How the Skol Chant became synonymous with the Vikings

A hush fell over the crowd on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, just before kickoff between the Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons.

The calm before the storm.

In that moment, Hall of Fame defensive end Jared Allen raised his arms above his head, waited for that unmistakable beat to drop, then clapped his hands together while more than 65,000 people joined in unison.

“If somebody isn’t ready, for whatever reason, I promise they’ll be locked in after that Skol Chant,” safety Josh Metellus said. “It’s almost like a college feel because everybody in the building is doing it.”

As the tempo slowly picked up and the Skol Chant built to a crescendo, Allen put an exclamation point on the pregame ritual by sounding the Gjallarhorn from its permanent perch in the northwest corner of U.S. Bank Stadi