NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is braving the public and coming to Minnesota. This Minnesota Vikings-Green Bay Packers game tomorrow must be a big deal to bring "the Goods" out of the comfy confines of his Park Avenue office. He will be at the big game but it's hardly the only reason for his visit. He's scheduled to watch the first half in the stands with the fans. I doubt that's wise. "The Goods" probably doesn't have many fans anywhere in the country. After keeping Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on the shelf for all but one game last season he probably has none in Minnesota.
"The Goods" isn't just coming to Minnesota for a football game. He actually has a big day planned even before the kickoff of the game. Maybe that's why the league moved the game to an afternoon start. The big guy is going to meet with Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf and team executives. They'll start the day with a tour of the team's proposed practice facility site in Eagen. Then they'll move to the U.S. Bank Stadium preview center across the street from where the beautiful new stadium is being built in downtown Minneapolis. The new stadium is set to open next summer. It has been tapped as the site for Super Bowl LII in two years. The last Minnesota visit for "the Goods" probably played a big part in the this stadium becoming a reality. That visit was in April 2012 and his address to a waffling Minnesota legislature probably got the stadium ball rolling. The reluctant decision-makers finally realized that the threat of the Vikings leaving the state was real. Then they did their jobs. It's impossible to know for sure but the critical public funding contribution to the new stadium might not have ever happened if it wasn't for the Commissioner's visit in the spring of 2012. Maybe he isn't such a hated figure in Minnesota. No, he probably is. "The Goods" will take part in a Q&A with invited season-ticket holders and a session with the media. That should be a hoot. From there "the Goods" will head across the street and a tour of the stadium. He'll then huddle with ownership and executives for an update on the state of the Vikings. Then it's game time and encounters with a lot of fans that might not care much for many of his recent decisions. Good luck to "the Goods."
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