The MNF madness begins: Catching up with ESPN's Mike and Mike, wherever they might be

We spent a little time over at the Metrodome already this morning, where ESPN's Mike (Greenberg) and Mike (Golic) did their show. If we have the coordinates correct, that broadcast started at 5 a.m. and ended at 9 a.m. local time. Which means they probably got up around 8 p.m. Saturday or something ridiculous. Therefore, this amusing exchange can be forgiven:

After the pair walked out of the loading dock, Greenberg was chatting with another ESPN employee about stadiums. He looked around and seemed confused. Then he said, "Then what's this?" while pointing at the giant building directly in front of him. And the ESPN guy said, "That's the Metrodome. That's the building you just came out of."

So yeah, they must have gotten there pretty early. Like, maybe 1981. By the time we arrived, all of those TV trucks (pictured) were already there. We didn't have the heart to tell Mike and Mike that we rolled out of bed a little before 8, but we did ask them a few questions about the spectacle that is Minneapolis sports right now. Between the Twins and, of course, THE GAME TO END ALL GAMES tonight, things are pretty crazy and fun.

Greenberg said the show goes on location "fairly regularly," but added this: "That doesn't mean that this isn't a different game. There's obviously something different about this game. And the cool thing is it's not just this, with the Twins doing what they're doing. I said on the air today, this is the epicenter of the sports universe.

Golic, meanwhile, chimed in about how some fans and media members seem to be tired of the Brett Favre spectacle. "He has every right to come back and play, but the way he went about it is kind of making everybody roll their eyes. ... Ten years from now, he's still going to be one of the greatest statistically in the league and will be remembered as one of the great quarterbacks. But it's been a tough couple years dealing with the way he's done things."

The pair will be back at the Dome early this afternoon to shoot a spot that will air tonight about historic plays on Monday Night Football. The play? Tony Dorsett's 99-yard TD run against the Vikings on Jan. 3, 1983, the last game in Minnesota's first season in the Dome. "We're basically fawning all over Dorsett," Greenberg said. DID YOU KNOW, MIKE AND MIKE, THAT THE VIKINGS WON THAT GAME?! "Well there you go," Greenberg said. IN FACT, THE 31-27 VICTORY IN THE STRIKE-SHORTENED YEAR HELPED CLINCH A PLAYOFF SPOT.

The more you know.

We'll be back later with a very special Hunt Down and a report from the belly of the beast, and/or a media luncheon featuing the likes of Suzy Kolber, Matt Millen and some prominent former players. Sadly, we've just learned Drew Magary will be unable to make it. What would have happened if the Deadspin writer and Kissing Suzy Kolber co-proprietor had met THE SUZY KOLBER?  We might have been through the looking glass.

Suggested questions (tough but fair) will be accepted in the comments.