Getty ESPN called out Mike Zimmer and the Vikings' philosophy of team building.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer is not happy with the way the NFL’s handling of the 2020 pandemic season, recently pointing out a flaw in the lack of uniform policy surrounding fans in stadiums.
“I think there are some unfair things going on around it as far as some teams can have fans and some teams can’t,” Zimmer told the Star Tribune on Friday. “So I think there is a competitive disadvantage in some of those areas.”
The Vikings have yet to officially announce its plans for allowing fans at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, but the franchise currently must maneuver a state law that prohibits any indoor events of more than 250 people.
Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley told Rochelle Olson of the Star Tribune that the team is in talks with Gov. Tim Walz and the state health department to see if they can safely get fans into the enclosed stadium that hosted the 2018 Super Bowl and can seat more than 66,000. Olson wrote that it’s not likely the fans will be allowed into the stadium for the Vikings home opener against the Packers — which, along with the Bears and Lions, have announced no fans will be in attendance for at least the first two home games.
The Vikings are hoping to get fans safely, socially distanced in the stadium at 20 percent capacity (roughly 13,000 fans) at some point this season. A decision is coming this week, Bagley said.
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Home-Field Advantage Not the Same
In the case of banning all fans from attending games across the NFL, home teams still have a slight advantage of not having to travel and maintaining a routine in a season that will be anything but ordinary. Allowing teams, under their respective state guidelines, to decide whether or not to have fans will create more imbalance, Zimmer argues.
Zimmer said establishing home-field advantage at U.S. Bank Stadium during the coronavirus pandemic “is going to be hard because … it looks like we’re not going to have any fans in there early, which really stinks because we have unbelievable fans. They make that place rocking every Sunday.”
The NFL has considered allowing teams without fans to pump their stadiums with crowd noise to help with the energy level of the game — much like the NBA has in the Orlando bubble. Although no guidelines have been made public, Zimmer has called it “stagnant crowd noise” which could be a distraction.
Vikings Preparing to Play at Home Regardless
GettyThe Vikings will practice at U.S. Bank Stadium on Friday.
The Vikings have been practicing with crowd noise and have been working officials into team practices to prepare for the season. The Vikings will play a full half with halftime this Friday to prepare for their season-opening meeting with the Packers.
“We’ll have the scoreboard going and the lights and all the stuff, and the crowd noise that they’ll hear during the game,” Zimmer said. “Try to get them as used to it as they possibly can so the first day it’s not a shock.”
Crowd noise will be pumping through the stadium, and while Zimmer maintains his gripes with the NFL guidelines, he has continued to prepare the team thoroughly.
“It’s decibels between 80 and 90,” Zimmer said. “It just plays the same noise the entire time for both home and away. You don’t really get to do any Skol chants or anything like that. It’s going to be very stagnant. Just background noise.”
“Which makes a lot of sense, right? I’ll probably get in trouble for saying that.”
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Trevor Squire is a Heavy contributor covering the Minnesota Vikings and journalism graduate from the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. Connect with him on Twitter @trevordsquire and join our Vikings community at Heavy on Vikings on Facebook.