Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are one of four teams to appear in a conference championship every decade since the 1970s.
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team, the team began play the following year. They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia, reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota. The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis.
Quick Facts
- First meeting
- 1960 (Pre-season)
- Postseason meetings
- 4
- Notable series outcome
- Vikings lead all-time playoff series
- Key era
- Late 1970s to Early 2020s
- Defining matchup type
- AFC/NFC Championship and Super Bowl implications
Lore & Background
The Vikings have an all-time overall record of , 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.
Reader's Guide
The Vikings have 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.
Did You Know?
- The Vikings were named on September 27, 1960.
- The Vikings' first head coach was Norm Van Brocklin, hired on January 18, 1961.
- The Vikings won their first regular-season game, defeating the Chicago Bears 37–13 on Opening Day 1961.
- The Vikings' famed defensive line of the late 1960s was known as the Purple People Eaters, led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall.
- In 1969, the Vikings secured a 12–2 record and won the last pre-merger NFL Championship Game, defeating the Cleveland Browns 27–7 on January 4, 1970.
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