Mention the Minnesota Vikings and you’ll probably hear a chuckle or two directed at the team that has almost deservedly earned its reputation as a franchise that just can’t get over the championship hump. Invariably blessed with offensive firepower and marginally reliable defenses, the Vikings have quietly spent the last almost-fifty years compiling a winning record that has been surpassed by only four other franchises. Most fans are not even aware that there was actually a time when the Vikings dominated the NFL in every way except for the one that mattered: winning the title. From 1969 until the 1977 Super Bowl, the Vikings were so commanding on the field that one would have thought they were the personification of the real Norse raiders of history. Playing in four of that period’s eight Super Bowl title matchups, the Vikings were destined to lose them all. As it turns out, that period would be the last that would see Minnesota in a Super Bowl, ad should thus always be thought of as the Vikings’ Golden Years.

The beginnings of an era

Their eight-year run of dominance began with their twelve and two season in 1969, which included a streak of twelve consecutive victories. The Vikings won the right to face the Cleveland Browns in the NFL title game in January of 1970, which turned out to be the last NFL Championship ever played (the next year saw the NFL and AFL officially merge into one league). Their victory over the Browns made them the NFL’s representative in the League’s fourth Super Bowl. Though they lost that contest to the Kansas City Chiefs, it was the beginning of the Viking’s best years.

The 1970s

The rise of the Vikings’ Purple People Eaters defense in the early 1970s powered them to the playoffs in 1970 and 1971. The 1972 season was a seven and seven campaign, in large measure due to roster changes during the offseason (the Vikings had traded with the Giants to bring Fran Tarkenton back to the team. By the team 1973 rolled around, however, the Vikings were back in wining form and began the season with nine straight wins, finishing with another twelve and two record. They then lost Super Bowl VIII to the Dolphins.

The elusive Super Bowl win

That defeat was to be repeated, much to the chagrin of Vikings fans, when the team went back to the Super Bowl for Super Bowl IX, and this time lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 1975 team cruised to their divisional title before losing to the Cowboys in the postseason in a game that is best known for Roger Staubach’s famed “Hail Mary” pass. Missing out on the Super Bowl that year, the Vikings would nevertheless return in the next. In Super Bowl XI – against the Oakland Raiders – the Vikings lost by eighteen points.

It was the team’s third appearance in four years and their fourth in eight. They had managed to lose all four title games, but those losses are not the true measure of the team’s success. The fact is that they did dominate their half of the NFL for much of the early and mid 1970s, despite never winning the biggest game of all.

Freddie Brister is a huge fan of all sports and recommends checking out his Minnesota Vikings Blanket and Kansas City Royals bedding at his shop.