Following a decade-plus of lobbying and 2½ years of construction, the Minnesota Vikings have arrived at the grand opening of their new stadium, with the Green Bay Packers serving as the fitting visitors on the national stage of a Sunday night game.
Kickoff time is 7:30 p.m. on 570 WNAX.
The Vikings will unveil yet another starting quarterback in the history of this rivalry, too, a series controlled by the Packers since Aaron Rodgers assumed the signal-caller’s role. Rodgers has extended what’s been a remarkable run of stability and success at the sport’s most vital position dating to the dawn of Brett Favre’s career.
“We’re obviously blessed,” said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who overlapped with Favre’s final two seasons in Green Bay and is 15-5-1 against Minnesota since taking the job in 2006. McCarthy added: “I’m sure they kiss their mothers every chance they get.”
Favre (farv), the newly minted member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Rodgers, the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, have made the Packers the envy of the league, let alone of the Vikings, for nearly 25 years. Their elite ability has been supplemented by exceptional durability, further underscored by the devastating knee injury that knocked Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out for the season and maybe longer.
