Fly the purple pride flag high, the Minnesota Vikings say in a "Bring It Home" campaign aiming to lift the team into a hometown Super Bowl on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The team has arranged for Twin Cities landmarks to glow purple beginning Friday. Among them: the IDS Center, Nicollet Mall, Target corporate headquarters, the I-35W and Lowry Avenue bridges and the Mall of America. U.S. Bank Stadium will, of course, be purple too.
But these are the Vikings, so they're going to need more than the official lights. They want yours.
The team is asking fans to festoon their homes and anything else in their possession in purple lights or decorations.
They're also encouraging fans to show their pride by making videos and posting them with the #BringItHome hashtag on social media before Saturday morning. Fans who submit videos will be entered in a contest to win a pair of tickets for the game Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the New Orleans Saints. The drawing is at 2 p.m. Saturday.
If the Vikings win the next two Sundays, they would become the first host city team to play in the Super Bowl at their home stadium. In the past 50 Super Bowls, no host team has managed that feat.
The team typically doesn't like to talk past the upcoming game, but "Bring It Home" breaks that tradition, embracing a desire to finish out the season with the franchise's first Super Bowl victory.
On Sunday, every seat inside the stadium will have a rally towel. Fans will also see new banners placed throughout the bowl of the stadium that read "Bring It Home."
