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I remember being in elementary and falling in love with Football IMMEDIATELY. I was the most emphatic cheesehead Jr you'd ever meet! My dad told me one Sunday night that the next night we were going to get pizza hut and watch the Packer game, I was so excited I remember feeling like the school day was never going to end the next day, I waited and waited till around 8 I think until FINALLY it was game time, I vividly remember my dad pointing to the team in purple and telling me "Those are the Vikings, their the worst people in the world." From then on, I knew exactly who the enemy was, and I came to despise the sight of the horn on their helmet.

Incidentally, that happened to be the Antonio Freeman "HE DID WHAT!?" game.

Nov. 6, 1966. Minnesota @ Green Bay. Game was on TV, no one in the family was watching. (I was raised in Appleton, WI, 29.3 miles from Lambeau field.) My dad had brought home a new "color" TV. (Yes, young ones, there was a time when not all TV's were color.) The Vikings with the horns on the helmet, the purple uniforms. I was sold. My family has been trying to convert me to a Packer fan ever since. Fran Tarkenton, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Dave Osborn. Vikings won 20-17. One of the 2 loses the Packers had that year. Next day in school talking about the game I realized I was the only one who was happy the Vikings won. Been annoying Packer fans ever since.

I grew up in Bloomington and went to school with some of the Vikings' kids. That was pretty cool. I remember having a Vikings parka when I was probably 6 or 7 and always had a Vikings hat for the winter too. The Vikes have been in my blood for ever.

Raptorman wrote:Nov. 6, 1966. Minnesota @ Green Bay. Game was on TV, no one in the family was watching. (I was raised in Appleton, WI, 29.3 miles from Lambeau field.) My dad had brought home a new "color" TV. (Yes, young ones, there was a time when not all TV's were color.) The Vikings with the horns on the helmet, the purple uniforms. I was sold. My family has been trying to convert me to a Packer fan ever since. Fran Tarkenton, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Dave Osborn. Vikings won 20-17. One of the 2 loses the Packers had that year. Next day in school talking about the game I realized I was the only one who was happy the Vikings won. Been annoying Packer fans ever since.

LOL! Awesome.

Dave Osborn was my favorite player when I first became a Vikings fan, which was in '69. I don't have any particular memory of my first Vikings experience, just that I started watching the games with my Dad that season and I went football-crazy. That Vikes team was incredible and they stamped my ticket as a Vikings fan for life. I was just a little kid and the '69 Vikes were good enough, and favored heavily enough, that I couldn't fathom the possibility that they might lose the Super Bowl. I remember crying when the Chiefs beat them.

I wrote to Dave Osborn a year or two later and he sent me an autographed picture!

For me, it was the Fall of 1977. My father finally let me attend games at the Met with him and my grandfather. I was 7 years old and not so "active". Sammy White was one of my favorite players during that time. Man, I miss the Met. I also remember getting my first Minnesota Vikings helmet back in the day for Christmas, along with those classic 1977 pajamas!!!

The furthest back memory I have of the Vikings is when my dad and uncle took both families to Minneapolis to watch a game. I was apparently too young (probably around 5 or 6) because only my dad, uncle and cousin went to the game. The rest of us were drug around downtown Mpls in sub zero temps so that my mother and aunt could shop. I just remember being really mad and thinking from that day forward that only adult men must get to go to something so awesome as an NFL football game.

We were from central ND and not the weathliest of families so it actaully was a huge deal for just my dad, uncle and cousin to get tickets much less take everyone else with to the twin cities.

First game I saw live was years later. Vikings Chargers. Im glad I can say that I got to watch Junior Seau play in person.

My first Vikings memory is going with my father to training camp for "camera day" - he had an 8mm movie camera and took home movies of Paul Flatley smiling and hugging kids. My first game in person was at the old met, we sat in the end zone on a sunny afternoon and saw the Vikes beat Alex Karras and the Detroit Lions.

Greg wrote:home movies of Paul Flatley smiling and hugging kids.

I know what you mean here, but this sounds kinda funny.

3rd grade in 1972 Watching the the cowboys on TV against the Vikings. I thought what cool uniforms. I was hooked. Gary Cuozo was the QB. What a Cool name I thought. I was like was like 8 years old. 40 plus years later-3 Superbowl Losses and I'm still here.

In my younger days, I remember my father attempting to get me to cheer for Touchdown Tommy. The problem was at the time I was way more into baseball and hockey, and couldn't care less about football. I liked watching basketball back then. But football just seemed like a bunch of guys in pads jumping on each other to get at a squished ball to me.

The first time I stopped and took notice...and it was also the same time that I began to understand why football was so popular: My dad got me to watch Joey Browner grab a wide receiver scrambling for yards, pick him up like a suitcase, and just walk with him back almost five yards and throw him down. The thought never crossed my mind that I'd ever even consider playing football in high school. That totally turned everything on its head, and I don't entirely know why except that I felt that what I saw was pretty awesome. I kinda warmed up a lot to that 1988 team, and it stuck with me ever since. I have to confess that as a little kid, my grandfather up in Washington brainwashed me into liking his Seahawks, but I wasn't into football until that Browner moment. I think it got me to pay more attention to the intricacies of the game by getting me to pay attention so I didn't miss something else that seemed as great.

I grew up near Mankato back in the 70s. We could never afford to go to a game so my dad used to take me to training camp. Back than iwe could get in free. We would watch practice and than he would hustle me over to the gate to wait for the players to walk from the field to across the street where the lockers were back than. I would stand at the gate, with my dad standing behind me, and just give 5's to all the players as they walked out. There was never a request for an autograph or picture. It was very simple, and I think the players liked that. These were the great days of Viking football. I idolized these guys, and to this day I remember meeting the likes of Alan Page, Matt Blair, Chuck Foreman, Paul Krause, Fran Tarkenton, Ahmad Rashad, Ron Yary, Carl Eller, and my all time favorite Jim Marshall. To this day when I think of these players I still view them as a 10 year old looking up at them. They are all larger than life.

I have now lived in Chicago for 30years, but these childhood memories are as vivid as ever, and because of them I will remain a diehard Viking fan.

80 PurplePride 84 wrote:I always liked them because I thought their helmets were awesome. My fanhood was clinched in '98 when they drafted Moss, as even as a 6 year old the year before I was a big Moss fan when he was at Marshall.

Damn - I thought I was the young one here.

NextQuestion wrote: Damn - I thought I was the young one here.

Hahaha nope. I think I may have that distinction locked up!

My allegiance to this team came from my father. He has been a Vikings fan since 1964. Both of my brothers chose to support other teams, but I was always bound to follow the purple. To this day, my father and I continue to share a strong bond due to our mutual interest in the Vikings. I hate saying this, but my father is getting older. I really hope this team can win the Super Bowl in the near future so we can experience it together as father and son.

Anyway, my first Vikings experience was in 1997. I remember watching Cris Carter catch a pass from Brad Johnson (I think they were playing Detroit).

I was only 6 during 1998 but I will never forget watching #84. Randy was my hero all the way up until 7th grade when we traded him. My 13 year old self was destroyed.

I really didn't become a diehard fan until around the 2003 season. It was during that season that I become even more fascinated with both defense and offense and the nuances of the game. Since then, I have devoted most of my life to this team.

I'm only 27 now. Born in 1985. I remember the 90's era like it was yesterday. My father worked for some company that had box seats and the experience was insane. I remember seeing all of the worst QBs you could imagine pre-Warren Moon.

My Dad left the company in 1998 and I didn't have a bunch of friends going into that school year. I was super into pro wrestling and it wasn't exactly a cool thing to like then. Naturally, I would watch the Vikings alone while doing homework on Sunday afternoons while my dad would go to the only semi-Jewish deli in town and picked up bagels, salami, and bunch of other goodies. Lincoln Dell was the place. That year was so enjoyable for someone like me who was just starting to make some friends.

I didn't know much about the draft but I remember the buzz being all about Randy Moss and he delivered from game one. Is my memory fuzzy or did Brad Johnson start again after he was healthy or was he just put into garbage time situations? Either way...that NFC Championship Game loss was the worst thing ever. I remember being in my room alone, watching the small #### TV my parents had just gotten me. The missed FG sucked but I kept thinking, "well at least we can stop them here. We're up a TD!". The near pick by Robert Griffith still kills me. How ICE COLD would that have been had the game been over via pick by our best defensive back?

I lost touch with the Vikings for many years as I become more focused with music but really found a good spot for them in the later 2000's with AP. Hell, I remember even seeing Randy Moss in person in 2004 in a game against the Jags. I had to go since I had a gig down the road at triple rock. Regret not seeing him more.

NextQuestion wrote:I remember the 90's era like it was yesterday.

Because it was.