Why Do You Love The Minnesota Vikings?

Love hurts. With this teams history, one must embrace pain and be one with it. The Vikings have had their “up’s”, only to let us down. But damn it, it’s my team, do or die.

…and thus, I grew up with the Vikings. I have the most random memories of the Vikings from my younger years, including a very vivid memory of the ’93 game versus the Packers where Fuad Reveiz was 5-6 on FG and scored all the points for the Vikings in their 15-13 win.

I’ve lived in WI since 2000 (went to college here and have found a good career in Madison) so my love for the Vikes has been strengthened by my proximity to too many Packers fans. I see less of their games now though as it is often hard to get the Vikes on TV (they are always on TV at the same time as the Packers and when they aren’t, they are usually on at the same time as the Bears who get 2nd priority in this market. I don’t have the money for Sunday Ticket) but my love for them is not diminished. And whenever things get tough, my hatred of the Packers sustains me. =)

I moved to MN right before the 2004 season, and honestly wasn’t a huge football fan. But, I watched the news and read the Strib and they kept reporting on the Vikes non-stop. It was the first time I lived in an NFL city, and I eventually bought into the hype. After casually watching some of the incredible plays Randy Moss and Culpepper managed in 2004, I decided to really start watching all the games in 2005. Of course, that was the year they had just traded away Moss (I didn’t like the move at the time), and then Culpepper blew out his knee. And somehow, despite all that misery I was hooked. I continued to watch, and my fandom has increased ever since.

So, why do I love the MN Vikings? As a professional musician, I have to perform, flawlessly, on cue. It’s something that all performers (whether they are athletes, artists, or whatever) have in common. I can relate to their level of performance, even if it’s in a totally different medium. Watching and experiencing some of the amazing athletic displays, and admiring their precision is what keeps me coming back for more and more. I can appreciate the work they’ve put in to hone their skills, because it’s the same kind of dedication to a craft that I’ve done as a musician. And because there are so few games, the players have even more pressure on them to succeed and execute each week. The added display of power and toughness is something else I like about the NFL. It also helps that my best memories are of my time living in the Twin Cities, so being a fan of the Vikings keeps me connected to Minnesota.

2nd generation fan.

I get this question a lot. My love for the Vikings started early in life. My elementary school nickname was “Vikings,” so I suppose that’s where it started. Anthony Carter was my favorite viking growing up. Back then we didn’t have cable so I almost never saw them play. I could only listen to games on the radio and read about them in the newspaper or or SI. If they played on MNF, I would go over to my cousin’s house (nmvikesfan to you guys here on the DN), who along with his dad were both Vikings fans, and watch the game with them because I didn’t have cable growing up and didn’t get ABC with our antenna.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, 8 year old sees the Vikings for the first time and was hooked. That was 1968, as I love to tell fans of the Packers, my loyalty has nothing to do with wins and losses. I am a very proud Vikings fan who patiently waits for an NFL title. SKOL VIKINGS…….

Growing up in the Houston area, it’s odd that I became a Vikings fan. My dad is from North Dakota, so I grew up watching his favorite team. Also, the Oilers were no longer around by the time I was old enough to be a football fan. The first season I remember vividly is the 1998 season ( I was 8 at the time). Maybe the most exciting season in Vikings history, and my first taste of the heartbreaking losses to come. Gary Anderson, 01’ Giants, the Arizona push off, 12 men on the field…. It never ends. But for some reason, I still love this team just as much as I did in 98.

… and catching the end of Tarkenton’s career, being old enough to remember the loss to Madden’s Raiders in the Superbowl, was my introduction. I think in those days, the link to the hometown team was stronger, since there was no cable TV, no “Sunday Ticket”, and free agency wasn’t as big a factor so that the team was more recognizable from year to year. Those guys lived in Minnesota too. So the connection was stronger.

Now I live away from Minnesota, but the connection and nostalgia for Minnesota is still strong. I still visit friends and family there. So, for me, there’s not really any other team. Just the Vikings.

So we rooted for them. Then my Dad may he burn for all eternity, became a Dallas fan of all things while we lived in Texas. Good news is 2009 was a banner year for me and my Mom. Making fun of the crap effort Dallas put up in the play offs helped offset the misery that came later.

Jeff Siemen dripping blood from both elbows and more every single game.

I go all the way back to ’61, “Norm” before “CHEERS” and games at the Met before the Metrodome, there is only “ONE BUD”… Got winded watching #10 scramble and dizzy watchin #44s spin move. I “RESPECT” the way the Vikes play “D”. … the rusty scupper & tommy kramer … from mick to zim to randall to hutch and all those b4 and inbetween OBTW #69 is a beast and #28 aint done amazin ya yet … what is not to love … enjoyed the highs and lows of bleeding purple it builds character some say I am a real character

No choice. Born and raised in the Ottertail, MN area. I was first introduced to actually watching the games as a 7 or 8 year old. It was a year or two before ‘98 when we lost to the Cowboys in a Wild Card game. Haven’t looked back since. I LOVE this team. Let’s get a stadium. Contact your legislators:

https://secure.gimigo.com/campaign/savethevikes/petition/

I was born into a Vikings household, any other team stood no chance of claiming me as a fan. I tried to convert to a different team when we moved to Wisconsin (all the cheese heads rip on us) but it didn’t work. I tried to cheer for them but it just wasn’t the same so I have always remained a Viking fan.

My dad was born and raised in Minnesota, so when I was a kid we always went straight from church to the sports bar to catch the Vikes. The season that cemented me as a fan was the ‘98 season when I was 10 years old. That year I got my first jersey, a white Cris Carter jersey, and watching a record setting offense was enough to catch my attention. I haven’t seen my father shed many tears in his life, but there we all shed some after the missed field goal in the championship game. After that season I have been an avid fan of the purple and gold for better or worse

Being a young kid of 8 years old, living in Rochester MN, my dad took me to my first game in Bloomington. I was in awe, the players and the crowd, I was hooked. We were able to walk around and get down by the field near the end zone. Then Joe Kapp threw a touchdown pass to Gene Washington. We were yelling and cheering, when he walked up to where we were at jumped up and slapped my hand and smiled, fricken awesome.
That next summer in Rochester the Vikings use to do promotional softball games, you could walk around sit down with them and bullshit, it was so cool. Getting to talk with Alan Page, Carl Eller and Paul Krause and others was really something.
On top of that my dad was friends with a former National Ranked wrestler Lee Adal who had gone to the Olympic trials twice, didn’t make it but still, Lee was a hell of an arm wrestler also and he and my dad went to Minneapolis one weekend. Lee had got the chance to arm wrestle Ed White. If you didn’t know I think Ed went undefeated in the NFL arm wrestling competitions. Anyway Lee beat Ed, and after that when Ed was in the area of Rochester he would stop in. With history like that there is only one way to be a true “Purple People Eater”

…that’s really all I got.

Born and raised in the great state of Minnesota! Go Vikiings!!! My Dad was a Viking fan. I have a faint memory of Leo Lewis catching a long bomb for a touchdown and a win. The Vikings upsetting the 49ers in the playoffs a few years later. All I heard all week was how Montana and Rice were gonna tear it up and how great the 49ers defense was. Anthony Carter set a playoff record and the Vikings knocked Montana out pf the game. Great win.
Another reason (and maybe this is homerism ) is I personally think that the Vikings have one of the coolest looking helmets in the NFL. I also think that division rivals, Packers and Bears are two of the ugliest. A big C and a big G on the helmet? Come on man!

Rec’s for all!!

I became a fan of this team as a kid in 1969 when the Vikings were pillaging the rest of the old NFL Central Division on their way to their first Super Bowl. There was something very unique about about this purple clad team with the awesome name that actually played that way. The game I remember the most that year was the Thanksgiving Day contest with Detroit in old Tiger Stadium in a driving snowstorm. The famous lateral by Jim Marshall to Alan Page after a fumble recovery will forever be etched in my memory. Memories of the Old Met where both teams were on the same sideline and NOBODY wanted to play there in late season or especially the playoffs. I recall how many an opposing coach would complain about field conditions yet the Vikings had one of the best kept fields in the league. The grounds crew did an incredible job keeping it that way. Bud Grant refusing to allow heaters on the sidelines…The Purple Gang destroying opposing offenses….Joe Kapp running head on into defenders…..Paul Krause lurking in the secondary waiting to intercept a pass….Fran Tarkenton’s scrambling….Chuck Foreman’s moves and the ability to “always make the first tackler miss”….Bill Brown and Dave Osborne who would run through a brick wall if you painted a goal line on the other side….Wally Hilgenberg who laid such a hard hit on Larry Csonka in one game that the HOF running back says he still feels it from time to time today….All of those great teams from the 60’s on up to the present day make me proud to be a Viking fan even more. When I wear my wool throwback jacket out in public, sometimes I get some ribbing by fans of other teams that have won Super Bowls but the vast majority of them shut up when I ask them how many fans of their team would there be if they had never won the big game. Viking fans are a special breed and one day soon, we’ll all celebrate that elusive championship.

But one of my earliest memories was during “The Trade” and i remember it like it was yesterday(i was about 6 at the time). My mom said “why are all the players great before they get to the vikings and then they suck?”. I never thought at that age that I would still be saying it today.

My love of the Vikings is pretty simple: We rarely suck. What more could you ask for? Championship? C’mon, we’ve done pretty good so far without them. I think someone wrote this a while back, but I’ll say it again. IfOnce we win a championship, it won’t be the same. It just won’t. There’s a part of me that actually likes having the agony and pain of some of those losses(98&09 namely). But part of being ok with that is the assumption that I believe in my lifetime I will see a SuperBowl Championship.

How could you not stay a Vikings fan with the Helmet horn; Helga hates; Ghallarhorn; and Skol Vikings. A tradition like any other…..the Masters Vikings.

the nfl record holder … played 16 years retired in ’79 … 33 years laters #22s 81 career interceptions “still remains” the bar for those who followed

that’s why I like them, I’ve been through the young crying ages, and now the painful losses don’t as much anymore. As I got more attracted to the Vikings, the more interesting I find it. I will always like this team, and maybe they can repay me with Superbowl.

I remember seeing on TV back in late December ’69. They won the NFL championship that day. I also got hooked on the cool colors, logo and being champions. I was only 7 at the time and did not realize there was another game the following week…lol or col. Still not sure how to react. :?

(or as we say american football) in the mid 80’s through a friend who spent a few years at University of Arizona and I was immediately attracted with the tactical part of the game. The only way for me as a swede to get hold of football was to order magazines and VHS tapes from UK. It became quite expensive until some cabel channels started to broadcast sunday night football.
When I first saw the Viking logo and read Minnesota over it there were almost no discussion (next to all swedes have relatives in or around Minnesota). The final piece was when I attended the first NFL game ever played in Europe as Vikings faced Bears in a pre-season game at Ullevi stadium, Gothenburg 14 August 1988.
We won 28-21!
This is, in my opinion, Vikings first and so far only “real” home game.

a team when … the benchwarmer is a local hero … let’s hear it for “benchwamer bob”

…and darn sentimentality. Those are the reasons I love the Vikings.

Chris FREAKING Walsh…HELL YEAH

But my parents were from a small town in southern Minnesota and we settled there after my dad retired. I never really liked football as a child because my dad was a Vikings fan and we only had one TV, so football kept me from watching cartoons and movies.

Then one day when I was about 12, my dad took me to the town clothing store (there was indeed only one; it was the only place to get shoes too) and they happened to have just received a shipment of Vikings jerseys. I had seen kids in school wearing them and, still being the new kid, I was trying to fit in. So I asked my dad if I could one. Suprised at my sudden interest in the Vikings, he eagerly agreed and asked me who I wanted….

I had no idea! I had no idead who was even on the team! Well, my dad pulled one off the rake and said “Well, this guy pretty much won the game for us last night.” The jersey was of some guy named “Page” . I shrugged and said OK. Ah children…

I actually watched my first football game the next weekend, Vikings vs Lions. We won! Been bleeding purple ever since. My parents still have that conveted No. 88 jersey packed away someplace…

Besides, being full blood Norwegian who ELSE could I cheer for?

(sorry for the book… ah memories…)

VIKINGS BORN I/28/60 ME 2/29/60 SO YEH YOU COULD SAY I’VE GROWN UP WITH THEM JUST SOUTH OF CANADA IN NODAK, AS SOON I COULD FOCUS ON A TV IT WAS THE VIKINGS EVERY SUNDAY THATS IF THE RABBIT EARS DID THEIR JOB OR IT WAS LEFT TO THE RADIO AND THAT WAS SO SO AS WELL ALOT OF TIMES YOU WOULD NEED TO WAIT FOR THE PAPER ABOUT 5PM MONDAY TO FIND OUT THE HIGH LIGHTS BUT I TELL YA TO LISTEN TO THE GUY DO PLAY BY PLAY WHEN FRAN TARKENTON WAS TEARING IT UP WAS EPIC YOU WOLD BE ON THE EDGE OF CHAIR WAIT FOR HIM TO GET THE NEXT SNAP OR WAITING FOR THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS ELLER,PAGE,LARSEN AND MARSHALL CHOW DOWN ON THE QB THE ONLY THING THAT MADE IT BETTER WAS GETTING A COLOR TV AND CABLE IN 66 AND EVEN IF THE DEFENSE WAS WINNIG MORE GAMES THAN THE OFEENSE , YOU STILL HAD TO LOVE THEM , AND THEN IT ALL CAME TOGETHER ABOUT 70 THEY GET FRAN BACK THEY PICK THAT GUY CHUCK FOREMAN AND THAT DUDE JOHN GILLIAM A ND THE DEFENSE STILL ROCKING IT WITH BUD GRANT AT HELM THE VIKINGS TERORIZED EVERY TEAM IN THE IN THE LEAGUE IT WAS AWSOME TO WATCH AND NEVER FORGOTEN DESPITE YHE PROBLEM WITH SUPER BOWLS THE JOURNEY TO THEM WAS NOTHING LESS THAN A MAGNIFICENT PERFORMANCE SO IT WAS STILL EASY TO BE A FAN AND LOVE THEM AND IN 71 PAGE THE FIRST DEFENSIVE PLAYER EVER TO BE MVP OF THE YEAR OVER ANY O PLAYER THAT WON THE SUPERBOWL,
AND VIKINGS TO DATE HAVE DOMINATED THAT DIVISION MORE YEARS THAN ANY OF THE OTHER 3 TEAMS SO IVE SEEN THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY BUT THE GREAT MOMENTS OUT WAY THEM ALL

SKOL

Here’s mine. I grew up as the Purple People Eaters era was at the back end of their glory years. 1973 is the first year I can remember watching games on TV. I remember watching the NFC championship game against Dallas. Fran Tarkenton hit Jim Gilliam for a long TD pass and the rout was on.

I’ll never forget my first game at the Met: It was this one. Like some other guys said, both teams were on the same sideline, but the Vikes came out to the field from the first base dugout, which was way across on the other side. The Chargers were already warming up, and there were some guys huddled next to the heaters on their side of the 50, and some had those big, heavy, over the shoulder pad coats that looked like trench coats on. It was cold outside, snow was piled up on the edge of the field, and I was dressed like the little brother from “A Christmas Story”.

Well, the Vikes came out, no coats, no heaters on their side line, and lined up in what was a perfect formation for warm ups. They ran to the sideline, turned right to the goal line, turned left on the goal line, ran across the field, and split off about 10 guys each or so on each of the yard lines. The defensive guys started hitting each other on the shoulder pads, they were hoofin’ and howlin’, and the Chargers looked over, and their collective heads dropped and shoulders sagged.

The game had been won by the Vikings over an hour and a half before kickoff.

I remember that Chuck Foreman ran wild, the Purple People Eaters had a goal line stand down at the third base end of the field, and the only way I knew they stopped them on each down was by the crowd reaction at that end of the stadium, and my Dad accidentally gave me take a sip of his “hot chocolate” from the adult thermos. Tasted like Wild Turkey, but I can’t swear on that.

So, I ask you—how could I NOT be a Vikings fan?

Around the 2003-2004 Season, man culpepper and moss were awesome.

so much heartbreak though, especially the arizona td to knock the vikes out of the playoffs.
Loved beating the pack in lambeau, moss moon was epic, 2009 was a thing of beauty

never watched a lot of football on tv in elementary school. i’d be out playing it on sundays instead. in junior high i started playing organized football in school so i also started watching more games. this would have been 85-86. the vikings were decent at the time but their defensive line was really good. they had who is in my opinion one of the best interior lineman to ever play the game, keith millard. the guy was just a beast. 18 sacks he had in 89 i believe. 18! for a tackle! the next year he hurt his knee really bad and was only mediocre after his return. i’ve never seen a guy dominate the interior line like he did before he got hurt. if he hadn’t gotten hurt, he’d be in the hall of fame (51 sacks in less than 5 years as he was hurt for most of the year in 87) and vikings fans as well as any general football fan would know who he is (as i’m sure most of you older fans remember him) and he’d be as revered as any defensive great in vikings history. needless to say, watching him terrorize offensive linemen and qbs hooked me quick and i’ve been a fan ever since.