A Brief History of Vikings vs. Saints

As the faithful here at DN know, the VIkings have a long and storied history.  What many of you probably aren’t aware of is this:  the Vikings, when going on the road to face the Saints, never lose.  Let’s open the history books and take a look-see, shall we?  Follow along to hear dazzling tales of Truth, Justice, and the American Way, and a sizeable percentage of it is actually true.

Lindisfarne, June 8, 793.  The first recorded NFL game in England was significant for two reasons.  First, it was an outdoor raid on grass, something that Vikings have had historical trouble on, and two, it was the kickoff of what was possibly the longest road trip in Viking history.

You think we’ve got stadium issues now, take a look back a little further and you’ll see that the Vikings were the epitome of a road team from about 790-1066…and they never lost.  For over two hundred and fifty years, undefeated.  But do you hear ESPN talking about that?  No!!  Damn east coast media bias.

And you thought the Vikings have a tough road schedule in 2010.

Anyways, Lindisfarne was a complete and total ass kicking.  The Vikings grabbed an early lead by storming the abbey, and took no prisoners…literally.  The Lindisfarne Saints (they didn’t move to New Orleans until 1967) tried to answer the Vikings ‘Hack Your Head Off With a Battle Axe’ offense (an early version of the shotgun, but gunpowder hadn’t, you know, been invented yet) with the ‘Barricade in the Chapel’ defense, which today we call the Prevent.  The only thing it prevented was the Saints from winning.  Or living.

It was the first in a two hundred year losing streak of Saints against the Vikings, making the Harlem Globetrotters vs. the New Jersey Generals look competitive.

Leif 'the Lucky' Bjornson breaks through on a blitz and takes off

the head of a Saints QB.  Quite Literally. 

Lough Neagh Ireland, 840.  There’s no specific date for this ass kicking, because it was a year long.  That’s right, the Vikings, yet again on the road, yet again outdoors on grass, had the most lopsided time of possession massacre in football history.  It was total domination.  A thoroughly defeated band of Saints were sold into slavery, which was an early version of being traded to Buffalo.   

Normandy, France 887-1066.  So by now, the Vikings had grown tired of beating Saints in and around England.  Their next road game was very impressive, because they went to France and completely took over an entire region of the country.  In retrospect, it was France, so a critic could say this is like crowing about a win over the Lions in Detroit (a city founded by the French…coincidence?) and that has to factor into the equation.  But still, the Vikings made the American invasion of Normandy in WWII look like a picnic.  And Americans kick ass.  All the time.  So that makes the Viking win impressive.

New Orleans, 1987 Wild Card.  Vikes 44-10.  In yet another rout of the Saints, the Vikings went down to New Orleans (another city founded by the French…seeing a pattern yet?) and thoroughly dominated the Fleuer.  Wade Wilson hit Hassan Jones on a hail mary (demons exorcised..HAH!!!!) at the end of the first half, and the rout was on. 

Minnesota, 2000 Divisional Playoff.  Vikes 34-16.  Randy Moss was in his Superfreak mode, Daunte got his roll on early, and Cris Carter was his steady, spectacular self as the Vikes rolled 34-16, and the score really wasn’t that close.

So, what have we learned here today?  Well, for one, we’ve learned that the Vikings are actually a pretty good road team, and have been since the Middle Ages.  And they generally tend to dominate the Saints, especially Saints with a French background.  To win Sunday, the Vikings will need to bring their ‘A’ game, a take no prisoners mentality…and a REALLY large battle axe.

Down with the Fleuer!!