When you’re hired by the Minnesota Vikings to be the band that plays on the Plaza at US Bank Stadium on game day, you know it’s a special event on your calendar. It’s a privilege that not many Minnesota cover bands get to claim on their resumes.
Today was Vikings vs Detroit in the much-anticipated game of the week. Sugar Buzz has been fortunate enough to make the game day schedule 3 other times on the plaza. First, a Thursday night game in December, next a 3pm game in December, after that… Monday Night Football. This one was a noon game, so many of us were waking up at 4:30 am to get there in time for setup and sound check. Every gameday presentation is unique, but always has some common threads: the SKOL drumline and the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders arrive to give you a few minutes of entertainment in front of the stage (and your ONLY break in 3 hours of playing). This year, the cheerleading squad took an extra 10 minutes to allow fans to come forward and take selfies with the ladies, many fans and a few band members took them up on it.
The weather was amazing: starting in the upper 50s for setup, but nearly 80 degrees by game time. The plaza started to get busy early, and by 10:30 was completely packed with a sea of purple jerseys and a smattering of Detroit blue. We saw so many of the Sugar Buzz faithful joining us, as well as getting to participate / lead the SKOL chant as the drumline finished their performance. We wished a welcome back and happy birthday to bassist DALE and wished all the fans a Vikings victory. As gametime drew near, the thousands in attendance slimmed down to a hundred or so, but we enthusiastically played through to kickoff.
As we tore down our setup, we could hear the cheers inside the stadium. Ultimately, we lost a very close game to arguably one of the best teams in the NFL, but remained grateful for the opportunity to perform for our favorite team.
Until next time, SKOL VIKES!
