Some fans choose their team, and some fans are chosen by their team. Which was it for you? Today, we want to hear your story from you: How you became a fan of the Minnesota Vikings?
When did you first become a fan? Were you born into it? Was there a specific game or season that pulled you in? What’s the earliest moment you remember as a fan?
I’ll start with my story, as yours truly was literally born into this whole Vikings fandom thing. I was born on a Minnesota Vikings game day on 26 September 1976. The most notable thing about that game, at least from one perspective, is that the Vikings managed to get a 15-yard penalty before the game even kicked off.
Apparently the traffic between where the Vikings were staying in Detroit and the Lions’ stadium, the fancy and relatively new Pontiac Silverdome (it opened in 1975), was worse than anticipated. A 10-mile bus ride that was anticipated to take about 15 minutes took much longer than it should have and the Vikings didn’t get to the stadium until 12:53 PM ahead of a 1:00 PM kickoff. So, because the Vikings showing up late caused a delayed start, they were assessed a 15-yard penalty before the game got underway.
Nobody scored until the third quarter, when the teams exchanged 49-yard field goals. Chuck Foreman then scored on a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 10-3, and the Lions scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Greg Landry to Charlie Sanders to make it 10-9. However, for whatever reason. . .and I can’t find a decent recap of the game that will tell me why. . .the Lions didn’t get the extra point, and the final score wound up being a 10-9 Minnesota win.
Having been born in Minnesota, pretty much everyone in my family was a Vikings fan when I was growing up, and I just sort of went along for the ride. Like a lot of you, I just haven’t gotten off of the ride since then.
So, how about the rest of you? Were you born into this whole thing, too? Did you convert from another fandom at some point?
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