Minnesota Vikings

Lore & Background

The Vikings have an all-time overall record of 537–438–11, the highest regular season and combined winning percentage among NFL franchises who have not won a Super Bowl, in addition the most playoff runs, division titles, and (tied with the Buffalo Bills) Super Bowl appearances. They also have the most conference championship appearances of non-winning Super Bowl teams, with them being one of four (along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams) to appear in a conference championship every decade since the 1970s. The team has won one NFL Championship, in 1969, before the league's merger with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. Since the merger, the team has qualified for the playoffs 28 times, third-most in the league (trailing only the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers). The team played in Super Bowls IV, VIII, IX and XI, but failed to win any of them. In addition, they have lost in their last six NFC Championship Game appearances, stretching back to 1978. The Vikings have 15 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In Their Own Story

The roar of the crowd in Charlotte was deafening as the fourth quarter ticked down. The Vikings' offense drove deep into Panthers territory, their helmet decals gleaming under the stadium lights. It was a test of wills: the established legacy of Minnesota against the rising fury of Carolina. With seconds remaining, the quarterback dropped back, scanning for an opening that didn't exist, as the Panthers' defense, fueled by years of rivalry tension, closed in like a pack of wolves.

Reader's Guide

The Vikings played at Metropolitan Stadium in suburban Bloomington from 1961 to 1981. They played at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis from 1982 to 2013. Their last game at the Metrodome was on December 29, 2013, defeating the Detroit Lions 14–13. The team conducted summer training camp at Bemidji State University from 1961 to 1965, then moved to Minnesota State University in Mankato in 1966. The training camp at Minnesota State was one of the longest continuously running training camp events in the NFL.

Did You Know?

• The Vikings were named on September 27, 1960, partly to reflect Minnesota's place as a center of Scandinavian American culture.
• The team's first head coach was Norm Van Brocklin, hired on January 18, 1961.
• Fran Tarkenton was drafted in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft and later traded to the New York Giants on March 7, 1967, then reacquired on January 27, 1972.
• The Vikings' defense in the late 1960s was known as the Purple People Eaters, led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall.
• Alan Page won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1971, the first defensive player to do so.