The Minnesota Vikings now have a Gjallarhorn worthy of the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium that will serve as the team's new home starting this season.
On Wednesday, the mammoth horn, which in Norse mythology was sounded to announce the arrival of the gods, got hoisted into position at the stadium. The effort kind of resembles a whale rescue. Take a look (and go here for a large gallery):
Before each game, an honorary Viking sounds the horn. The previous Vikings Gjallarhorn suffered an unfortunate demise this past January during the frigid Seahawks-Vikings Wild Card Round contest. The cold snapped the poor thing into pieces:
Fittingly, the Vikings blew that game when kicker Blair Walsh hooked a 27-yard field goal wide left that would have given the Vikings a 12-10 victory.
Check out the (old) horn in action with former Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith getting honors in 2011:
More must-reads: