San Francisco Game Fan-Connect Open-Thread

Note: Just wanted to add a couple links about watching preseason Vikings games. In Minnesota, here are your viewing options. If you want to stream the games online, here's the option that the NFL is promoting.

There's something refreshing about the Minnesota Vikings starting the 2012 season with no pretext that it will be building on a previous season's success or trying to recapture that 2009 magic with another veteran quarterback. While the expectations for the Vikings 2012 season are low (outside of the team they're low, inside the coaches and players are all saying the right stuff about winning games), that's not so bad. There are worse things than being the plucky underdogs.

Tonight marks the first preseason game for said plucky underdogs when the Vikings face off in San Francisco against the 49ers, a team that surprised a lot of people last year. Although preseason games sometimes have more in common with an open audition for a Broadway show than with meaningful football, by August I'm so starved for football that I don't care. And, since this is the Vikings we're talking about, we're guaranteed at least a little drama, after all, embattled former-Viking Randy Moss is now a 49er and his most recent acrimonious exodus from Winter Park was part of what made the 2010 season such a fascinating dumpster fire.

But, whatever, it's football and it's finally happening. So, in that rush of football-induced happiness, I thought we'd try something--a fan-connect open-thread.

Are you trying to find out if there are any Vikings fans tail-gating in San Francisco tonight? Wondering what Minnesota bars are making this first game of the preseason an event? Did you lose your award-winning chili recipe? Well, this is the open-thread for you, a thread dedicated to helping Vikings fans connect so they can enjoy the game, wherever they might be watching it. Chat about the best ways to get to Candlestick park for the game, or the best deal on wings at your favorite watering hole for watching games in North Dakota, this thread is dedicated to your game-day enjoyment.

Since I'm sentimental about San Francisco this seemed like a good week to give a fan-connect open-thread a try. If you like it, we'll do it again, if not, no biggie. Wherever you are, I hope you have a great time watching the game and I hope our Vikings give us reason to cheer. Skol!