The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion team, the team began play the following year. They are named after the Vikings of medieval Scandinavia, reflecting the prominent Scandinavian American culture of Minnesota. The team plays its home games at U.S. Bank Stadium in the Downtown East section of Minneapolis.
Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, having won 8 Norwegian top division titles, most recently in 1991, and 6 domestic Norwegian Cup titles, most recently in 2019. The club has played more top-flight league games than any other club in Norway. It has played in the top division since the league was established, except for the years 1966–67, 1987–88 and 2018. Notable European successes include knocking English side Chelsea out of the UEFA Cup during the 2002–03 season, knocking out Sporting CP from the same tournament in 1999–2000, and qualifying for the group stages of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League's (NFL) Minnesota Vikings and Major League Baseball's (MLB) Minnesota Twins, and Memorial Stadium, the former home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team.
Harry Peter "Bud" Grant Jr. was an American professional gridiron football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Grant was head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for 18 seasons; he was the team's second (1967–83) and fourth (1985) head coach, leading them to four Super Bowl appearances, 11 division titles, one league championship and three National Football Conference championships. Before coaching the Vikings, he was the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for 10 seasons, winning the Grey Cup four times.
Francis Asbury Tarkenton is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was recognized as a twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. After retiring from football, he became a media personality and computer software executive.
Randy Gene Moss is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, he holds the NFL single-season touchdown reception record, as well as the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie. All-time, Moss ranks second in career touchdown receptions as well as fourth in career receiving yards. In addition to possessing extraordinary speed at his size and superior leaping ability, he was famously known for often securing spectacular contested catches in tight coverage by physically overpowering defenders. The term "mossed", referring to this ability, has since become a common term in the football lexicon.
Carl Eller is an American former professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 through 1979. He was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.
Richard Joseph Gannon is an American former football quarterback who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Subsequently, he was a sports commentator with CBS Sports for 16 years.
James Lawrence Marshall is an American former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at Ohio State, before leaving to play for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 1960 NFL draft.
Graduel Christopher Darwin Carter is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990–2001) and the Miami Dolphins (2002). He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time.
Joseph Robert Garcia Kapp was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football as a quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Kapp played professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Calgary Stampeders and the BC Lions and then in the National Football League (NFL) with the Minnesota Vikings and the Boston Patriots; with the Vikings, he led them to victory in the 1969 NFL Championship Game, the only league championship in team history. Kapp returned to his alma mater as head coach of the Golden Bears from 1982 to 1986. He was the general manager and president of the BC Lions in 1990.
Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, the Seattle Seahawks and the Buffalo Bills. Jackson played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Alabama State Hornets. He was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2006 NFL draft.
Adrian Lewis Peterson is an American former football running back who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, setting the freshman rushing record with 1,925 yards in 2004. Named a unanimous All-American that year, he became the first freshman to finish as a runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Peterson finished his college career as the Sooners' third all-time leading rusher.
Kirk Daniel Cousins is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft as a backup to fellow rookie Robert Griffin III. Cousins occasionally appeared in games during his first three seasons before replacing Griffin following an injury in 2015, where he remained the team's starter until 2017. With the Redskins, Cousins set numerous franchise records and was named to the 2017 Pro Bowl.
Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).
Stefon Marsean Diggs is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland and was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft.
Adam John Thielen is an American football wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota State. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2013, playing for them for ten seasons. Thielen holds several NFL records, including eight straight games over 100+ yards receiving, and 74 receptions in the first half of a season.
Dalvin James Cook is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning unanimous All-American honors and finishing his career as the school's all-time leading rusher. Cook was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft, and in six seasons with the team, he earned Pro Bowl honors four times. He is the elder brother of Buffalo Bills running back James Cook.
Justin Jamal Jefferson is an American football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he won the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship as a junior before being drafted by the Vikings in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
