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Silence won't be golden in NFL stadiums this fall

Mike Zimmer didn't give his standard public service announcement, the one in which he implores fans to be loud and rowdy on Sunday to make life difficult on the opposing offense.

In non-pandemic years, Zimmer's message gets displayed on the gigantic videoboard as the Vikings defense takes the field and the place goes bonkers. Scratch that ploy.

U.S. Bank Stadium will be fan-free at Sunday's opener, so Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers offense won't have to contend with Skol chants and silent counts.

The NFL is providing teams with pre-recorded crowd noise that must be set at 70 decibels, which is basically the equivalent a vacuum cleaner.