I don't know the last time a single sporting event — or a single play, even — made the entire state of Minnesota so happy.
Maybe we have to go back to 2009, when the Twins won Game 163 against the Tigers? Or five years before that, when the Gophers women's basketball team went to the Final Four and the Timberwolves beat the Kings in the Western Conference semifinals Game 7? Or two years before that, when the Gophers men's hockey team won the NCAA title at Xcel Energy Center? Maybe we have to go all the way back to 1991, when the Twins won the second of their two World Series titles.
All I know is this: It snowed a lot in Minneapolis on Sunday. It's freezing cold right now and it's the middle of winter. The Super Bowl is here in three weeks. The collective mood in this state would have been MISERABLE had the final score at U.S. Bank Stadium read 24-23 in favor of the Saints.
Case Keenum's improbable walk-off 61-yard touchdown to Stefon Diggs — call it a miracle if you want — lifted the spirits of a fan base, a state and even an entire region.
In the immediate aftermath, I was pretty sure I had just watched the greatest Vikings game in the team's history. But to be sure, I went back through 57 seasons. To qualify for this list, a Vikings game had to have some combination of drama, impact or both. Here is my best shot at the 10 best Vikings victories in their history (note: Any year playoffs are listed it pertains to the year matching the regular season):
10) 1997 Wild Card playoffs. Vikings 23, Giants 22: This was not an objectively good game to watch. The Vikings trailed 19-3 at halftime and looked like they were going to fall to 0-5 in the playoffs during the Dennis Green era. There were rumblings that his job could be in trouble if Minnesota lost. And his book, "No Room For Crybabies" famously came out in the midst of that season. Minnesota, playing on the road, pulled within 19-13 in the fourth quarter, but the Giants added a field goal for a two-score lead. With four minutes left, trailing 22-13, the Vikings punted. They were basically giving up. But they forced a three-and-out, took over at midfield after a short punt, and made it 22-20 on a Randall Cunningham TD pass to Jake Reed. Chris Walsh recovered the ensuing onside kick, setting up a 24-yard field goal by Eddie Murray — which if memory serves BARELY snuck inside the upright — for a 23-22 victory.
9) 1982 regular season finale, Vikings 31, Cowboys 27: This was the Monday Night game in which Tony Dorsett had a 99-yard touchdown run, helping the Cowboys rally to take a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter. A Tommy Kramer to Rickey Young TD late rallied the Vikings to a 31-27 win, which got them into the playoffs in the strike-shortened year. This is the first Vikings game that I truly remember watching, and I know it was a big deal because our family went to another family's house to watch it on their color TV. (We did not have a color TV until I was about 10).
8) 1987 playoffs, Vikings 36, 49ers 24: After clobbering the Saints 44-10 in the opening round, the Vikings continued their upset-minded ways with a huge win over San Francisco in the division round. Anthony Carter caught 10 passes for 227 yards, getting the Vikings into the NFC title game where they lost a heartbreaker to Washington.
