A sparse crowd dotted the sun-cooked bleachers Friday as the Vikings opened training camp in earnest. The first full-squad practice happened under partly cloudy skies, 82 degrees and some strong wind gusts that foretold kicker Dan Bailey's issues finding the uprights.
Despite Bailey's miss from 47 yards away to end a hurry-up drill, and coach Mike Zimmer's demand to run sprints at the end of practice, fans in attendance applauded with a "Skol" clap as players walked off the practice fields.
Former Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt was on hand to take in the campuslike TCO Performance Center and catch up with Zimmer and his former coaches and teammates.