-- On Sunday night before the game, I remember shivering through a "Bears Game Night Live" television show on Fox. Broadcast partner Tom Thayer and I were positioned outside the stadium previewing the matchup, and I don’t think I've ever been colder.
-- Eight days earlier, the old Metrodome roof collapsed under 17 inches of snow, forcing the move to an outdoor venue for the first time in Vikings history in 29 years. There was something nostalgic about it, given the history of the old Vikings playing outdoors in Bloomington, Minnesota for their first two decades. Game time snow showers and a wind chill of 11 greeted fans.
-- Fans descended upon a liquor store about a block away from the stadium, buying about a thousand flasks an hour before the game, according to a New York Times article. That was because the college stadium didn't sell alcohol.
-- Former Vikings coach Bud Grant was honored at halftime with 50 former Minnesota players and showed up in a short-sleeve golf shirt. He was the same coach back at the old Metropolitan Stadium who banned heaters and wouldn't allow his players to wear gloves.
-- The playing surface was frozen over, with workers using hammers to break up the ice. I remember there was some pregame discussion from player representatives from both teams questioning the safety of the field. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe took to Twitter the day before to write, "Anyone that hits their head is getting a concussion."
-- That happened in the second quarter. Vikings quarterback Brett Favre’s last NFL snap ended with a sack from Bears defensive lineman Corey Wooten, and Favre’s head banged the turf. "It was one of the few times I kind of went blank there for a while in my career," Favre said.
-- It was a memorable and emotional night for Bears return specialist Devin Hester, whose 64-yard punt return touchdown in the third quarter established the NFL record for combined kick and punt return touchdowns with 14. Hester also tied Eric Metcalf with his 10th punt return touchdown. Kluwe’s punt was tailor-made for another Hester special.
-- Hester recalled the moment. "He kind of gave a line drive and outkicked his coverage a little bit," Hester said. "It didn’t hang that long. I was able to get up under it real quick. I don’t think his guys got a chance to get down as fast as possible. So, pretty much the whole sideline was just wide open. I made one or two cuts and shot down the sideline, and it was probably one of the easiest punt returns I ever had."
-- Hester's 108-yard return of a missed field goal in 2006 and his Super Bowl kick return touchdown didn't count in his kick/punt return total. This week, he told me what that return meant to him.
"The reason I got emotional because it hit me at the moment," Hester said. "I had my own college coaches being upset with me, because I was coming out early and you know just throwing it in my face that you’re never going to be anything but a kickoff and punt returner. I’m here today to say that I was the best to ever do it. The emotions just hit me. I embraced it, and I am a kickoff and punt returner and this may be my main position, but at the end of the day, there’s only a handful of people can say they are the best at the position they are playing. And I felt that day I was the best that ever did it."
-- Hester broke the record in his 74th NFL game. Brian Mitchell had scored his 13th return touchdown in his 202nd game. It was and remains remarkable and is evidence for his Hall of Fame case.
"When I look at my career, if I would have had the opportunity those guys had as far as return game go, where they just kicked it down the middle and say, 'Hey, we going to allow our special teams unit to make these plays,' I would have had three to four times the returns I have right now," he said.
-- Most teams wouldn't kick Hester the ball after his first couple of NFL seasons. Coaches got crushed by the media for kicking it to Hester. "Even if I didn’t take it the distance, they were still mad," Hester said. "They said, 'Why even take chances on a guy like this?'"
-- Few players dictated field position like Hester -- even when the ball wasn't kicked to him. He caused anxiety in punters and kickers.
-- Chasing the record also created anxiety in Hester.
"I was kind of getting frustrated because it was always talked about," he said. "It was more for me just relief because I was just tired of talking about it and hoping that one day I would get the opportunity to break it, so when I did have the opportunity and I crossed the end zone, it was more of a relief and now I can just focus on playing football."
-- Hester nearly took the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown as well, but he was tackled by Heath Farwell at the Vikings' 6-yard line.
-- Never one to forget his kick and punt return blockers, Hester wanted them to get the credit for his excellence.
"I was very lucky," Hester said. "When you are on a unit like that where you have guys that want the return as bad as you and when you do cross the end zone and it’s everybody feeling like they scored a touchdown, that’s the type of unit you want to be around. You never really have a returner and a special teams unit like this, so why not want to be a part of this? Because this is going to be talked about forever."
-- Some of the other highlights of the mauling in Minnesota included Bears quarterback Jay Cutler throwing three touchdown passes, including one to Hester.