MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings make their annual trip to Green Bay on Sunday, which means something memorable, dramatic or truly wacky is destined to occur. It’s never just run-of-the-mill football when the Vikings play the Packers at Lambeau Field.

The Lambeau Ledger is crammed full of oddities. A fake mooning, defensive mutiny, airplane stuck in snow, Kirk’s Achilles, Carlson’s foot, Dishman’s deflection, Favre in purple, multiple ties, a surprise at quarterback and seven-studded cleats.

Here is one man’s list of oddities from the past couple of decades, basically my time at the Minnesota Star Tribune, in no particular order:

— The first playoff meeting between the franchises in January 2005 is remembered best for one thing: Randy Moss’ fake mooning beside the goalpost after catching a touchdown pass. Whether you loved it or thought it was, um, disgusting, Moss’ moon shot stands as a symbol of the rivalry.

— “He did what?!” Al Michaels’ explanation in 2000 summed up the game’s final play perfectly. Then-Packers QB Brett Favre’s downfield pass in overtime bounced off Vikings cornerback Chris Dishman’s hands and landed on Packers receiver Antonio Freeman’s back as he was lying on the field. Incomplete pass? Nope. Freeman had corralled the ball as he rolled over without it touching the ground. He jumped up and raced to the end zone for the walk-off touchdown.

— The postgame mood inside the Vikings locker room in 2023 did not look, sound or feel victorious, even though they had won 24-10. That’s because quarterback Kirk Cousins had suffered a torn Achilles on a drop back, casting instant concern and questions over the organization, both short and long term.

— The loudest boos ever heard in a sports stadium might have taken place Nov. 1, 2009, when Favre jogged out of the visiting tunnel at Lambeau Field for his first game against his former team. It sounded like a 747 taking off in your backyard. Favre got the last word with four touchdown passes and no interceptions in a 38-26 victory.

— In 1999, Favre threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Corey Bradford on fourth down with 12 seconds remaining. Roughly 10 minutes after the game, Vikings coach Dennis Green refused to discuss the play in his postgame news conference, calling it “yesterday’s news.”

— Vikings cornerback Fred Smoot intercepted a Favre pass in 2006 and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. Smoot attempted a Lambeau Leap in enemy territory, only to be pushed down by a Packers fan wearing a foam block of cheese on his head while another fan doused Smoot with beer — presumably Spotted Cow.

— In 2016, the entire trip to Lambeau was a debacle. First, the team plane slid off the taxiway after landing in Appleton and got stuck in grass. The hourslong ordeal ended when a fire engine removed players, coaches and staff two at a time on an extension ladder. The next day, cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Terence Newman disregarded coach Mike Zimmer’s game plan and used a different strategy in how they covered Packers receiver Jordy Nelson in a 38-25 loss on Christmas Eve. Two days later, the players called it a “miscommunication.”

— Vikings rookie kicker Daniel Carlson missed all three of his field goal attempts in a 29-29 tie in 2018, prompting the team to release him the next day. Asked for an explanation, Zimmer replied, “Did you see the game?” His tone did not suggest he was looking for a response.

— That wasn’t the only tie game at Lambeau. The 2013 meeting finished 26-26 after the Vikings blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter. Said Vikings defensive end Jared Allen: “I don’t have a sister, but I guess it’s like going to the prom with your sister like everybody says, right?”

— Adrian Peterson put the finishing touches on his MVP season in the 2012 regular-season finale in a home victory over the Packers. Lost in the hoopla that day was an arm injury suffered by quarterback Christian Ponder, who was listed as questionable for the playoff game at Lambeau the following week. Most outside observers assumed Ponder would play, given the magnitude of the playoffs. Instead, Joe Webb was a surprise starter, and it didn’t go well, a 24-10 loss. Afterward, Ponder removed his shirt in the locker room, and the back of his right arm was a dark shade of purple. He had tested his arm in pregame warmups by making 10 throws, none with any velocity. “It was clear it wasn’t going to work,” he said.

— Jan. 2, 2022, Vikings lose 37-10, and Zimmer sounded like a coach whose tenure is over. Cousins missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19. Sean Mannion’s start was predictably bad, prompting questions about whether rookie Kellen Mond would start the finale against the Bears with nothing at stake. Asked if he’d like to see Mond in action, Zimmer tersely replied, “Not particularly.” Asked why not, Zimmer said equally tersely, “I see him every day.” Zimmer was fired eight days later.

— January, 2023. Kevin O’Connell and staff encourage players to wear seven-stud cleats in anticipation of Lambeau’s slippery field conditions. Many players, including Justin Jefferson, chose to wear five-stud cleats instead because they feel less restrictive. Bad move. Players were slip-sliding all over the field, prompting them to change out to seven-stud cleats. Said O’Connell: “This was a learning lesson.”

— In 2002, a hit on Vikings receiver Chris Walsh after he declared himself down by kneeling in the final seconds caused emotions to boil over. Favre and Vikings defensive lineman Chris Hovan jawed at each other near the tunnel. Players from both teams engaged in shoving. The fracas drew a total of $40,000 in fines from the NFL.

— Aaron Rodgers made his first career start for the Packers in 2008 in a 24-19 win, passing for 178 yards and one touchdown. It was his first of 32 career games vs. the Vikings for three different teams.

— In 1998, the fifth game of Randy Moss’ rookie season, he put the NFL on notice with five catches for 190 yards and two touchdowns in a victory that ended the Packers’ home winning streak at 29 games. Said Moss: “I know there’s a lot of people around here mad because they lost a lot of money in this game.”

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