost their coach, their star wide receiver, their quarterback’s consecutive games played streak, and now they’ve lost their stadium.

Before the Twins moved to Target Field last spring, vinyl banners bearing the likenesses of team stars — Hrbek, Puckett, Oliva, et. al. — hung in the Metrodome. I suggested on Twitter that the torn ceiling panel be patched with another such vinyl likeness: The former Twin Phil Roof to fill the Twins’ former roof.

–Steve Rushin/SI.

But what I don’t understand is why don’t they just rip that big sheet of Teflon off the Metrodome and continue playing in there, but under the elements, the way God intended. But no, they’re asking volunteers to shovel out the University of Minnesota’s digs to play there. Those students are still taking finals, people! Just rip the damn roof off and BAM! Instant stadium.

UPDATE: “Obvious” is now in quotes. It should be obvious why I did that.