Sunday afternoon, the Minnesota Vikings looked to take a lead late in the second quarter after a big play to running back Dalvin Cook set the team up near the goal line. However, the play was blown dead due to a malfunction of stadium equipment. The SkyCam that hangs above the field had fallen to the field, causing the game to be delayed for five minutes.
The Sky(Cam) is falling #MINvsNO pic.twitter.com/A849CXpAEz
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) January 5, 2020
At the time of the camera malfunction, the New Orleans Saints defense was struggling to slow down Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense, but this delay gave them time to reset. Instead of taking the momentum from the three-yard line and scoring a touchdown, the Vikings had to settle for a Dan Bailey field goal.
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The reason for this SkyCam crashing to the ground was unknown at the time, but there were plenty of jokes and comments made on social media. Vikings fans, in particular, believed that New Orleans had purposely caused the malfunction.
“The Saints cut the Skycam wire to slow the Vikings offense and you cannot convince me otherwise,” one user on social media wrote. This was a very common theme as many voiced the opinion that the stadium staff had been responsible for this issue.
“Props to the Superdome staff for messing with the skycam to slow the Vikings momentum. Your secret is safe with me,” another individual added to the conversation.
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a building that has seen some very unique situations take place, especially during the playoffs. For example, the lights went out midway through Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013. The Baltimore Ravens were in complete control, but the extended delay provided the San Francisco 49ers with an opportunity to regain momentum and come within one play of winning the game.
There was also a controversial moment from the most recent NFC Championship. Drew Brees threw a pass for receiver TommyLee Lewis, but he was hit early by Nickell Robey-Coleman. The referees did not call pass interference on the play, which led to the Saints fans making death threats against the referees and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as well as a change in the pass interference rule.
The SkyCam falling during the second quarter did not have the same impact on the game, but there were still many fans of the Vikings that thought the entire sequence of events was suspicious. They just viewed the incident as another example of the Saints “cheating.”
Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
