When halftime started at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday night, "Party Like It's 1999" played on the loud speakers. Was that the rumored halftime tribute to Prince?
Nope, just a warm-up.
Minutes later, to end its halftime show, the Minnesota Orchestra played "Purple Rain" with the gospel group The Steeles – and the packed house ate it up. With the stadium lights off, except for a few purple spotlights, thousands of cell phones were lit across the expansive stadium and held up high, as the Vikings-Packers crowd swayed side to side.
Quite the scene. A scene, however, that wasn't shown to the national television audience. NBC has a halftime programming routine each week, and it did not deviate from that plan.
Here are a couple glimpses from social media worth a look: