Rainy Day

Bundle up, Minnesota, it's going to be cold Sunday. According to AccuWeather and Weather.com the temperature in Minneapolis will be a high of 1 degree -- not counting the 10-15 mph wind chill factor. The low sits around -9 degrees. The good news? That high of 1 degree went up from zero degrees on Tuesday! At this rate maybe we'll get a high of 5 degrees on Sunday when the and kick off at TCF Bank Stadium at 12:05 p.m. local time. "The wind affects things more than anything does," coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday. "The cold is the cold. The ball's gonna be harder, a little more slippery. ... A lot of concentration when guys are out on the field. They gotta concentrate. Don't worry about the cold, worry about playing."The top three coldest games in NFL history, based on kickoff temperatures, were: 1967 NFL championship game between the and ("Ice Bowl") at minus-13 degrees; 1981 AFC Championship between the and at minus-9 degrees; 2007 NFC Kerry Wood Jersey Championship between the and at minus-1 degree. Minnesota's three coldest home games in franchise history were: Dec. 3, 1972 versus Chicago at minus-2 degrees; Dec. 10, 1972 versus Green Bay at 0 degrees; Nov. 29, 1964 versus Los Angles at 5 degrees. The 'last home outdoor playoff game in Minnesota was Dec. 26, 1976 in the NFC Championship. Fran Tarkenton led the Vikes to a 24-13 victory over Pat Haden and the Los Angeles . The temperature was 12 degrees that day. Last month, Zimmer said his team could use low temperatures in December and January to their benefit. "I actually love it; we get to use it to our advantage," Zimmer said, . "You get teams that aren't used to playing in the cold weather games and like I said, you get to use it to your advantage. It's all a mental thing. I'm a big fan of it, actually." Last year before the season, the decided to move the home sideline to the north side of TCF Bank Stadium because analysis showed temperatures are noticeably warmer on that sideline. During the game last season, between sidelines."We've luckily been in some of these elements games, the Carolina game a year ago, the game on Sunday night, and Green Bay last week," Zimmer said Wednesday. "I'm sure (Seattle has) probably been in some as well. It's just something that we'll deal with."It's worth noting that both and have fared well in games below 40 degrees in their careers: Wilson: 3-2 record; 66.9 completion percentage; 258.4 pa sing YPG; 13-2 TD-INT ratio; 114.4 pa ser ratingBridgewater: 6-3 record; 66.5 completion percentage; 191.8 pa sing YPG; 12-5 TD-INT ratio; 97.1 pa ser ratingNow we'll see how they perform in the uber cold.The got blown out at home by the 38-7 in Week 13. Perhaps, maybe, the bitter cold could help even the score."We need our fans to make an advantage for us," Zimmer said. "They need to be loud and make sure they have some tailgating before they come out so they stay warm." Brandon Kintzler Jersey