Minnesota Vikings
| Minnesota Vikings | ||
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| Founded in 1961 playing in Minneapolis , Minnesota |
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| league | ||
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National Football League (1961-present)
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| Current uniforms | ||
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| Team colors | Purple , gold, white | |
| mascot | Viktor the Viking, Ragnar | |
| staff | ||
| owner | Zygi Wilf | |
| General manager | Rick Spielman | |
| Head coach | Mike room | |
| Team history | ||
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| Nicknames | ||
| The Vikes, The Purples | ||
| successes | ||
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NFL Champion (1) * 1969
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| Conference winner (4) | ||
| Division Winner (20) | ||
| Play-off participations (30) | ||
| Stages | ||
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The Minnesota Vikings are an American football team from the US professional league National Football League (NFL) from Minneapolis . They belong together with the Chicago Bears , the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers of the Northern Division within the National Football Conference (NFC).
The team was formed as an NFL team in 1961 after canceling participation in the American Football League (AFL). To date, the Vikings have not won a Super Bowl , but have already reached the final four times ( Super Bowl IV , Super Bowl VIII , Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl XI ). The only title win so far dates back to 1969, when the team became NFL champions .
The Vikings played their home games from 1982 to 2013 in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on the so-called Mall of America Field . The Vikings have been playing their home games at the US Bank Stadium since the 2016 season .
history
1961–1967: Founding and starting difficulties
In 1959, businessmen Bill Boyer , HP Skoglund and Max Winter acquired a license for the American Football League (AFL). Since the National Football League (NFL) was looking for new teams for their league at that time, the board of directors rejected them again in early 1960. The team was added to the NFL as an expansion team in 1961, which is officially called the founding year. You were assigned to the Western Conference for the 14th NFL season . Due to a clause agreed with the NFL, Ole Haugsrud became co-owners alongside the founding members. Haugsrud sold the Duluth Eskimos football team back to the league in the 1920s , which in return promised him ten percent of a future NFL team from Minnesota.
The Vikings started a marketing campaign right from the start and sold around 26,000 season tickets in their first year, with an average of 34,586 viewers per game. The franchise chose the Metropolitan Stadium, which initially had 40,800 and later 47,900 seats, as its home stadium . The search for a head coach turned out to be more difficult than expected, until the former quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles , Norm Van Brocklin , was appointed the first head coach of the Vikings. He prevailed against Ara Parseghian, who was successful in college football at the time, and his later successor, Bud Grant .
The Vikings' first official game ended in a 37-13 win over the Chicago Bears . Above all , rookie Fran Tarkenton , who was previously selected in the NFL Draft , caused a lot of positive feedback after his substitution with four thrown and one run touchdown . The initial momentum could not be maintained. The following seven games ended in defeats for the NFL debutant. At the end of the season there were three wins against eleven defeats. It was similar in the following seasons.
In 1967 Fran Tarkenton joined the New York Giants . In return, the Vikings received various draft rights from the Giants for the following years. The team acquired Clinton Jones and Bob Grim in 1967 , Ron Yary in 1968 and Ed White in 1969 . A few days later, Bud Grant replaced Norm Van Brocklin as head coach.
1968–1980: First successes and four Super Bowl appearances
During this time, the strengths of the Minnesota Vikings shifted mainly to the defense , whose members were then also called "Purple People Eaters" ( English for "purple ogres"). In 1968, the first successes became apparent when the team made it into the play-offs for the first time . In the following year, the Vikings even managed the best team performance of the 1969 season with twelve wins versus just two defeats . The decisive factor was a winning streak over twelve games. This series continued through the play-offs and gave the team its first and so far only championship win and participation in Super Bowl IV . There the team did not live up to the role of favorites and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 7:23. The Chiefs scored three field goals in the first half , two of them from over 30 yards . The Vikings threw three interceptions and allowed three fumbles in this game . Safety Karl Kassulke said after the game that the team had never made so many mental mistakes in one game before.
The team continued its successful streak and reached the play-offs in the following two seasons. In 1971, Alan Page became only the third defensive player to receive the NFL Most Valuable Player Award . Since the team could not compensate for the departure of quarterback Fran Tarkenton in the offense , it was decided to transfer back. The Vikings gave up Norm Snead , Bob Grim , Vince Clements and the draft rights in the first round for the next two years. Despite the return of the star quarterback, the team ended the 1972 season disappointingly with a 7-7 record, which was mainly due to the barely existing running game . The board reacted by hiring rookie running back Chuck Foreman for this purpose . The desired success set in and so the club managed to move into the play-offs in the following 1973 season. There the Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins with 27:20 and won the next round against the Dallas Cowboys with 27:10, which resulted in the second Super Bowl participation. In Super Bowl VIII she met the Miami Dolphins, which were outstanding at the time . The Vikings relied on their strong defense, which the Dolphins knew how to exploit. With a style of play similar to the Kansas City Chiefs four years earlier, they managed to crack that. Already in the first quarter they got two touchdowns for a 14-0 lead. The Minnesota Vikings never came back and ultimately had to admit defeat 24: 7.
The following year, the Vikings reached the Super Bowl again . The two best defenses met each other. After a pointless first quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to score two points in the second quarter thanks to a rare safety . In the second half of the game the Steelers made a touchdown , the Vikings were able to follow up with a touchdown, and since the extra point failed, it was 9: 6 for the favored Steelers in the last quarter. After another touchdown with extra point on the part of the Steelers, the game was decided and ended 16: 6 for Pittsburgh.
The Vikings got off to a good start in the following season in 1975. The duo Tarkenton and Foreman brought a wide range of offensive plays into the game of the Vikings. In fact, the team started the season with ten wins and ended up with twelve wins and just two defeats. The renewed play-off move was less successful this time. Against the Cowboys it was a 14:17 defeat with a touchdown shortly before the end. The Cowboys played the Hail-Mary play for the very first time , which brought the decisive touchdown at 14:10.
Co-owner Ole Haugsrud died before the start of the 1976 season. His widow took over his place on the board. From a sporting point of view, it was still successful; the play-offs were reached again, and in the end there were eleven wins and two defeats. On the second day we played against the Los Angeles Rams 10: 10 draw after also in overtime (extra time dt.) No team scored. In the play-offs, however, the Vikings prevailed against them and were in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. In Super Bowl XI they competed against the Oakland Raiders , who were slightly favored before the game. In the end, the Vikings lost significantly with 14:31 points. Above all, a bad first half and the half-time score of 0:16 were decisive for the defeat. In the late 1970s, the team reached the play-offs twice, but did not make it to the Super Bowl. On December 14, 1980, the last game took place in the aging Metropolitan Stadium, it ended with a 28:23 win against the Cleveland Browns .
1981–1990: move and dry spell
In 1981 the team moved completely. In Eden Prairie , a small town not far from Minneapolis , the Vikings established a club area. In addition to a new training area with changing rooms, all offices have also moved to the site. It was named "Winter Park" in honor of Max Winter, the co-founder and former club president. At the same time, the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome , or Metrodome for short, was completed with a capacity of up to 64,000 spectators. The Vikings' first game at the new stadium was a preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks , which was won 7-3. The first official season debut was also successful; the team won 17:10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . However, it was not enough for the play-offs at the end of the season.
On August 6, 1983, the first official NFL game in Europe took place. As part of a preseason game, the Vikings met the St. Louis Cardinals ; was played at Wembley Stadium in London . The game ended in a 28:10 victory for the Vikings. Due to its great success, the American Bowl was introduced three years later . In January 1984, Head Coach Bud Grant resigned. Previously, in 17 seasons he made it into the play-offs twelve times and participated in the Super Bowl four times.
Les Steckel took over his position as head coach . At the age of 38, he was the youngest head coach in the NFL. Steckel had been the Vikings' offensive assistant for the previous five years. The Vikings drifted into a serious crisis with the new coach; out of 16 games, 13 were lost. At the end of the 1985 season, Steckel was fired after just one season.
At the end of 1985 Max Winter sold his shares to Irwin L. Jacobs and Carl Pohlad . As a result, there was a six-year dispute, also in court, between Jacobs and Pohlad on the one hand and General Manager and President Mike Lynn on the other.
Bud Grant took over the coaching position for the second and last time in 1986. Grant finished his 18th season with the Minnesota Vikings with seven wins to nine losses and thus missed the play-offs. At the end of the season he finally said goodbye to the coaching office. He had a total of 158 victories and was the sixth most successful coach at the time. He was succeeded by Jerry Burns , who had been the Vikings' offensive coordinator for the previous 17 years . Strong performances by quarterback Tommy Kramer contributed to the fact that the new head coach was able to show the first positive result of the season in four years with 9-7. The following year Burns and his team reached the play-offs again. Even in the 1987 season , which was marked by strikes , the Vikings reached the play-offs again and penetrated into the NFC Championship Game . A minute before the end of the game, Minnesota was 10:17 behind, but was able to prevail up to the opposing 6-yard line. Darrin Nelson dropped the decisive pass in the end zone and thus finally burst all Super Bowl dreams.
After the season ended, four new people joined the board, Wheelock Whitney, Jr., Jaye Dyer, Irwin L. Jacobs and Carl Pohlad. A year later, a special transfer went down in the history books of the NFL, also known as the Herschel Walker Trade (Herschel Walker Transfer). In the course of the transfer, the Vikings got running back Herschel Walker and various draft rights for 1990 and 1991. In return, they gave Issiac Holt , David Howard , Darrin Nelson , Jess Solomon , Alex Stewart and their best draft rights for the next three years to Dallas Cowboys off. The transfer is considered one of the most important in NFL history. Due to the given draft rights, the Vikings lost running back Emmitt Smith and Safety Darren Woodson , who were selected by the Dallas Cowboys with Minnesota's original draft rights. Walker's performance was well below expectations. After three seasons he was sold to the Philadelphia Eagles . The Cowboys, however, won the Super Bowl three times with the acquired players at this time .
1991–2001: The Green Era
In January 1991 Roger Headrick was elected as the new President of the Minnesota Vikings and now together with Philip Maas has the presidium. Head Coach Jerry Burns resigned before the end of the year . During his time with the Vikings, he achieved a total of 52 wins and 43 losses. He and his team reached the play-offs three times in five years, but he was denied a Super Bowl participation.
At the end of 1991 Jacobs and Pohlad sold their shares to a ten-person investor group created by Lynn, thus ending a long-standing dispute. It was not until January 1992 that Dennis Green was introduced as the new coach. In the following ten years, the former college football coach made eight play-off appearances, but it was not enough to participate in the Super Bowl. Twice the team was only wafer thin, but both times it failed in the NFC Championship Game . This came as a surprise, especially in the 1998 season , as the Regular Season (NFL) ended with only one defeat. The highlight of the season was a 50:10 win on the penultimate matchday. Quarterback Randall Cunningham , who was playing his strongest season, was a fixture . In fact, the Vikings achieved a total of 556 points and always scored over 24 points in one game. The Cardinals were literally played against the wall in the play-offs with 41:21. A week later, the team faced the Atlanta Falcons . A field goal attempt from 38 yards by kicker Gary Anderson was unsuccessful two minutes before the end and let the Falcons draw level in return. Despite an outstanding offense , Coach Green decided to let the rest of the game run out instead of trying a point in regular time. This took revenge, because Atlanta scored the 30:27 with a field goal from 38 yards away and decided the game in their favor.
In the summer of 1998, the ten-person group of owners sold the franchise to Red McCombs .
Cunningham could no longer follow on from his successes in the preseason and was ousted by Jeff George in the 1999 season . After a weak start to the season, he managed to turn things around and with a strong performance he helped secure the wildcard play-offs for the team. After beating the Cowboys, the Vikings faced the St. Louis Rams , who converted a deficit in the second half into a 49:37 win. The Rams ultimately also won Super Bowl XXXIV . At the turn of the millennium, the Vikings reached the play-offs for the fifth time in a row, but suffered a historic 0:41 defeat against the New York Giants . Running back Robert Smith , at the time a fixture in Minnesota, then announced his resignation.
The 2001 season was initially overshadowed by a tragic death when Korey Stringer suffered heat stroke . In the end, the team finished with only five wins versus eleven defeats; among other things, the Carolina Panthers were given the only victory this season. One game before the end of the season, Head Coach Dennis Green was released from his contract at his own request. Green had built up a broad fan base with the Vikings, but never reached the Super Bowl once. The last game of the 2001 season under his successor Mike Tice against the Baltimore Ravens was lost.
2002–2006: Defensive problems and missed play-offs
At the beginning of 2002 Mike Tice was officially appointed head coach. Tice was only the sixth head coach of the Vikings, but the first to play in Minnesota himself. At first, Tice was unable to build on the successes of recent years. With a season end result of 6:10 you missed the play-offs clearly. The following season in 2003 was far more successful with a surprising 6-0 start. The team did not keep their form and collapsed, with a record of nine wins and six defeats before the last game day, the play-off participation depended on the outcome of the game against the Arizona Cardinals . Five seconds before the end of the game, the Cardinals managed a 28-yard touchdown pass at 11:17 to the final score of 18:17. The Vikings were second in their division behind the Green Bay Packers , who moved into the play-offs with one more win. The Vikings, however, again missed the finals.
In 2004 the regular season with eight wins and just as many defeats was worse than in the previous year, but they still reached the play-offs. As in 2003, the team got off to a great start and defeated 5-1, in the remaining ten games the team was only victorious three times. Quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw the season high with 4,417 yards. He also earned 39 touchdowns and a total of 5,123 yards. In the play-offs, the Vikings first defeated the Green Bay Packers with 31:17, lost in the next round with 14:27 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
In May 2005, the previous owner McCombs sold the team to a group of investors led by Zygi Wilf . At first Reggie Fowler was intended as the new owner, but no contract was concluded with him. At the same time, wide receiver Randy Moss left the team for Oakland . In return, Minnesota got the linebacker Napoleon Harris and the draft rights for the first and seventh round in the following NFL draft. The idea behind it was originally to lower the wage bill, as the Vikings mistakenly thought they were close to the upper limit of the salary cap . In fact, the sale of Moss brought you close to the bottom end. When this was clear, five new defensive players were signed on to upgrade the ailing defense.
The transfers looked like mistakes at the beginning. After seven match days they were already five defeats. In addition, quarterback Culpepper injured his knee and had to take a break for the rest of the season. By then he had thrown twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. He was replaced by Brad Johnson , who directly led the team to six straight wins. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers, the later Super Bowl winners, interrupted the winning streak. The season ended positively with a total of nine wins. Because of missing the play-offs again, Mike Tice was fired.
Brad Childress became the new head coach. The 2006 season did not go as expected from the start. They started with two narrow wins, but then suffered two defeats. One of the highlights of the season was the game against the Detroit Lions in week five. Up until the last quarter the team was still 3:17 behind, but a race to catch up, including two defensive touchdowns, resulted in a 23:17 victory. The play-offs were clearly missed with a 6-10 record; the first season under Childress was thus crowned with little success.
From 2007: recent history
As the seventh worst team of the preseason, Minnesota received the seventh pick in the NFL draft and selected running back Adrian Peterson . In his first game, he caught a 60-yard touchdown pass. He broke Jamal Lewis' record in week nine by running 296 yards in one game against the Chargers. Despite the new addition, the team ended the season only evenly and again missed the play-offs. After this disappointing season, the Vikings started a new attempt in 2008 . In week 13, quarterback Gus Frerotte made a 99-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bernard Berrian , the longest play in the history of the Vikings. Running back Adrian Peterson had 1,760 yards, which was the league high. In the end, with ten wins in 16 games, they returned to the play-offs after four years. There the team of the Philadelphia Eagles was the first opponent. The Vikings kept up over long distances, but ultimately had to admit defeat at 14:26.
On August 18, 2009, quarterback Brett Favre signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings, resigning again. The fans looked hopefully to the coming “Brett Favre era”. In week four, the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 30-23, making Favre the first player to beat any NFL team at least once. Around 30 million viewers followed the game on their television sets. The record of 12-4 entitled the Vikings for the second time in a row to participate in the play-offs, where the team faced the Dallas Cowboys . With a 34-3 win, the team reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time in nine years . There they competed against the New Orleans Saints , initially took the lead twice, but gave it back lightly. A pass from Favre just before the end of the game was intercepted. The Saints saved themselves into overtime and scored the decisive 40-yard field goal to make it 31:28.
The Vikings started the 2010 season with three preseason wins . In their first game of the regular season they met again on the New Orleans Saints. In an even game, the Saints won 14: 9. The only touchdown for the Vikings was achieved by Visanthe Shiancoe after a 20-yard pass. After playing ten games, the team had already lost seven times. Brad Childress was removed from office on November 22, 2010, the day after a 3:31 loss to rivals Green Bay Packers . Leslie Frazier , until then defensive coordinator , stepped in as an interim coach. The first two games under Frazier, away against the Washington Redskins and at home against the Buffalo Bills , the Vikings won. On December 11, the roof structure of the Metrodome collapsed under the snow loads after more than 40 centimeters of snow had fallen within 24 hours. The game against the New York Giants , which had previously been postponed due to weather conditions, was relocated to Detroit at Ford Field and the last home game a week later to the TCF Bank Stadium , the stadium of the local college team. The Vikings lost both games, which meant that they had no chance of participating in the play-offs prematurely. At the beginning of January Zygi Wilf announced that Leslie Frazier would remain head coach.
After the final end of Brett Favre's career, the Vikings were without a starting quarterback . The committed Rhett Bomar was fired after he had made himself a criminal offense by drunk driving. Since neither Christian Ponder nor Joe Webb had enough match practice, the experienced Donovan McNabb was signed before the season . The signing turned out to be a mistake, however, and after just six weeks McNabb was on the bench and was finally released in early December. At this point the play-offs were already out of reach for the Vikings. Neither Ponder nor Webb could put the team back on the road to success. Ultimately, the Vikings finished the division with 13 defeats and only three wins in last place.
In the 2012 season, Adrian Peterson missed Eric Dickersons' record from 1984 by nine yards with 2,097 yards in the regular season . The team managed to secure a wildcard place for the play-offs on the final day of the match with a win over the Green Bay Packers. There the Vikings met the Packers again and lost at 10:24. Ponder, who was the starting quarterback throughout the season, was out before the game due to an injury.
The 2013 season was the Vikings' last season at the Metrodome . You started again with Christian Ponder as starting quarterback in the season. Due to disappointing performances and injuries, however, Matt Cassel , who was signed as backup, took over the position early on . Shortly thereafter, quarterback Josh Freeman was also brought in, but he was also unable to convince. The lack of consistency in the quarter back position and the injury to Adrian Peterson noticeably weakened the strongly classified Vikings. The team finished the season with 5 wins, 10 losses and one draw against the Green Bay Packers in last place in the NFC North. Shortly after the last game, head coach Frazier was sacked.
At the beginning of the 2014 season , the Vikings played their home games on two game days at the TCF Bank Stadium, before moving to their new stadium, the US Bank Stadium . Mike Zimmer was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as the new head coach . Matt Cassel took over the job of starting quarterback, but had to hand it over to rookie Teddy Bridgewater after three games due to a broken foot . As a result of a charge of child abuse, running back Adrian Peterson was put on leave by the Vikings after the first game and then suspended from the NFL. Despite these setbacks and because of the good performance of the rookies, the season ended with 7 wins and 9 losses in third place in the NFC North, although they only had to admit defeat in some games.
On January 3, 2016, the Vikings were able to secure victory in the NFC North for the first time since 2009 . In the final of the regular season, the Vikings beat their division rivals Green Bay Packers 20:13. The Vikings finished the 2015 season with an 11-5 record and thus moved into the Wild Card Round. However, they lost the game against the Seattle Seahawks after a failed 27-yard field goal attempt by Blair Walsh 10: 9.
The 2016 season started badly for the Vikings when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater sustained a serious knee injury in the preseason and was out for the entire season. As a substitute Sam Bradford was brought by the Philadelphia Eagles, who promptly led the team to five wins in a row, despite the failure of star running back Adrian Peterson from the third week. After that, however, things went downhill and the team only won three of the remaining eleven games. With an 8-8 record, the Vikings finally missed the play-offs. In the offseason, the team separated from Adrian Peterson, who had played in Minnesota since his rookie season in 2007 . The New Orleans Saints then signed him as a free agent .
The team started the 2017 season with Sam Bradford as starting quarterback and Pro Bowl runningback Latavius Murray , signed by the Oakland Raiders . Since Bridgewater's healing process gave little hope for missions, Case Keenum was hired as a backup quarterback. In addition, running back Dalvin Cook was drafted in the second round, who promptly broke the rookie debut running record in the first game against the New Orleans Saints. During the game, Sam Bradford injured his knee, which meant he was out for the rest of the season, and Dalvin Cook was also out with a cruciate ligament from week 4. With Backup Case Keenum as starting quarterback, who played a strong season, the Vikings won the NFC North with a record of 13-3 and moved into the divisional round of the play-offs as second of the NFC. In the final move of the game against the New Orleans Saints, known as the Minneapolis Miracle , wide receiver Stefon Diggs scored the decisive touchdown for the Vikings' 29:24 victory. This moved into the NFC Conference Final , where they lost against the eventual Super Bowl winner Philadelphia Eagles with 38: 7. The Vikings missed thereby participation in the Super Bowl LII in their own US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
For the 2018 season, the Vikings did not extend the contract with Keenum, who moved to the Denver Broncos , and instead signed Kirk Cousins of the Washington Redskins as the new starting quarterback. After the Vikings could not meet expectations after the strong 2017 season, they dismissed their offensive coordinator John DeFilippo with a record of 6-6-1 due to a lack of running game despite two strong running backs. Before the last game day, Minnesota was nevertheless with a record of 8-6-1 in sixth place of the NFC and thus in the last place that made it possible to move into the play-offs. By a loss to division rivals Chicago Bears and a simultaneous victory of the reigning Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles at the Washington Redskins, they just missed the play-offs in the end.
The Vikings started the 2019 season with two wins and two losses , after which quarterback Kirk Cousins in particular came under public criticism. There was also unrest within the team. As a result, the team improved as a result of a change in offensive play calling, which relied more on passing play and especially play-action passes. With a balance of 10-6, the Vikings finally reached the play-offs, but there was no getting past the Green Bay Packers, against whom both duels were lost in the division. Thus, the sixth best NFC team met in the wild card round of the play-offs against the New Orleans Saints, the first of the NFC South. There the Vikings were able to prevail with a narrow 23:20 victory after overtime, but they had no chance in the Divisional Round and lost 10:27 to the San Francisco 49ers . In the offseason, the Vikings parted ways with several long-time players, especially in defense, due to little free cap space. The most prominent departures were cornerback Xavier Rhodes , nose tackle Linval Joseph and defensive end Everson Griffen , all of whom were nominated for the Pro Bowl several times during their time with the Vikings . In addition, Stefon Diggs , one of the team's two best wide receivers, was handed over to the Buffalo Bills for a first-round pick and several later picks after he repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the situation in Minnesota. However, the contract with quarterback Kirk Cousins could be extended by two years until 2022.
Squad
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Special players
Vikings in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The following Minnesota Vikings players, coaches, or officials have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame :
| Jersey number | Surname | position | Active for Minnesota | Year of admission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Hugh McElhenny | RB | 1961–1962 | 1970 |
| 10 | Fran Tarkenton | QB | 1961-1966, 1972-1978 |
1986 |
| 58 | Jim Langer | C. | 1980-1981 | 1987 |
| 88 | Alan Page | DT | 1967-1978 | 1988 |
| 3 | Jan Stenerud | K | 1984-1985 | 1991 |
| - | Bud Grant | Head coach | 1967-83, 1985 | 1994 |
| - | Jim Finks | official | 1964-1973 | 1995 |
| 22nd | Paul Krause | S. | 1968-1979 | 1998 |
| 73 | Ron Yary | T | 1968-1981 | 2001 |
| 44 | Dave Casper | TE | 1983 | 2002 |
| 81 | Carl Eller | DE | 1964-1988 | 2004 |
| 1 | Warren Moon | QB | 1994-1996 | 2006 |
| 65 | Gary Zimmerman | T | 1986-1992 | 2008 |
| 64 | Randall McDaniel | G | 1988-1999 | 2009 |
| 93 | John Randle | DT | 1990-2000 | 2010 |
| 56 | Chris Doleman | DE | 1985-93, 1999 | 2012 |
| 80 | Cris Carter | WR | 1990-2001 | 2013 |
| 53 | Mick Tingelhoff | C. | 1962-1988 | 2015 |
| 4th | Brett Favre | QB | 2009-2010 | 2016 |
| 7th | Morten Andersen | K | 2004 | 2017 |
| 84 | Randy Moss | WR | 1998-2004, 2010 | 2018 |
Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor
The Vikings Ring of Honor honors outstanding people from the Vikings who have made a special contribution to the success of the team on and off the field. The Ring of Honor currently consists of 25 people (as of November 2019).
| Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey number | Surname | position | Active for the Vikings | Year of admission |
| 10 | Fran Tarkenton | Quarterback | 1961-66 1972-78 |
September 9, 1998 |
| 22nd | Paul Krause | Safety | 1968-79 | November 15, 1998 |
| 28 | Ahmad Rashad | Wide receiver | 1976-82 | October 1, 2017 |
| 30th | Bill Brown | Running back | 1962-74 | September 26, 2004 |
| 44 | Chuck Foreman | Running back | 1973-79 | September 30, 2007 |
| 47 | Joey Browner | Safety | 1983-91 | October 27, 2013 |
| 53 | Mick Tingelhoff | center | 1962-78 | November 25, 2001 |
| 55 | Scott Studwell | Linebacker | 1977-90 | November 29, 2009 |
| 56 | Chris Doleman | Defensive end | 1985-93, 1999 | October 23, 2011 |
| 59 | Matt Blair | Linebacker | 1974-85 | October 25, 2012 |
| 64 | Randall McDaniel | Guard | 1988-99 | December 17, 2006 |
| 70 | Jim Marshall | Defensive end | 1961-79 | November 28, 1999 |
| 73 | Ron Yary | Tackle | 1968-81 | September 19, 2001 |
| 77 | Korey Stringer | Tackle | 1995-2000 | November 19, 2001 |
| 80 | Cris Carter | Wide receiver | 1990-2001 | September 14, 2003 |
| 81 | Carl Eller | Defensive end | 1964-78 | November 10, 2002 |
| 83 | Steve Jordan | Tight end | 1982-94 | October 24, 2019 |
| 84 | Randy Moss | Wide receiver | 1998-2004, 2010 | 11th September 2017 |
| 88 | Alan Page | Defensive tackle | 1967-78 | September 20, 1998 |
| 93 | John Randle | Defensive tackle | 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 | 1967-83, 1985 | November 8, 1998 |
| - | Dennis Green | Head coach | 1992-2001 | 23rd September 2018 |
| - | Fred Zamberletti | Medical adviser | 1961-2011 | December 20, 1998 |
Withdrawn jersey numbers
These six jersey numbers have so far been banned in honor of special players:
| Retired Numbers of the Minnesota Vikings | ||||
| No. | player | position | Period | Since when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Fran Tarkenton | QB | 1961-1978 | Oct 1979 |
| 53 | Mick Tingelhoff | C. | 1962-1988 | Nov 2001 |
| 70 | Jim Marshall | DE | 1961-1979 | Nov 1999 |
| 77 | Korey Stringer 1 | T | 1995-2000 | Nov 2001 |
| 80 | Cris Carter | WR | 1990-2001 | Nov 2003 |
| 88 | Alan Page | DT | 1967-1978 | Sep 1988 |
Trainer
Head coaches
| # | Surname | Period | Regular season | Play-offs | Achievements / Awards | reference | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | S. | N | UE | Won% | Games | S. | N | ||||||||||
| Minnesota Vikings | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Norm Van Brocklin | 1961-1966 | 84 | 29 | 51 | 4th | .363 | - | - | - | |||||||
| 2 | Bud Grant * | 1967-1983 | 243 | 151 | 87 | 5 | .635 | 22nd | 10 | 12 |
AP NFL Coach of the Year (1969) Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (1969) Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1969) UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1969) NFL Championship (1969) |
||||||
| 3 | Les Steckel * | 1984 | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | - | - | - | |||||||
| - | Bud Grant * | 1985 | 16 | 7th | 9 | 0 | .483 | - | - | - | |||||||
| 4th | Jerry Burns * | 1986-1991 | 95 | 52 | 43 | 0 | .547 | 6th | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| 5 | Dennis Green | 1992-2001 | 159 | 97 | 62 | 0 | .610 | 12 | 4th | 8th | UPI NFC Trainer of the Year (1992) | ||||||
| 6th | Mike Tice * 1 | 2001-2005 | 65 | 32 | 33 | 0 | .492 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 7th | Brad Childress * | 2006-2010 | 74 | 39 | 35 | 0 | .527 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| 8th | Leslie Frazier * 2 | 2010-2013 | 54 | 21st | 32 | 1 | .396 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||
| 9 | Mike Room * | 2014– | 96 | 57 | 38 | 1 | .599 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||||
| # | Order of trainers |
| Games | Play as a coach |
| S. | Victories |
| N | Defeats |
| UE | draw |
| Won% | Win rate |
| * | Only active at the Vikings as head coach |
Current staff
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Coach of the Minnesota Vikings
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Front Office
Head coaches Offense trainer |
Defense coach
Special teams trainer
Strength and stamina
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Fans and public image
Game accompaniment
In the 2008 season , the so-called Skol Line was introduced, which takes care of the animation of the fans during home games as well as in external events. It consists of 22 people, including active musicians, and is equipped with a variety of instruments.
The team's own cheerleading department was officially introduced in 1984 under the name Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders (see National Football League Cheerleading ). In fact, the MVC, as it is called for short, is very popular. Trading cards and calendars with the current line-up appear annually. Several prizes have also been won in competitions, most recently in 2009 at the United Performing Association's American Cheer & Dance National Championships .
Audience approval
In the 2009 season , an average of 63,775 spectators attended the Vikings' home games, which corresponds to an occupancy rate of 99.5 percent. In total, the Vikings, based in Minnesota with 5.1 million people, sold 510,203 tickets. Compared to the previous year, around 7,000 more tickets were sold and the occupancy rate rose by 0.7 percent. Compared to the other NFL teams, the Minnesota Vikings ranked 23rd in terms of the number of tickets sold.
The 2010 season recorded a decline in attendance, which is in line with the general trend of the season. On average, only 58,751 spectators came to the eight home games in the Metrodome. With around 470,000 tickets sold in total, this is 40,000 below the previous year's figure. In the league comparison, the Vikings fell five places.
In the 2013 season , the year before the temporary move to the TFC Bank Stadium, the average attendance was 64,019, placing them 22nd. Due to the significantly smaller capacity of the transition stadium, the average in 2014 fell to 52,238.
public relation
The Minnesota Vikings and the University of Minnesota have a pediatric department for the prevention and treatment of influenza viruses. The Vikings Children's Fund has already raised over $ 7.5 million for this and other projects .
Rivalries
The Minnesota Vikings' biggest rivals are the Green Bay Packers from neighboring Wisconsin , who also play in NFC North , which means the two teams meet at least twice a season. The rivalry has existed since the Vikings were inducted into the NFL in 1961, largely due to geographic proximity. The states of Minnesota and Wisconsin also face each other in other competitions. The duel with the Packers is characterized in particular by many close games and an overall almost even balance (53 wins, 60 losses and 3 draws, as of September 2018).
Stadion
The Metropolitan Stadium , built six years before the founding of the Vikings, served as its home stadium for the first 20 years. When it opened it had 18,000 seats and was expanded to 30,000 when the Vikings moved in. The stadium was increased to a capacity of 48,446 when it was demolished in 1985, before it had to give way for the Mall of America . Both the Minnesota Twins and the Vikings, who shared the stadium for the full 20 years, moved to the newly opened Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in 1981 . The new building cost around 68 million US dollars and was unanimously approved by the citizens. It had over 64,000 seats at American football games and, unlike the Metropolitan Stadium, was completely covered.
Starting in 2007, plans for a new arena, which would be available exclusively for the Minnesota Vikings, were in the room. The project was called Vikings Stadium and was originally supposed to be ready for the 2011 season. The plans included around 73,000 places.
In 2012, the Vikings pushed their plans to build a new stadium. After an agreement with the governor of Minnesota , Mark Dayton , and the mayor of Minneapolis , RT Rybak , a new stadium was built on the site of the Metrodome. The cost was around one billion US dollars. As a condition of the agreement, the Vikings assumed half of the construction and operating costs and signed a 30-year lease. Construction work began, with a slight delay, in November 2013 and lasted until July 2016. In the 2014 and 2015 seasons , the games were played temporarily in the TCF Bank Stadium . After the Vikings moved out of the Metrodome, the old venue was demolished from January to April 2014.
In mid-June 2015 it was announced that the US financial company US Bancorp , based in Minneapolis, had acquired the naming rights to the new home of the Vikings, whereby the stadium is now called US Bank Stadium . The contract is valued at $ 7.8 million annually and will run for 25 years. In total, the agreement amounts to almost 200 million US dollars.
Economic situation
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The Minnesota Vikings were worth around $ 2.7 billion in September 2019, ranking them 19th out of 32 teams in the NFL. The Vikings have grown significantly since 2012, and within two years the financial value of the franchise has increased by a good 350 million dollars. The main reason for the strong gain is the solution to the stadium problem, which had negatively influenced the team value in previous years. Up until 2011, the franchise itself accounted for an above-average proportion , but this fact is now being leveled again thanks to the new stadium and the associated improved infrastructure.
The development before and after the change of ownership is remarkable. By 2010, five years after the acquisition of Zygi Wilf (highlighted in color in the table), the value had only increased by around $ 150 million, while in the same period prior to the acquisition it had almost doubled to over $ 300 million. Marked by the bad financial year and the unclear future, it fell in 2010 to its lowest value in four years. Only after paying off various debts of the previous owner and building the stadium mentioned earlier, Wilf was able to increase the team value again.
The Minnesota Vikings had revenues of $ 5 million in the 2013 season . In total, the team was able to raise $ 250 million.
In June 2010, the Vikings took out a $ 135 million loan to settle existing debts. The team took out a $ 175 million loan five years earlier when it was acquired. According to the sources, all debts already existed before the takeover of Wilf.
The current main sponsors of the Vikings include Verizon and Pepsi as well as US Bancorp .
Logo and uniforms
Neither the Minnesota Vikings logo nor uniforms have changed much since it was founded in 1961. The white Viking horn as well as the blonde Norman are the primary logos of the Vikings.
The Vikings wear a purple football helmet with a painted Viking horn on each side, which runs in gold when it joins the helmet. In 2006 the horn was reshaped to make it look more realistic. The uniform is a combination of white trousers and purple shirts, decorated with gold. Between 1962 and 1964 the color combination was worn the other way round (purple trousers, white shirts) - now this is used as a replacement uniform. Over the decades, small changes were made alternately, such as changing the color of the facemask from gray to white (1980) and later to purple (1985) and the imprint of the Normans on the shoulder area (1996). Until 1984, the team also wore black shoes with their uniforms. In 2006 these were reintroduced. In the same year the uniform was fundamentally redesigned, whereby the color combination remained the same. The new design, however, contains far more gold, mostly as demarcation lines.
mascot
The Minnesota Vikings first introduced a mascot in 1970 . “Hub Meeds”, a Viking in disguise , accompanied the Vikings for almost 20 years. From 1994 "Ragnar" was the official mascot. Based on the legendary Viking king Ragnar Lodbrok , he rode his motorcycle to the stadium before every home game . Because the Vikings and the Ragnar actor could not agree on a new contract, the Ragnar era in Minnesota ended in 2015 after 21 years. In the early 1990s, "Vikadontis Rex" was created, a purple-colored dinosaur that was specially developed for children. However, it was discontinued at the turn of the millennium .
In order to appeal to a younger audience again, the mascot Viktor the Viking was introduced in 2007 . Viktor the Viking is a blond, muscular Norman with an oversized horned helmet . He wears the number 1 on his jersey.
literature
- Patrick Reusse: Minnesota Vikings: The Complete Illustrated History , MVP Books, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7603-3953-4 .
- Mark Stewart: Minnesota Vikings , All Sports, 2010, ISBN 978-1-61714-018-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Minnesota History. In: bigplay.ch. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ↑ profootballhof.com History of the Vikings on profootballhof.com (English) Accessed June 7, 2010
- ↑ scout.com ( Memento from January 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Team Timeline - time slice of the Vikings (English).
- ↑ scout.com ( Memento from July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Report on the myth of the "Purple People Eaters" (English)
- ^ Shelby Strother, The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game. ISBN 0-671-72798-2 .
- ↑ profootballhof.com Interview with QB Roger Staubach, accessed on June 9, 2010
- ↑ a b minnesotavikings.com ( Memento from March 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) History of the team, accessed July 27, 2010
- ↑ vikingupdate.com ( Memento from October 10, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) The Herschel Walker Trade summarized (English).
- ↑ profootballhof.com The greatest transfers in NFL history .
- ^ New York Times.com Heat Deaths in American Football Access June 10, 2010
- ↑ New York Times.com Vikings' Owner Makes a Name for Himself (English), accessed June 9, 2010
- ^ Jrank.org Biography of Reggie Fowler, accessed June 9, 2010 (English).
- ↑ usatoday.com Brett Favre's Lambeau return outshines World Series in TV ratings (English), accessed June 9, 2010
- ↑ sport1.de Saints write history Accessed on June 9, 2010
- ↑ espn.com Vikings fire coach Brad Childress
- ^ Examiner.com Vikings lose to Giants in Detroit, and are out of the playoffs
- ↑ focus.de Frazier remains coach of the Minnesota Vikings
- ^ Dulled joy among the Vikings. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . December 31, 2012, accessed January 3, 2013 .
- ↑ NFL quarterfinals with Houston and Green Bay. In: derStandard.at . January 6, 2013, accessed January 6, 2013 .
- ^ Vikings hire Mike Zimmer as coach. January 16, 2014, accessed October 1, 2015 .
- ^ Vikings take Adrian Peterson on leave. In: focus.de . September 17, 2014, accessed October 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Kirk Cousins signs with Minnesota Vikings as expected , The Washington Post , March 15, 2018, accessed January 9, 2019.
- ↑ Minnesota Vikings fire offensive coordinator John DeFilippo , on 247sports.com, December 11, 2018, accessed January 9, 2019.
- ↑ No playoffs for Vikings after falling flat against Bears , United Press International , December 31, 2018, accessed on January 9, 2019.
- ↑ Jan Dafeld: Kirk Cousins: From scapegoat to MVP candidate - and back again? on spox.com. October 24, 2019, accessed April 21, 2020.
- ↑ Adam Patrick: Vikings hand over the division in loss to Packers on Monday night. In: The Viking Age . December 23, 2019, accessed April 21, 2020.
- ↑ Ben Goessling: Vikings upset Saints in overtime in NFC wild-card playoff game. In: Star Tribune . January 6, 2020, accessed on April 21, 2020.
- ↑ Will Ragatz: Vikings Season Comes to Lifeless End With 27-10 Loss to 49ers. In: Sports Illustrated . January 12, 2020, accessed on April 21, 2020.
- ^ Courtney Cronin: How the Vikings will have to rebuild defense after free-agency losses on espn.com. March 27, 2020, accessed on April 21, 2020.
- ↑ NFL: Blockbuster Trade! Buffalo Bills sign Stefon Diggs of Minnesota Vikings on spox.com. March 17, 2020, accessed April 21, 2020.
- ↑ Kevin Patra: Vikings, Kirk Cousins agree to 2-year, $ 66M extension on nfl.com. March 16, 2020, accessed on April 21, 2020.
- ↑ Pro Football Hall of Fame Hall of Famers by Team, accessed June 4, 2010
- ↑ 2017 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. (PDF) In: nfl.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018 .
- ^ Vikings Legends Ring of Honor. In: vikings.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019 .
- ↑ sportsecyclopedia.com Entry about the Minnesota Vikings Accessed June 9, 2010
- ^ Statistics by Norm Van Brocklin . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ A b Statistics from Bud Grant . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ Statistics from Les Steckel . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ↑ Statistics by Jerry Burns . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Dennis Green . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Mike Tice . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ↑ Statistics by Brad Childress . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ Statistics by Leslie Frazier . Retrieved October 22, 2015.
- ^ Statistics from Mike Zimmer . Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ↑ vikings.com ( Memento from April 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) The Skol Line on vikings.com, accessed on August 2, 2010
- ↑ Minnesota Vikings History ( Memento December 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ vikings.com ( Memento of December 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Cheerleader program on vikings.com Accessed August 2, 2010
- ↑ espn.com NFL audience figures for the 2009 season.Accessed August 2, 2010
- ↑ espn.com NFL attendance figures for the 2010 season
- ^ NFL Attendance - 2013. In: ESPN . Retrieved September 15, 2014 .
- ^ Vikings Children's Fund. ( Memento of December 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) In: vikings.com. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- Jump up ↑ College Basketball Rivalries - Wisconsin vs. Minnesota - Status Check at btpowerhouse.com, September 12, 2014, accessed November 10, 2018.
- ↑ Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings: The History, the Rivalry and Favre on bleacherreport.com, October 30, 2009, accessed November 10, 2018.
- ↑ Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings Results on footballdb.com, accessed on November 10, 2018.
- ↑ Ballparks.com Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (English) Accessed June 9, 2010.
- ↑ Minnesota Vikings Lose New Stadium Vote ( Memento of May 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Draft law for Vikings Stadium. In: stadionwelt.de. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ↑ Richard Meryhew: Groundbreaking for Vikings stadium set for October 2013. StarTribune, December 7, 2012, accessed on October 20, 2013 : "Officials project an October 2013 start for construction on the new 65,000-seat stadium"
- ↑ Metrodome Demolition Reaches Completion Early. In: minnesota.cbslocal.com. April 17, 2014 (English).
- ↑ stadionwelt.de: Credit institute buys naming rights for Vikings Stadium Article from June 16, 2015
- ↑ a b Forbes.com The Value of the Vikings 2019 (English). Retrieved September 10, 2019.
- ↑ Mike Ozanian: The NFL's Most Valuable Teams 2019: Cowboys Lead League At $ 5.5 Billion . In: Forbes . September 4, 2019, accessed on September 10, 2019.
- ↑ a b forbes.com Financial Aspects of NFL Clubs Accessed August 2, 2010
- ↑ sportsbusinessjournal.com Vikings complete refinance of Wilf's acquisition debt (English) Accessed August 2, 2010
- ↑ Minnesota loose mascot as Ragnar the Viking demands $ 20,000 per NFL game. Retrieved September 17, 2017 .
- ↑ bizjournals.com New Vikings mascot (English) Accessed June 4, 2010
