The time has come for the Vikings and their fans.
The official opening of training camp.
It's not as special as it once was, when the excitement built following the team moving into the dorms at Minnesota State Mankato, and riding bikes to the practice field, and scrimmages at Blakeslee Stadium.
The fact that the NFL has evolved into a 12-month-a-year spectacle in itself has also taken a little shine off of the first day of real practice.
But it's still a pretty big deal when they put on the pads, hit the field, and play to the whistle for a the first time on Saturday at the team's TCO Performance Center headquarters in Eagan, with fans allowed into the facility for the first time.
Players have been at the facility already this week for early drills, mostly the young guys.
Like Jordan Addison, the 23rd overall pick in the NFL Draft who has already made headlines.
Just not the headlines anyone wants.
Addison was caught speeding on Interstate 94... going 140 miles per hour in his new Lamborghini... and reportedly blamed it on an emergency concerning his dog.
"I was once a rookie, too," said Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins on the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar, noting that he likes to give some direction to the new guys in uniform.
"I know the challenges that it can be, not only to learn a new playbook, but meet all new people, move to a new city, totally new environment, that's a big challenge," Cousins said.
He said with the controversy still in the air, Addison has to know he's got a job to do in his first professional football season.
"We're asking a lot of him, and I think it's important to tell him that," he said.
Cousins is entering his 12th season in the NFL and sixth with the Vikings, and starting camp with some positive light after being profiled in the Netflix documentary "Quarterback."
"My wife is really the star of the show, I was her supporting actor" Cousins said. "The goal was that people would get to know us. It was all worth it."
There's a different twist to training camp this season, with the Vikings having joint practices with two different teams.
The Tennessee Titans come to Eagan on Aug. 16 and 17, with the Arizona Cardinals making the trip the following week.
The teams will have preseason games the day after the joint practices end, both at US Bank Stadium.
This comes at a time when the players are getting pretty tired of hitting their own teammates.
"Seeing not only difference players but different schemes, going against the Titans defense, the Cardinals defense," Cousins said. "Those are differences from what we see every day. That's where a lot of value lies."
Cousins expects those practices to be high-intensity.
"We'll get a lot from (joint practices)," Cousins said. "And get us ready for week one against the Bucs."
There is one other preseason game, Aug. 10 at Seattle, then the opener Sept. 10 at home against Tampa Bay.
Training camp practices will generally take place from noon to 5:00 p.m., with night practices on Aug. 3 and 8.