The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings compete in the National Football Conference of the National Football League (NFL). They have been a member of the North Division since the NFL realigned in 2002. Prior to the realignment, they had been a member of the Central Division, also known as the Black & Blue Division. The Vikings have won one NFL championship (Pre-1970 AFL-NFL Merger) losing 23-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV and were the first team to both play in and lose four Super Bowls. The Vikings have won their division 16 times, third most among teams currently playing in the NFL.
The club was founded in 1961 after the ownership group withdrew membership to the American Football League and agreed to join the NFL as an expansion team. The team played home games at Metropolitan Stadium through the 1981 NFL season and have played their home games at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome since 1982.
In 2000, the Vikings went 11-5. The Vikings were 11-2 after 14 weeks, but slumped briefly, losing their last three to the Rams, Packers and Colts while starting quarterback Daunte Culpepper was hampered by injury. Nonetheless, the Vikings made the playoffs for the fifth straight year. After easily beating the Saints in the Divisional game 34-16, they went to New York to face the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game. Though they were the road team, the Vikings were actually favored to win the game (since most considered their 12-2 record with Culpepper more indicative than their 0-3 record when he was out). But the Vikings were humiliated by the Giants 41-0, the worst loss in franchise history. Robert Smith, who ran for a team record (and NFL best) 1521 yards that season, retired at the end of the year after only playing eight NFL seasons.
In 2001, after a disappointing 5-11 season, the Vikings bought out the contract of Dennis Green, who had become a polarizing presence in the Viking fan base despite his successful coaching tenure with the team. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, losing to the Ravens. Tice was named the permanent coach after the season, but he would not lead the Vikings back to the playoffs until 2004.
During the 2003 season, the Vikings came close to getting into the playoffs. However, the Arizona Cardinals completed a game winning touchdown with 0:00 left knocking the Vikings out of the playoffs. The moment of Arizona's touchdown was actually the first moment the entire season in which the Vikings hadn't led their division.
In 2004, Daunte Culpepper amassed MVP-like statistics, throwing for 4,717 passing yards (leading the NFL), 39 passing touchdowns (a Viking record), and 5,123 total yards (an NFL record). In the wild card matchup, the Vikings defeated the rival Green Bay Packers in their first-ever playoff meeting, 31-17. In doing so, the Vikings became the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8-8) in the regular season and win a playoff game. In the divisional round, the Vikings were defeated by the eventual NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles.
On March 2, 2005, Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was traded to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris and the Raiders' first round draft pick. After struggling to a disappointing 2-5 start to the 2005 season, Vikings lost quarterback Daunte Culpepper to a season ending knee injury. The Vikings finished the 2005 season with a 9-7 record, one win away from the playoffs.
Head Coach Mike Tice was let go after the 2005 season and was replaced by Brad Childress. This was one of many significant front office moves made by the new ownership team, led by Zygi Wilf.
Minnesota began the 2006 season 4-2 (and Childress becoming the first coach in Vikings history to start 2-0 in his first year), but would finish the year at 6-10, tying for the 7th worst record in the NFL and receiving the 7th pick in the NFL Draft; with it, the Vikings selected Adrian Peterson out of the University of Oklahoma.
In Week 9 of the 2007 season, Peterson would go on to break the NFL record set by Jamal Lewis in 2003 for most rushing yards in one game (296 rushing yards against the San Diego Chargers). Despite a strong push in the middle of the 2007 season winning five straight games, the Vikings lost their final two games to finish the season at 8-8, barely missing the playoffs.
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