The
Minnesota Vikings are a professional football team
based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota
. The
Vikings compete in the
North Division of
the
National Football
Conference (NFC) in the
National Football League (NFL).
Prior to divisional realignment in 2002, they had been a member of
the
Central Division, also known as the
Black & Blue Division. The Vikings have been one of the most
successful NFL franchises. The Vikings have the 2nd highest winning
percentage of any NFL team. The Vikings have won one
NFL championship (Pre-1970 AFL-NFL Merger),
but subsequently lost 23-7 to the
Kansas City Chiefs in
Super Bowl IV. The Vikings were the first team
to both play in and lose four
Super
Bowls. The Vikings have won their division 17 times, third most
among teams currently playing in the NFL.
The team
played home games at Metropolitan Stadium
through the 1981 NFL
season and have played their home games at Hubert
H.
Humphrey Metrodome (former home of the American League baseball team Minnesota
Twins and Minnesota Golden Gophers
of the Big Ten) since 1982.
Franchise history
Pro
football in the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area (the "Twin Cities") began with the Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets, an NFL
team that played intermittently in the 1920s-30s. However, a
new professional team in the area did not surface again until
August 1959, when three Minneapolis businessmen Bill Boyer, H. P.
Skoglund and
Max Winter were awarded a
franchise in the new
American
Football League. Five months later in January 1960, the
ownership group along with Bernie Ridder forfeited its AFL
membership and then was awarded the National Football League's 14th
franchise with play to begin in 1961.
Ole
Haugsrud was added to the NFL team ownership because of an
agreement he had with the NFL since the 1920s when he sold his
Duluth Eskimos team back to the league.
The agreement allowed him 10% of any future Minnesota team.
Coincidentally or not Ole Haugsrud's high school, Central High
School in Superior WI teams were also called the Vikings and their
school colors were purple and white.
1960s
The team was officially named the Minnesota
Vikings on September 27, 1960; the name is partly
meant to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of
Scandinavian American culture.
From the start, the
Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced a
first-year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home
attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of the capacity of 40,800
for Metropolitan
Stadium. Eventually Met Stadium capacity was
increased to 47,900.
The search for the first head coach had the
team court then-Northwestern University
head coach Ara
Parseghian, who according to Minneapolis Star writer Jim Klobuchar -- the Vikings' first beat
reporter for that newspaper—visited team management in the Twin Cities
under the condition that his visit was to be kept
secret from his current employer. His cover was blown by
local columnist
Sid Hartman who reported
the visit and forced Parseghian to issue denials.
Philadelphia Eagles assistant Nick
Skorich and a man with Minnesota ties who was working in the
CFL,
Bud Grant, were also candidates until a different
Eagle, quarterback
Norm Van
Brocklin, was hired early in 1961. Van Brocklin had just
finished his career as a player on a high note, having defeated the
Green Bay Packers in
the
1960 NFL
championship.
With the first overall selection in the
1961 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected running
back
Tommy Mason of
Tulane.
They took a young
quarterback from the University of Georgia
named Fran Tarkenton
in the third round. Notable veterans acquired in the
offseason were
Norm Snead and
Hugh McElhenny. The Vikings won their first
regular season game, defeating the
Chicago Bears 37–13 on Opening Day
. Tarkenton came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes and
run for another to lead the upset. Reality set in as the expansion
team lost its next seven games on their way to a 3-11 record.
On March 7, 1967, quarterback
Fran
Tarkenton was traded to the
New York
Giants for a 1st and 2nd-round choice in 1967, a 1st-round
choice in 1968 and a 2nd-round choice in 1969. With the picks
Minnesota selected
Clinton Jones and
Bob Grim in 1967,
Ron Yary in 1968 and
Ed White in 1969. Three days
later on March 10, the Vikings hired new head coach
Bud Grant to replace Van Brocklin, who resigned
following the
1966 NFL season. Grant
came to the Vikings from the
Canadian Football League as head
coach for the
Winnipeg Blue
Bombers, who he led to four
Grey Cup Championships in 10 years.
During the late 1960s, the Vikings were building a powerful defense
known as the
Purple People
Eaters, led by
Alan Page,
Carl Eller,
Gary
Larsen, and
Jim
Marshall. In , that stingy defense earned the Vikings their
first Central Division Title and their first playoff berth.
In the
Vikings went
12–2, the best record in the NFL. The team had 12 straight
victories, the longest single-season winning streak in 35 years.
The Vikings defeated the
Cleveland Browns, 27–7, in the
NFL Championship Game on
Jan. 4, 1970, at Metropolitan Stadium. Minnesota became the first
modern NFL expansion team to win an
NFL Championship Game, and earned a
berth in
Super Bowl IV. The heavily
favored Vikings lost that game to the
Kansas City Chiefs 23-7.
1970s
The team continued to succeed in and reaching the playoffs due to
the effort of a stubborn defense that gave the team the nickname
"The Purple People Eaters". In 1971 the defense was impressive
enough that Alan Page won the
NFL Most Valuable Player
Award given by the
Associated
Press. He was the first defensive player to win the
award.
In the
Vikings traded
Norm Snead, Bob Grim, Vince Clements and
a 1st-round draft choice in 1972 and 1973 to the New York Giants to
reacquire the popular
Tarkenton.
While the acquisitions of
Fran
Tarkenton and wide receiver
John
Gilliam improved the passing attack, the running game was
inconsistent and the Vikings finished with a disappointing 7–7
record. The Vikings addressed the problem by drafting running back
Chuck Foreman with their first pick in
the
1973 draft. Co-owner Bill Boyer
died in 1972 and was replaced on the team's board of directors by
his son-in-law Jack Steele.
The
Vikings won their
first 9 games of and finished the season with a 12–2 record.
The
Vikings then advanced to their second Super Bowl in franchise
history, Super Bowl VIII, against
the Miami Dolphins at
Rice
Stadium
in Houston
, Texas
.
However, the Dolphins prevailed, 24–7.
The
Vikings won the
Central Division again in with a 10–4 record, which was a tie for
the best record in the conference. In the playoffs they built on
their cold weather reputation, defeating both the
St. Louis Cardinals
30–14 and the
Los
Angeles Rams
14–10 in frozen Metropolitan Stadium.
The Vikings played in
their second straight Super Bowl, Super
Bowl IX (3rd overall), losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 16–6,
at Tulane
Stadium
in New Orleans on January 12, 1975.
In , the
Vikings, led
by Tarkenton and running back
Chuck
Foreman, got off to a 10–0 start and easily won another
division title. However, the Vikings lost to the
Dallas Cowboys in the
playoffs, 17–14, on a controversial touchdown pass from the
Cowboys' quarterback
Roger Staubach
to wide receiver
Drew
Pearson that became known as the
Hail
Mary. The touchdown was controversial because many felt that
Pearson pushed off on Vikings
defensive
back Nate Wright, which is
pass interference, a violation of the
rules. As the Metropolitan Stadium crowd was stunned to learn that
no penalty was called, debris was thrown on the field for several
minutes. One bottle (Jack Daniels) struck a game official,
rendering him unconscious.
The
Vikings played in
Super Bowl XI, their third Super Bowl
(4th overall) in 4 years, against the Oakland Raiders at the Rose
Bowl
in Pasadena, California
,on January 9, 1977. The Vikings, however,
couldn't break their bad luck in the Super Bowl. Minnesota lost,
32–14.
In , the
Vikings again won the
Central Division with a 9–5 record and advanced to their 4th NFC
Championship Game in 5 years, but were defeated by the eventual
Super Bowl Champion Cowboys, 23–6, at Texas Stadium
.
By , age was taking its toll on the
Vikings, but they still made
the playoffs with an 8–7–1 record. There was no more playoff magic
as the
Rams finally
defeated the Vikings, 34–10 in Los Angeles. Quarterback Fran
Tarkenton retired following the season holding league passer
records in attempts (6,467), completions (3,686), yards (47,003),
and touchdowns (342).
In
December, 1979, ground was broken for construction of the Hubert
H. Humphrey Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis.
1980s
On May
15, 1981, the Vikings moved into a new facility in suburban
Eden
Prairie
that houses the team's offices, locker room and
practice fields. The complex was named "Winter Park" after
Max Winter, one of the Vikings' founders, who served as the team's
president from 1965 to 1987. The Vikings played their final game at
Metropolitan Stadium on December 20 to conclude the
1981 NFL season by losing to the
Kansas City Chiefs,
10–6.
A Vikings game at the Hubert H.
Humphrey Metrodome from August 1999
The Vikings played their first game at the Metrodome in a preseason
matchup against the
Seattle
Seahawks on August 21, 1982 in a game Minnesota won, 7–3. The
first touchdown in the new facility was scored by
Joe Senser on an 11 yard pass from
Tommy Kramer.
The first regular-season game in the
Metrodome
was the 1982 opener on September 12, when the
Vikings defeated Tampa
Bay, 17–10. Rickey Young
scored the first regular-season touchdown in the facility on a 3
yard run in the 2nd quarter.
On January 27, 1984, Bud Grant retired as head coach of the
Vikings. With a career regular-season record of 151–87–5 (.632) in
17 seasons with Minnesota, Grant led the franchise to 12 playoff
appearances, 11 division titles, and four Super Bowls.
Les Steckel, who was an offensive assistant with
the Vikings for 5 seasons, was then named the 3rd head coach in
franchise history. Steckel, who came to the Vikings in 1979 after
working as an assistant with the 49ers, was the youngest head coach
in the NFL in 1984 at age 38. However, the Vikings lost a
franchise-worst 13 games. After the season Steckel was fired, and
on December 18, 1984, Bud Grant was rehired as the head coach of
the Vikings.
On January 6, 1986, following the
1985
season, Bud Grant re-retired as head coach of the Vikings. At
the time of his retirement he was the 6th winningest coach in NFL
history with 168 career wins, including playoffs. In 18 seasons, he
led the Vikings to a 158–96–5 regular season record. Longtime
Vikings assistant coach
Jerry Burns was
named the 4th head coach in team history on January 7, 1986. He
served as the Vikings' offensive coordinator from 1968–85, when the
team won 11 division titles and played in 4 Super Bowls. In his
first season, the
Vikings led by the
NFL Comeback Player of the
Year Tommy Kramer, went 9–7, their first winning record in 4
years. On August 2, 1986, Fran Tarkenton was the first player who
played the majority of his career with the Vikings, to be inducted
into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Following the
strike-shortened
1987 season, the 8–7
Vikings --- who had finished
8–4 in regular games but 0–3 using strike-replacement players ---
pulled two upsets in the playoffs by beating the two teams with the
best regular season records.
They beat the 12–3 New Orleans Saints, 44–10, at
the Louisiana
Superdome
in the Wild Card Playoff game. The following week,
in the Divisional Playoff game, they beat the 13–2 San Francisco 49ers, 36–24;,
at Candlestick
Park
. During that game
Anthony Carter set the all-time
record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 227 yards.
The
Vikings played the Washington Redskins in the
NFC Championship Game on January 17, 1988, at RFK
Stadium
. Trailing 17–10, the Vikings drove to the
Redskins' six yard line with a little over a minute left in the
game but failed to get the ball into the end zone. Darren Nelson
dropped a pass from
Wade
Wilson at the goal line to officially end the Vikings' hopes of
a Super Bowl.
The Vikings would make what would be considered its biggest
personnel blunder in team history. On October 12, 1989, the Vikings
acquired Herschel Walker from Dallas. The final
result of the trade gave the Vikings Walker, third-round choice
Mike Jones,
fifth-round choice Reggie Thornton and tenth-round choice
Pat Newman in 1990 and a third-round choice in
1991
Jake Reed, while Dallas received
Issiac Holt, David Howard, Darrin Nelson, Jesse Solomon, Alex
Stewart, a 1st, 2nd and 6th-round choice in 1990, 1st and 2nd-round
choices in 1991 and a 1st, 2nd and 3rd-round choice in 1992. Two of
those selections turned into
Emmitt
Smith and
Darren Woodson.
Herschel's performance fell short of expectations in his three
seasons with the Vikings, while the Cowboys rode their draft picks
to three Super Bowl victories in the early to mid 1990s.
1990s
On December 3, 1991, Jerry Burns announced his retirement. In six
seasons as Head Coach of the Vikings, Burns compiled a career
record of 52–43 (.547). He also led Minnesota to three playoff
appearances, including a division title and an NFC Championship
Game.
Dennis Green was later named the
fifth Head Coach in team history. He came to Minnesota after
turning around a struggling
Stanford University football
program as head coach from 1989–91. In his 10 seasons as the
coach of the Vikings, Green won 4 NFC Central division titles, had
8 playoff appearances, 2 NFC Championship game appearances and an
all-time record of 97–62.
1998
1998 was a year to remember for the
franchise. With a spectacular offense led by quarterback
Randall Cunningham (who replaced an
injured
Brad
Johnson), running back
Robert Smith, veteran wide receiver
Cris Carter, and explosive rookie
Randy Moss, the Vikings set a then-NFL
record by scoring a total of 556 points, never scoring fewer than
24 in a game. The record was later broken by the
2007 New England Patriots,
with 589 points. The Vikings finished the season 15–1, their only
loss by 3 points to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in
Week 9. In the playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the
Arizona Cardinals 41–21, and
came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title
showdown with the
Atlanta
Falcons, which lost only one game more than the Vikings, at
14–2. After kicker
Gary Anderson, who
had just completed the first perfect regular season in NFL history
(not missing a single extra point or field goal attempt the entire
year), missed a 38-yard attempt with less than 2 minutes remaining,
the Falcons tied the game. This led to a controversial decision by
head coach Dennis Green to run out the clock and let the game go
onto overtime. Though the Vikings won the coin toss, Atlanta went
on to win it 30–27 in overtime on
Morten
Andersen's 38-yard field goal. The Vikings became the first
15–1 team to fail to reach the Super Bowl. The Falcons lost Super
Bowl XXXIII to
John Elway and the
Denver Broncos.
1999
Cunningham resumed duties again in 1999, but after a lukewarm 2–4
start,
Jeff George was given the
starting job. He finished the season with an 8–2 record, and led
the Vikings into the postseason once again, with an overall team
record of 10–6. Minnesota beat
Dallas in the Wild Card game
27–10, and faced playoff newcomer
Kurt
Warner and the
St. Louis
Rams in the Divisional matchup. The game was a shootout which
Minnesota led 17–14 at halftime, but the Rams outscored Minnesota
35–20 in the second half to win 49–37. St. Louis would go on to win
Super Bowl XXXIV.
2000s
2000
In
2000, the Vikings went 11–5. The
Vikings were 11–2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their
last three to the
Rams,
Packers and
Colts while starting
quarterback Daunte
Culpepper was hampered by injury. Nonetheless, the Vikings made
the playoffs for the fifth straight year.
After easily beating
the Saints in the
Divisional game 34–16, they went to New York
to face the New York Giants in the NFC
Championship Game. Though they were the road team, the
Vikings were actually favored to win the game (since most
considered their 12–2 record with Culpepper more indicative than
their 0–3 record when he was out). But the Vikings were humiliated
by the Giants 41–0, the worst loss in franchise history. Robert
Smith, who ran for a team record (and NFC best) 1521 yards that
season, retired at the end of the year after only playing eight NFL
seasons.
2001–05
In
2001, after a disappointing 5–11
season, the Vikings bought out the contract of
Dennis Green, despite his successful coaching
tenure with the team.
Mike Tice coached
the final game of 2001, losing to the
Ravens 19-3. Tice was named the
permanent coach after the season, but he would not lead the Vikings
back to the playoffs until 2004.
During the
2003 season, the
Vikings came close to getting
into the playoffs. However, the
Arizona Cardinals completed a
game winning touchdown on 4th and 28 with 0:00 left knocking the
Vikings out of the playoffs. The moment of Arizona's touchdown was
actually the first moment the entire season in which the Vikings
hadn't led their division. The Vikings became the second team in
football history to miss the playoffs after getting off to a 6–0
start. The first team was the 1978
Washington Redskins.
In
2004,
Daunte Culpepper amassed MVP-like
statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the
NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123
total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card game, the Vikings
defeated the rival
Green Bay Packers in their
first-ever playoff meeting, 31–17. In doing so, the Vikings became
the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the
regular season and win a playoff game (The
St. Louis Rams did the same thing
only a day earlier). In the divisional round, the Vikings
were defeated by the eventual NFC champion
Philadelphia Eagles.
On March 2, 2005, Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was traded to
the Oakland Raiders for linebacker
Napoleon Harris and the Raiders' first round
draft pick. After struggling to a disappointing 2–5 start to the
2005 season, Vikings lost
quarterback Daunte Culpepper to a season ending knee injury. This
injury was a very significant part to this Minnesota Vikings team
due to the fact they also lost Randy Moss. The dynamic duo from
years earlier were now lost and a new leader would eventually
emerge. The Vikings finished the 2005 season with a 9–7 record, one
win away from the playoffs.
Head Coach Mike Tice was let go after the 2005 season and was
replaced by
Brad Childress. This was
one of many significant front office moves made by the new
ownership team, led by
Zygi Wilf.
2006–present
Minnesota began the
2006 season 4–2 (and Childress
becoming the first coach in Vikings history to start 2–0 in his
first year), but would finish the year at 6–10, tying for the 7th
worst record in the NFL and receiving the 7th pick in the
NFL Draft; with it, the Vikings selected
Adrian Peterson out of the
University of
Oklahoma.
Peterson's first career TD was a 60 yard screen pass in his first
career game against the
Atlanta Falcons. When the
Minnesota Vikings played the
Chicago Bears in the first of
their two games, Peterson broke the record for single game
All-Purpose (rushing, receiving, kick returning) yards (361, 224 of
them rushing yards). In Week 9 of the 2007 season, Peterson broke
the NFL record set by
Jamal Lewis in
2003 for most rushing yards in one game by rushing for 296 yards
against the San Diego Chargers. Despite a strong push in the middle
of the 2007 season winning five straight games, the Vikings lost
their final two games to finish the season at 8–8, missing the
playoffs. In week 13 of the
2008
season against the
Bears,
Gus
Frerotte hooked up with
Bernard
Berrian for a 99 yard touchdown pass after goal line stand by
the Vikings. This was the longest play in Vikings history.
Adrian Peterson had 1760 rushing yards,
first in the NFL, in front of Atlanta's Michael Turner.
Chicago Bears, Bernard Berrian led the team in
receiving yards with 795, and
Bobby Wade
led the team in catches. In Week 15 the Vikings beat the
Arizona Cardinals 35 to 14.
Tarvaris Jackson started this game and threw for four touchdowns.
Bernard Berrian caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt for a
touchdown. Adrian Peterson broke the franchise record for most
single season rush yards. In Week 16, the Vikings faced the Atlanta
Falcons at the Metrodome, looking to clinch the NFC North with a
victory. However, they suffered from 7 fumbles, 4 of them resulting
in turnovers, and lost 24–17. Starter Tarvaris Jackson had another
good game for Minnesota, as did tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who
caught 2 touchdowns from Jackson. The Vikings clinched the
NFC North championship by defeating the
New York Giants 20–19 in week 17
of the 2008 NFL Season, when kicker
Ryan
Longwell was successful in his attempt at the game-winning
field goal.
On January 4, 2009, the Vikings hosted the
Philadelphia Eagles for the
Wild Card round and for the first time in eight years, the Vikings
hosted a playoff game. The Vikings held the Eagles 14–16 at
halftime, but the Eagles, coming off of a 44–6 victory over the
Dallas Cowboys, defeated
the Vikings, 26–14. The Eagles would go on to defeat the defending
Super Bowl champion New York Giants in the Divisional round only to
lose to the Arizona Cardinals (who in turn lost Super Bowl XLIII to
the
Pittsburgh
Steelers) in the NFC Championship Game.
Since 2006, the Vikings are particularly known for their strong
defense against the run (#1 in the NFL in 2006, 2007, and 2008;
they are the first NFL team to accomplish this since the AFL-NFL
merger in 1970) anchored by the nicknamed “Williams Wall”/"Williams
Wrecking Crew" consisting of defensive tackle
Kevin Williams and nose
tackle
Pat Williams
(no relation).. Starting with the addition of
Jared Allen in 2008 the front four began being
called the Four Norsemen of the Apocalypse.
On August 18, 2009, after months of speculation and negotiations,
twice retired
Quarterback Brett Favre, who, until 2007 played for division
rival
Green Bay Packers, signed a
two-year, $25 million deal with the Vikings. Favre is universally
acknowledged to be a future hall of fame player, holding the NFL
all-time record for most touchdown passes. Coincidentally, he took
the record from
Dan Marino (420 TD
passes) in 2007 while playing for the Green Bay Packers against the
Vikings.
On October 5, 2009 the Vikings hosted the Green Bay Packers as
Favre played his former team for the first time. With a 30-23
victory, the Vikings moved to a 4-0 record. Favre became the only
player in NFL history to defeat all 32 current teams. Over 21.8
million viewers tuned in to watch the game, beating the previous
record of 18.6 million viewers the game between the Philidephia
Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys in 2008.
Ownership
The team is currently owned by
Zygi Wilf,
Jeffrey Wilf, Leonard Wilf, David Mandelbaum, Alan Landis and
Reggie Fowler.
The Vikings have been
conducting summer training camp at Minnesota
State University, Mankato
since 1966. From 1961–65 they held camp at Bemidji
State University
.
Season-by-season records
Logo and uniforms
Minnesota Vikings uniform
combination
Minnesota Vikings uniform:
1996-2005
Vikings helmet (1961-2005)
Vikings helmet (2006-present)
From the team's debut in 1961 to 1995, the Vikings' logos and
uniforms essentially remained the same. One of the team's two
primary logos consists of a profile of a blond
norseman, while the other consists of a white
Viking horn.
The team's helmet is purple with a Viking horn logo on each side.
Each horn is outlined in gold. The horn logo was slightly revised
in 2006. The original uniform design consisted of white pants, gold
trim, and either purple or white jerseys. From 1961 to 1964, the
Vikings wore purple pants with their white jerseys (The Vikings,
with their new uniform, still wear, on occasion, purple pants with
yellow and white trim). In a design that was unique among American
football teams, the white jerseys had a completely different stripe
pattern, which was over the shoulders, than the purple ones, which
was around the sleeve cuff. These unique shoulder stripes on the
white jerseys did not appear until 1969, the year they went to
their first Super Bowl. There have also been minor changes to the
uniform design throughout the years, such as changing the color of
the facemask from gray to white (1980), and then to purple (1985);
and adding the Norseman logo to the sleeves (1996). The Vikings
wore black shoes until Les Steckel became the coach in 1984. In
2006 team returned to black shoes for first time since the 1983
season.
During the 1964 season, the Vikings along with several other NFL
teams wore their white jerseys for home games to allow their fans
to see what the other teams primary jerseys looked like.
The Lions
played at Metropolitan Stadium on October 11. The Lions only brought their
white jerseys. The Vikings had also brought their white jerseys to
the stadium.
The team practiced at Midway
Stadium
in St. Paul and that is where they stored their
equipment. Both teams started the game in their white
jerseys. By the second quarter the Vikings had been able to get
their purple jerseys to Met Stadium. The team changed jerseys on
the sidelines and finished the game in purple jerseys and purple
pants. It wasn't until 43 years later, on December 17, 2007 (a
Monday Night Football game versus the Chicago Bears) that the
Vikings again donned all purple jerseys and pants.
From 1969 through 1973, the Vikings had an alternate purple jersey
without stripes for warm-weather games.
The team's uniforms were redesigned in 2006, the first significant
change in the franchise's 46-year history. Although the team colors
remained the same, trim lines were added to the outside shoulders
and sleeves, and the sides of the jerseys and pants. In addition
the horn on the helmet was slightly more defined. Included in the
new design are both white and purple pants. However, the Vikings
have not worn the purple pants since the aforementioned 2007 home
game vs. Chicago.
The team wore black armbands for the last four games in 1978 in
memory of Jack "Jocko" Nelson, an assistant coach who died during
the season. In 1985 the team wore a 25 years patch on their
jerseys. In 1989, they wore a "40 for 60" patch honoring the 1969
NFL championship team. They wore a 35 years patch in 1995, 40 years
in 2000 and 45 years in 2005. They also wore patches in 1999 for
assistant coach
Chip Myers who died in
the offseason and in 2001 for
Korey
Stringer. The Vikings like the other teams wore NFL 50 and 75
year patches in 1969 and 1994.
Mascots
Current mascots
The current team
mascot is Ragnar (played by
Joseph Juranitch). Ragnar has been working for the Vikings since
1994 and claims to be the most widely-recognized mascot in the
world. Juranitch admits to being somewhat of an
eccentric—he holds the current world
record for fastest time shaving a
beard with
an
axe. Ragnar drives onto the field at the
beginning of the game dressed in Viking garb, on a motorcycle,
while a cheerleader used to ride a snowmobile.
After several failed attempts at developing an official team-owned
mascot, the Vikings finally introduced Viktor E. Viking during the
2007 Vikings' season. Team officials had long indicated that they
were after a mascot concept that would primarily appeal to the
team's younger fan base. Viktor the Viking, a muscle-bound,
blonde-haired and mustachioed character wears a Vikings' #1 jersey
and an oversized Vikings' helmet with protruding horns and a small
yellow nose guard.
Historic mascots
During the 1970s and 1980s, Herb Meeds dressed as a Viking and
served as the team mascot. It is said that Herb showed up for the
very first regular season game against Chicago. He had no ticket
but was dressed as a Viking and convinced someone to let him onto
the sideline. This began a multi-decade part time job.
Another mascot associated with the Vikings was "Vikadontis Rex", a
purple foam dinosaur. Vikadontis was the official mascot of the
Minnesota Vikings Children's Fund and took part in the 1995
Celebrity Mascot Olympics. Vikadontis was retired starting with the
2000 season.
Traditions
Fight song
"Skol, Vikings" is the fight song of the Minnesota Vikings. It was
introduced around the time the team was founded in 1961 and is
always played whenever the team scores as well as half time and the
end of regulation. "Lets Go Vikings.. Lets Go," is the
interpretation of SKOL, Vikings.
Rivals
Helga hats
Viking fans are known to dress up in "Helga hats", or purple hats
with white horns and blond braids, mimicking the helmets popularly
believed to have been worn by
Viking
warriors. The original Helga Hats are still hand assembled in the
Twin Cities area; however, some vendors have imported other
versions from overseas in recent years.
Vikings horn
During
home games at the Metrodome, the Vikings Gjallarhorn
is loudly played and sounds often after the team has a big play or
scores a touchdown. In addition, a flash cannon fires upon
Vikings touchdowns.
Players
Current roster
Pro Football Hall of Famers
italics = played a portion of career with the Vikings and
enshrined representing another team,* = played half of career with
Vikings, player opted to be enshrined as a Denver Bronco
Retired numbers
Ring of Honor
| Minnesota Vikings Ring of
Honor |
| No. |
Player |
Position(s) |
Seasons as a Viking |
Date Inducted |
| 10 |
Fran Tarkenton |
QB |
1961-1966, 1972-1978 |
September 9, 1998 |
| 22 |
Paul Krause |
S |
1968-1979 |
November 15, 1998 |
| 30 |
Bill Brown |
RB |
1962-1974 |
September 26, 2004 |
| 44 |
Chuck Foreman |
RB |
1973-1979 |
September 30, 2007 |
| 53 |
Mick Tingelhoff |
C |
1962-1978 |
November 25, 2001 |
| 55 |
Scott Studwell |
LB |
1977-1990 |
November 29, 2009 |
| 64 |
Randall McDaniel |
G |
1988-1999 |
December 17, 2006 |
| 70 |
Jim
Marshall |
DE |
1961-1979 |
November 28, 1999 |
| 73 |
Ron Yary |
OT |
1968-1981 |
September 9, 2001 |
| 77 |
Korey Stringer |
OT |
1995-2000 |
November 19, 2001 |
| 80 |
Cris Carter |
WR |
1990-2001 |
September 14, 2003 |
| 81 |
Carl Eller |
DE |
1964-1978 |
November 10, 2002 |
| 88 |
Alan Page |
DT |
1967-1978 |
September 20, 1998 |
| 93 |
John Randle |
DT |
1990-2000 |
November 30, 2008 |
| -- |
Jerry Burns |
Head Coach |
1986-1991 |
November 6, 2005 |
| -- |
Jim Finks |
General Manager |
1964-1973 |
October 18, 1998 |
| -- |
Bud Grant |
Head Coach |
1967-1983, 1985 |
November 8, 1998 |
| -- |
Fred Zamberletti |
Medical Adviser |
1961-Present |
December 20, 1998 |
40th Anniversary Team
- Fran Tarkenton QB, #10
- Chuck Foreman RB, #44
- Robert Smith RB,
#26
- Ahmad Rashad WR, #28
- Cris Carter WR, #80
- Steve Jordan
TE, #83
- Ron Yary OT, #73
- Randall McDaniel OG, #64
- Mick Tingelhoff C, #53
- Ed White OG,
#62
- Tim Irwin OT, #76
|
- Jim Marshall
DE, #70
- Alan Page DT, #88
- John Randle DT, #93
- Carl Eller DE, #81
- Matt Blair LB, #59
- Scott Studwell LB, #55
- Jeff Siemon LB, #50
- Bobby Bryant CB, #20
- Carl Lee CB, #39
- Paul Krause S, #22
- Joey Browner S, #47
|
|
|
Coaches
Head coaches
Current staff
Radio and television
The Vikings' flagship radio station is
KFAN-AM (1130).
The games are also heard on the "KFAN
Radio Network" in Minnesota
, Wisconsin
, Iowa
, South Dakota
, and North
Dakota
, as well as many other outlets. Paul Allen has been the
play-by-play announcer since
the
2002 NFL season and
Pete Bercich is the analyst, who began his
first season in 2007.
Telecasts
of preseason games not shown on national networks are aired on
KSTP-TV
(Channel 5) in the Twin Cities with Ari Wolfe doing play-by-play.
See also
Notes and references
- 2000 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players -
Pro-Football-Reference.com
- ESPN.com - NFL - Vikings' Smith surprises with
retirement
- ESPN.com - Green, Vikings agree to buyout
- 2004 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players -
Pro-Football-Reference.com
- ESPN - Eagles outplay self-destructing Vikings -
NFL Football Recap
-
http://www.Vikings.com/news_detail_objectname_NewJerseyLaunch42706.html
- Vikings : Viktor
- OP firm develops NFL's Vikings mascot - Kansas City
Business Journal:
- http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/teams.jsp
- Vikings : Ring Of Honor
External links
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