The Vikings had the best home field advantage in football at the old Metropolitan Stadium, especially since Bud Grant wouldn’t allow heaters on the sideline. Some teams were beaten before the ball was ever kicked off back in the day.
How things have changed. I saw in yesterday's pre-game show that the NFL top mgmt is totally in charge of field conditions, tarps, etc.
I watched an interview with Jim Marshal, he explained how the old Met stadium turf had steam pipes that ran down the hash lines to defrost the turf. Bud Grant and the coaches designed their passing plays to use the thawed areas and they designed their defense to keep opponents inside on the frozen turf.
He also talked about the Vikings players on the sidelines without heat, in their short sleeves, gazing at the Odin statue near the scoreboard chanting “Odin, Odin, Odin...”. Really freaked-out their opponents!