most of the shower heads did not work. The practice field had no blocking sleds. "I don't think our players have seen anything like this since junior high school", said Vikings head coach Bud Grant. The Dolphins, meanwhile, trained at the Oilers' facility, since they were an AFC team like Miami. Having already become the first NFC Central team to even reach the NFC Championship Game, the Vikings became the first non-East Division team from either conference to play in a post-merger Super Bowl. There were reports of dissension among the Dolphins arising from owner Joe Robbie's decision to allow married players to bring their wives at the club's expense. The single players were reportedly angry that they could not bring their girlfriends, mothers or sisters. Vikings defensive tackle Alan Page and Dolphins left guard Bob Kuechenberg were former teammates at the University of Notre Dame. Kuechenberg, who would be blocking Page in the game, had sustained a broken arm in a game against the Colts and wore a cast while playing in the Super Bowl. Paul Warfield entered the game with a well-publicized hamstring injury to his left leg. On television before the game, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath said, "If Miami gets the kickoff and scores on the opening drive, the game is over.". Indeed, the Dolphins became the first team to score a touchdown after receiving the game's opening kickoff. The Dolphins, who were designated as the home team, were obligated by a now-defunct policy to wear their aqua jerseys despite having normally worn white jerseys for home games (though Miami wore aqua for its final two regular-season home games vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions). Also, the Dolphins wore two slightly different helmet decals; some had the decal that the team had previously used in the 1967 season (Bob Griese's rookie year) and would permanently adopt in 1974 (mostly linemen; with the mascot dolphin leaping through the sun), while others had the decal used in 1966 and again from 1968-1973 (with the mascot dolphin halfway through the sun). Famed "Gonzo" writer Hunter S. Thompson covered the game for Rolling Stone magazine, and his exploits in Houston are legendary. This was the only Super Bowl in which the game ball had stripes. Until the late 1970s, the NFL permitted striped footballs for night games, indoor games and other special situations. Head linesman Leo Miles was