The time has almost come for the 2014 NFL schedule to be announced. It also means that Minnesota Vikings fans can finally start making their plans for the regular season. The team announced the preseason game times and dates last week with the first game being Friday, Aug. 8 at home against the Oakland Raiders at 7 p.m. The Arizona Cardinals will come in the following Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. with the team then going to Kansas City to see the Chiefs at 7 p.m. on Aug. 23 and finishing the preseason on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Tennessee Titans. The question now will be when the Vikings will begin their home schedule.
There are reports out that the schedule will be announced on Apr. 22 but that hasn’t been officially announced. There are many things with the Vikings and their new arrangement that will make figuring out the schedule not easy at all. There is no way that the NFL is going to put a Thursday night game in Minnesota especially on a college campus since the University of Minnesota has prohibited the team from having weeknight home games while school is in session. There is also the matter of the school wanting the Vikings not to play at home when the Gophers are there the same weekend.
The team and school aren’t going to get all the demands that they want since the NFL will want to put games where they want but trying to figure out the schedule now turns into looking at the Minnesota football and basketball schedule and working from there. Thankfully for the Vikings, this is just a two-year rental when the new stadium is built or this would turn into chaos every single year. I'm sure that would love to avoid scenes like this all the time.
There will be a breakdown of the schedule when it finally arrives but here is a look at what my thoughts were on the team’s opponents before free agency changed the Minnesota roster around. The day of the schedule release has turned into a big party around the NFL world. This year isn’t going to be any different and Vikings fans can begin planning for whatever is to come for the 2014 season. It could turn into a very exciting season if everything falls into place just the right one.
