The Minnesota Vikings may be messing with a tough bit of history over the next couple of seasons, when it comes to the team's temporary stay at the University of Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium.
Answering the question or whether or not the Vikings would be in trouble playing at a college stadium over the next couple seasons, ESPN's Ben Goessling broke the potential bad news:
In short, as you mentioned, it's not good. The Chicago Bears went from a 13-3 season in 2001 at Soldier Field to a 4-12 record in 2002 at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium, and the Seattle Seahawks -- who went 9-7 and earned a wild-card berth during their final season at the Kingdome in 1999 -- slipped to 6-10 in 2000 at the University of Washington's Husky Stadium. The Tennessee Titans were the only team in recent history who didn't regress in a college stadium; they went 8-8 in 1996 as the Houston Oilers, and were 8-8 in both 1997 and 1998 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis and Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, respectively.
The fervor over first-round draft pick Teddy Bridgewater may help the atmosphere, however, which could play to the Vikings' advantage during their 16 regular-season home games at the stadium.
However, the Vikings will definitely have to overcome history in order to make the next two seasons memorable ones at the home of the Golden Gophers.
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