About 200 Weapons Confiscated Last Season at US Bank Stadium
Joe Johnson
|
Apparently people came prepared to end things if the Vikes games they attended went sour as Fox 9 has reported that over 200 weapons were confiscated from fans of the purple and gold last season alone. I personally can’t blame anyone for wanting to stab oneself in the eyeball during/after a Vikings game, as one of my favorite stories to tell is my reaction to the now famous “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” from Paul Allen after the push-out loss to the Arizona Cardinals back in 2003, when I was a sophomore in college. After that play I got up from our tattered couch, walked to our first floor bathroom to splash some water on my face, and looked in the mirror and thought… What do I now? It was literally one of the bigger sheer moments of desperation I can remember in my life.
Realistically, people aren’t carrying these weapons to cut their arteries, I hope. Most, I assume, are things that aren’t allowed in US Bank Stadium but are things that people regularly carry not realizing the increasingly stringent rules that NFL Stadiums have. For example, women aren’t even allowed to carry bags/purses into stadiums just as men should never, ever, carry the same.
According to Fox 9 here in Minnesota, during the Vikings 2016 season (Both the pre-season and regular season), US Bank Stadium security confiscated over 40 knives. No guns were taken during that period, but two were checked into lockers at the stadium. What comprised the rest (nun-chucks I hope)?
A stadium spokesperson (A job I want, as I believe buildings deserve more representation) stated:
“These could be considered any of the prohibited items on our stadium security list that may be used to harm others.”
I may be interpreting this wrong, but according to that same article flasks containing alcohol were also confiscated and considered “weapons”. Although, flasks of booze really only hurt oneself/liver, so while I don’t understand that. But, I do understand why they wouldn’t want that in their stadium (Just based on my history of blacking out by half-time and the amount of money they make off of alcohol). At the same time, I have a feeling that the number of confiscated flasks skews the numbers a bit.
Thanks to KMSP Channel 9, we have the following list of week-to-week numbers:
Aug. 28, 2016 Vikings vs Chargers: No items confiscated
Sept. 1, 2016 Vikings vs Rams: 8 knives, 3 other weapons
Sept. 18, 2016 Vikings vs Packers: 6 knives, 2 other weapons
Oct. 3, 2016 Vikings vs Giants: 5 knives, 12 other weapons
Oct. 9, 2016 Vikings vs Texans: 4 knives
Nov. 20, 2016 Vikings vs Cardinals: 4 knives, 1 other weapon
Dec. 1, 2016 Vikings vs Cowboys: 11 knives
Dec. 18 Vikings vs Colts: 5 knives confiscated, 1 firearm checked at the gun locker
Jan. 1 Vikings vs Bears: 2 other weapons confiscated, 1 firearms checked at the gun locker
Weapons confiscated at other U.S. Bank Stadium events
Aug. 3, 2016 AC Milan vs Chelsea soccer match: 6 knives, 15 other weapons. 4 guns stopped at the gates, 4 firearms checked at the gun lockers.
Aug. 19, 2016 Luke Bryan concert: 15 knives, 32 other weapons
Aug. 20, 2016 Metallica concert: 12 knives, 24 other weapons
Oct. 23, 2016 US Women’s Soccer: 4 knives, 1 other weapon
Dec. 10, 2016 Monster Jam: 7 knives, 1 other weapons
Dec. 11, 2016 Monster Jam: 8 knives, 2 other weapons
What happened during the Cowboys game?!?
It’s good to know that Vikings security is doing it’s job, and that those long waiting times and lines aren’t just for show. It’ll make me feel a lot better if I ever make it over to the new stadium (I will actually be there for the third day of the draft), and should provide extra incentive for everyone when it comes to getting creative in hiding our booze.