Home-field advantage can be a strange thing.
For one, people aren’t even sure it exists anymore. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, fans weren’t always able to be in the stands, and oftentimes stadiums couldn’t be at full capacity.
For instance, the Vikings could not pack U.S. Bank Stadium last season. Whether that played a huge factor or not, Minnesota went 3-5 at home in a year where the team missed the postseason.
In the Vikings’ 2021 home opener against the Seahawks, maybe it was the crowd, or the lack of travel or the team just played better on Sunday after two close losses.
Whatever it was, it worked.
The Vikings’ got their first regular season win of 2021. The crowd noise at U.S. Bank Stadium was good, and for the first time in a while, the team looked good, too.