Vikings Punter Calls Field Unplayable after Sunday Visit

The joke continues. Here's the story from Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune:

Vikings' Kluwe: TCF Stadium field 'unplayable'
December 19, 2010 1:18 PM

The Minnesota Vikings got the first look at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday when they held a walk-through at the stadium on the University of Minnesota campus.

Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who was critical of the decision to play there during the week, called the field "unplayable" on his personal Twitter account. At this point, however, it's unknown what, if anything can be done about the situation. Kluwe added that he has been muzzled, asked not to talk about the field on his Twitter account that has the handle chriswarcraft.

"Serious time -- All respect to the people that cleared the field and got it ready, you did an amazing job. That being said, it's unplayable," Kluwe wrote on his Twitter account.

"The field is as hard as concrete an hour and a half after they took the tarp off, and anyone that hits their head is getting a concussion," he continued. "I find it interesting that the NFL can claim an emphasis on player safety, and then tell us the field is fine. It's beyond hypocritical.

"I can only hope, however unlikely, that no one gets catastrophically injured at the trainwreck that's about to take place tomorrow night.

"To everyone -- that was a totally serious post on the field conditions. It is like walking on concrete. They took the tarp off at the same time they'll take it off before the game. The problem isn't heating it, it's retaining that heat.

"Like a lot of you are saying, hopefully the snow will at least provide a cushion tomorrow night :)

"The difference between TCF and fields you mentioned is they were built for cold weather. They have heating coils so no freezing.

"I've been asked not to tweet anymore about the field so as not to distract teammates (who were there) and I will honor that."

Snow is in the forecast for Monday. The field has been tarped and is being heated while covered, but as Kluwe noted there are not heating coils underneath the field and he believes the surface will become too hard during the game. It's not going to be as cold Monday as had originally been forecasted.

The NFL has committed to playing the game there. Barring something unforeseen, the Bears will depart for Minneapolis soon.