Your first Vikings experience

[PurpleMustReign]

What is the first Vikings experience/moment that you can remember?
For me, backin the early 80s,the Vikings were playing a game toward the end of the season that they needed to win to make the playoffs. My dad says it was against Houston, but i am not sure. Anyway the Vikings lined up for a FG to win... And promptly missed it. My parents went, "aaaaawwwww!" and then I cried and cried! My parents felt so bad for me that they brought me to Burger King. Nowadays, it isn't so easy to cheer me up after a loss, especially a last second heartbreaking one...

[UKno1VIKING]

Oct 5 1998 Monday night football.
The day I knew the vikings were my team. It was tough not being brought into being a dolphin, cowboys, niners, bears (the fridge) fan here in the uk. However watching the incredible Cunningham/moss/carter show to stuff the pack was enough to sway me. Even if it didn't, the heartbreak of witnessing one of the great teams fall short in the championship game (especially randle), that was enough for any neutral to convert.
Ever since then, the bastards break my heart every season, although the refs in the 09 saints game had the biggest dig.

[Funkytown]

I don't remember a specific "first time." I just remember falling in love with Randy Moss in '98. My Dad is a Vikings fan, so he'd watch them whenever they were on TV. Naturally, back in the day, we only had one TV, so I watched. I fell in love with everything Randy Moss, and it was over for me after that. I fall more and more in love with the Vikings every season. But, it all started back in 7th grade for me. The Vikings kicking butt, Moss making it look easy, my first Randy Moss jersey...ahh. The good ol' days. I lived in Wisconsin (boo) at the time, too. Wearin' the Moss jersey was the best. I got tons of love--not! lol

I know my favorite (but not first) Vikings game-day memory, though. It was that Greg Lewis touchdown. I will NEVER forget that. That. was. the. best. I still get chills from watching the highlight video. I remember how deflated everyone was. Many people were leaving. It was blah. Then all of the sudden THAT happened, and everything went flying! Beer, popcorn, nachos--you name it. Boom! It was everywhere! Everyone was hugging and high-fiving. I hugged the lady next to me like I knew her. lol. It was just the best!

[Funkytown]

Ever since then, the bastards break my heart every season, although the refs in the 09 saints game had the biggest dig.

So, so--so true.

[Yorktown Viking]

Tony Dorestt.
99 yards.
Its been downhill ever since.

SKOL!

[The Breeze]

Fran the Man and the Purple People Eaters. Unfortunately the first real memory etched into my brain was Wille Brown running down the sideline in SB XI.

The first great memory I have other than, anything Chuck Foreman, was the behind the back last second TD catch by Ahmad Rashad against the Browns, don't remember the year. Honorable mention to Tommy Kramer's 3TD 4th Qtr against the Saints in relief of Tark.

[Tark10]

Willie Brown running down the sidelines was SB XI 1/77. Losing to Miami in SB VIII, losing to Pitt. in SB IX, Hail Mary game 1975, losing to Raiders SB XI, losing to the Falcons 1998, losing to Saints 2010. That's enough!!

[UltraNasty850]

Man, you all are old! just kidding.

My first real memory was back in the late 90s. The Vikes were taking on the Bears at the Metrodome. It was a 12:00 game, and without cell phones and tablets nobody knew how the other games in the NFL were going. The Vikes manhandled the Bears that game, but when the Packers score was shown on the scoreboard, the entire stadium began to chant "F**K the Packers! F**K the Packers" over and over again. I was eight years old, and received permission from my parents to join in the chant. I had made a sign that read "Moss is Boss" and it ended up being shown on TV. Once again, without modern technology I never got to see myself on TV, but friends and family (or so they say) saw the sign on TV. Been a huge, extremely loyal fan ever since.

SKOL!

also, F**K the Packers!

[Delaqure]

My first memory of the vikings was them beating the Browns for the NFC championship. They whipped them with Joe Kapp and co. I was hooked even though they lost the Superbowl to the chiefs. The purple and the viking horns were enough for me!

[The Breeze]

Willie Brown running down the sidelines was SB XI 1/77.

indeed.....i confused my x's and v's.

[PacificNorseWest]

My Dad took me to a game when they came here to Seattle. Only thing I Remember was that Herschel Walker was my favorite player, so I got to see him.

[jv1080]

The 1973 team playing in the Super Bowl against the Dolphins was my first Viking experience I can remember....been a fan ever since

[NextQuestion]

I don't remember much about it but Sean Salisbury entered the game.

[Viva la Vikings]

97' playoffs. Pops took me to a Beefs and the rest is history. Not only did it spark my interest in Viking football but sports in general. Thank you Viking Football!

[Eli]

I became a Vikings fan during the 1968 season when they went 8-6 and made the playoffs for the first time. I don't recall if I watched any games that season, but probably watched their one playoff game where they lost to the Baltimore Colts.

To start the 1969 season they lost to the New York Giants. This was in the day when you were lucky to be able to catch a few out-of-market games for any team in a season on TV. This was before Monday Night Football, before ABC even broadcast NFL football, before ESPN and SportsCenter, before the NFL Network. Only CBS and NBC carried NFL games, and along with the local game (Steelers where I grew up) there were only two (or was it three?) other games broadcast each week. I'm not sure if the sports part of the local 11:00 news broadcast showed all the NFL scores for the day, so the only time you'd see scores was during a game or else during a short post-game. I remember every Monday checking the sports section of the newspaper for NFL results.

It was a magical season. The Vikings had a couple of covers of Sports Illustrated, there were amazing stories of a team that was invincible, of Bud Grant, the Purple People Eaters, the Four Norsemen, "three dots and a dash", Joe Kapp, Alan Page. The Vikings then proceeded to march through the season 1-1, 2-1, 3-1 ... 9-1, 10-1, 11-1. With insane scores like

52-14 vs the Colts
31-0 at the Bears
51-3 vs the Browns
52-14 vs the Steelers
27-0 at the Lions on Thanksgiving Day

It's that Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions that I remember. Watching on my grandparents' console TV as dinner was being prepared. I remember it was cold and spitting snow in Detroit. Saw one of the greatest plays in Vikings history, when Jim Marshall intercepted a pass and lateraled as he was being tackled to Alan Page, who ran it in for a touchdown (I'd love to find a video). That play is my earliest memory of watching the Vikings on TV.

They lost their last regular season game of 1969 to Atlanta to finish 12-2. I can remember reading the score in the paper and how badly I had hoped they would finish 13-1. Then they zipped through the playoffs. I remember watching both the Rams and Cleveland playoff games at my other grandparents' home.

That Super Bowl against the Chiefs I also remember like it was yesterday. Probably the worst day of my life, if I had to choose. I never experienced another Vikings loss that hurt like that one. Probably a good early introduction to the next 40+ years of futility and disappointment that this franchise would deliver to its fans.