It’s Super Bowl week, and for Vikings fans it can feel like the world is taking aim at Minnesota by sending painful reminders of how many times the team failed to win in the Super Bowl.
There’s no getting around the cold, hard truth that the Vikings have never won a Super Bowl, going 0-for-4 in their attempts – and coming up just short in numerous NFC Championships.
On Wednesday, FOX Sports put some salt in the wound by releasing a list of the 20 greatest teams to never win the big game. We counted them up and four great Viking teams were on it.
Take a deep breath. Here. We. Go.
No. 18: The 1975 Vikings, who finished with a regular season record of 12-2. They won by an average of more than two touchdowns every week. Minnesota lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game on a last-second Hail Mary to Drew Pearson.
No. 18a: The 2009 Vikings, who lost to the Saints in the NFC Championship Game. Minnesota cruised to a 12-4 regular season record, led by quarterback Brett Favre. Adrian Peterson had more than 1,800 total yards and he scored 18 touchdowns, including three in the championship game, but Minnesota couldn’t get over the hump.
No. 5: The 1998 Vikings. This one is extra painful because the ’98 Vikings became the third team in NFL history (at the time) to finish with a 15-1 regular season record. Randy Moss debuted as a rookie with 17 touchdowns. They won by an average of 16.2 points per game. The 1998 Vikings Yearbook created by NFL Films is a remarkable watch. Painful, but remarkable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUbHVyIuQVQ
No. 4: The 1969 Vikings, who led the NFL in points (379), points allowed (133) and per-game point differential (17.6) and they still found a way to lose to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. The Vikings did nothing but dominate all season. They scored 50 or more points three times and registered nine blowout victories. As good as they were, they lost to a team that represented the American Football League – a league that was considered inferior to the NFL at the time.
Any given Sunday, right?
