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The Minnesota Vikings: NFL Expansion Team

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The Minnesota Vikings are a storied franchise that was an NFL expansion team in 1960 and they played their first season in 1961. The vikings are currently in the NFC North Division, and before that they were in the NFC Central Division. They first time they made the playoffs was in 1968, and they have made the playoffs 27 times since making the playoffs last in 2015. The Vikings currently hold 19 division titles, and 4 conference championships. They have one NFL championship that pre dates the AFL-NFL merger. They won the championship in 1969. They have had 4 separate stadiums with U.S. Bank Stadium being the newest. U.S. Bank was build upon the former site of Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, and it was just completed on June 17th, 2016. The cost …show more content…

The rookie quarterback Fran Tarkenton, a future hall of famer, started playing for them during their first season. Tarkenton’s number was eventually retired. In 1969, the Vikings went 12-2, winning 12 straight games that season. They ended up winning the NFL championship against the Cleveland Browns 27-7. They earned a berth in Super Bowl IV, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-7. In 1970-1971, the “Purple People Eaters” defense helped to lead the team to back-to-back playoff berths. In 1973, their record was 12-2 again and they made it to Super Bowl VIII, but they ended up losing to the Miami Dolphins 24-7. In 1974, they went 10-4 and they ended up playing in their second straight Super Bowl. They lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-6 in Super Bowl IX. In 1975, the Vikings got started off 10-0 led by quarterback Fran Tarkenton and running back Chuck Foreman, but they lost to Dallas in the playoffs. In 1977, the Vikings played in Super Bowl XI. They couldn’t break their bad luck losing to the Oakland Raiders 32-14. Fran Tarkenton retired in 1978, and he led the team in all major passing categories. The Vikings got a new stadium in 1982, which was Humphrey H. …show more content…

The 1990’s saw a more success with 4 NFC Central Titles, 8 playoff appearances, and 2 NFC Championship game appearances. 1998 was a year to remember for the vikings, finishing with a record of 15-1. They quarterback Randall Cunningham, a future Hall-of-Fame receiver Cris Carter, and the great rookie Randy Moss. They never scored less than 24 points a game. They set an NFL record 556 points in one season. Their kicker Gary Anderson, finished a perfect season without even missing an extra point. In the NFC championship with two minutes to go, he missed 38-yard field goal for the win against the Falcons. The Falcons ended up going to the Super Bowl that year and losing. In 2000, the Vikings completed their 40th season with quarterback Daunte Culpepper and running back Robert Smith who rushed for then a team record 1,521 yards and 7 touchdowns. They made the playoffs, but lost in the conference championship 41-0 to the New York Giants. From 2001-2006, the vikings did not have much success at all. They made the playoffs once during that time span. In 2006, the Vikings selected Adrian Peterson with the 7th pick in the

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