DANNY TRAVELOGUE

Road Games Travel Tips: Many lakes, much fun. Autumn in Minneapolis.

May 28, 2020, 2:00 PM | Updated: Jul 20, 2020, 1:47 pm

Preseason Game 2: Seattle at Minnesota Vikings, Thursday, Sept. 3, 5 p.m. Pacific

SPONSORED – The land known for 10,000 lakes now has one additional Seattle fan.

David Bunch. He graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 2011, attended Whitworth University as an undergraduate and in July he moved to Minneapolis to complete a two-year pharmacist residency.

He’s also a Seattle fan who counts the Beastquake as one of his favorite highlights and the game he attended at CenturyLink Field with his father. The most difficult part of the transition? Being away from friends and family.

“I also cannot go without mentioning how COLD it gets in Minnesota in the winter,” Bunch said.

Yeah. Freezing.

Seattle felt that first-hand in January 2016 during a wild-card playoff game against Minnesota when the game-time temperature was negative-6 degrees Fahrenheit and with wind chill it was negative-25. It was the third-coldest game in the league’s history.

Of course that wouldn’t have been as big a factor had Minnesota not been playing at the University of Minnesota in that interim between the demolition of the Metrodome and the completion of the new stadium the team moved into four years ago. It’s a fixed-roof stadium, the first indoor facility to be constructed since Ford Field in Detroit was completed in 2002. It will keep the football players warm when the weather gets cold, which it always does.

Travel: The Minneapolis airport has an incredible web site that tells you everything from current security-line waits to parking availability. There is a local light-rail service that goes north – to downtown Minneapolis – or south to the Mall of America.

Stadium: This is the fifth season of operation for Minnesota’s fancy new football stadium with an angled glass roof that allows views of the Minneapolis skyline. It is the first fixed-roof stadium in the league since Ford Field in Detroit, which opened in 2002.

Last time here: This is the third straight year the Seahawks have played in Minnesota in the preseason, both of which were losses. The last meaningful game Seattle played here was the coldest game in Seattle’s history took place in January 2016, a playoff game in which Seattle scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and then survived a missed field-goal attempt in the final minute.
Dining: Matt’s Bar and Grill (3500 Cedar, Minneapolis, 612.722.7072); The Butcher and the Boar (1121 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis, 612.238.8888) is heaven for any carnivores while my personal off-the-wall favorite is Pizza Luce, which has eight locations, features the baked-potato pizza, which is outrageously good.

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Road Games Travel Tips: Many lakes, much fun. Autumn in Minneapolis.