Origin of the name
(By Raúl Cancio) The youngest of the teams among the venerable sporting icons that make up the NFC North is the only one whose name reflects an objective social reality: 32.1% of the population of Minnesota has Scandinavian origins, a result of the significant immigration from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark that settled in the prairies of this state since 1880. Marilyn Monroe, Scarlett Johansson, Jackson Brown, Iggy Pop, Lolo Jones, and Elliot Ness are some of these famous Vikings of Scandinavian origin.
Owner: Zig Wilf **
Wilf's biggest challenge since acquiring the team in 2005 has been the construction of a new stadium, which is already underway and will host a future Super Bowl. However, he has never been able to provide the team with the stability and capability to regularly compete for the division during his years as owner. That is what defines, more than anything else, his tenure in Minnesota, which cannot be considered a success.
General Manager: Erick Spielman **
Spielman arrived with Wilf and is still here, which suggests that he is more of a right-hand man to the owner rather than a proper manager. He has had to deal with all kinds of situations, but he seems much more focused since the Brett Favre earthquake ended, a crazy and bittersweet gamble, and he was able to rebuild with some freedom. The project he leads looks promising, but after almost ten years in the position, he has few things to boast about.
Head Coach: Mike Zimmer ****
Zimmer, an extraordinary defensive coordinator, was chosen to revive the Vikings' ship, and he has certainly done so. Although it is still too early to judge, he has led the recovery of a defense that seemed mediocre and has ended up scaring the best of them. In offense, he understands the strengths and weaknesses of Teddy Bridgewater to make him shine. This year, he also has the luxury of having Adrian Peterson, something he didn't have last season, so the old recipe can be expected: running game and defense. They may not be an especially exciting team, but their solidity is on the rise.
STADIUM: TCF Bank Stadium, a borrowed field *
(By José Villelabeitia) The Vikings are playing temporarily at the University of Minnesota stadium until the construction of a new field in the city center is completed. Perhaps the only thing that can be said about this borrowed field is that it has temporarily revived what was a tradition in Twin City when the old state, the Metropolitan, was still standing: when you go to watch professional football, you go to endure the cold. The Vikings had to pay for the installation of a heating system on the field out of their own pockets, otherwise it would be impossible to play in this untamed place in December.
FANBASE: Horns and hatred towards the Packers ***
(By José Villelabeitia) The symbol par excellence of the Vikings is the horns adorning their purple colored helmet, the color of the city. On a game Sunday, one can encounter hundreds of citizens walking around with Viking helmets with horns, and the most passionate even wear a complete Viking uniform. Another characteristic of their fanbase is their visceral hatred towards the Green Bay Packers and everything they represent, something that has not prevented a continuous transfer of players from the former to the latter and reached its peak when Brett Favre decided to play for the Vikings, a wound that took years to heal.
CHEERLEADERS: Unique in the NFC North **
(By José Villelabeitia) The Vikings have had a cheerleaders squad since their arrival in the NFL in 1961. Initially known as the "Vi Queens", they were renamed "Parkettes" and since 1984, they have been simply known as the Vikings Cheerleaders. They are the only team in the entire NFC North that has cheerleaders, the rest of the franchises in the former "Black & Blue Division," where the oldest teams in the entire NFL are located, have considered that cheerleaders do not fit with their traditions.