Yes, it’s a special Tuesday edition of The Morning After, but only because Bud Grant made it happen.

Hopefully many of you noticed Grant, 83, rocking the short-sleeves during the celebration to honor the 50 greatest Vikings of all time on Monday night at TCF Bank Stadium. Remember, the conditions at the first outdoor game played by the Vikings in 29 years were frigid — temperatures in the mid-20s, not even factoring in the wind chill.

The whole scene was reminiscent of Metropolitan Stadium, circa the late-60′s and 70′s, when he banned heaters on the sidelines and players from wearing gloves. As Jim Marshall explained, the players considered the winds of Odin the Vikings’ 12th man.

Fittingly, Marshall and many of Grant’s other former players were on hand as he got a standing O from the crowd before he was carried off the field. If the character played by Jonathan Goldsmith, a friend of the NFL Network, is “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” Bud Grant might be “The Most Old School Man in the World.”

If Leslie Frazier wants to keep his current day job, he should be aware Vikings owner Zygi Wilf is dead set on an open-air stadium. Vikings fans, hope you enjoyed football outside on Monday night. It might be a precursor of things to come.

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