The NFL preseason has returned in 2021, shorter than ever after a season where its cancellation led players to question whether the league's necessary evil still had any necessity.
The league's expanded regular season led to the elimination of one preseason week; the Vikings are one of 30 NFL teams that will play just three exhibition games before the regular season kicks off after Labor Day.
But as the Vikings prepare to play before a full-capacity crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium, their preseason opener against the Broncos on Saturday afternoon will likely carry a peculiar distinction: the most highly-attended single-day sporting event in Minnesota since the COVID-19 pandemic started.