Alan Page says Vikings' Super Bowl trips were worth it

Alan Page is not only one of the greatest defensive linemen to ever play football, but he is one of the great ambassadors of the state and the Vikings organization. He not only was elected to the College Football and Pro Football Halls of Fame, but also served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court for 22 years.

Page, who reached the state Supreme Court mandated retirement age of 70 last August, also is a big part of Vikings lore because he played in all four Super Bowls in which the team participated.

With Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, Page was asked if the disappointment of losing four Super Bowls took away from the team's other great accomplishments.

"The goal is to get there and obviously to win, but getting there is, I mean you look at the teams that never get there, I mean just never get there, and so getting there was ultimately what it's all about," Page said. "Then once you're there, then it's another football game you're trying to win."

Those Vikings teams were without question a dynasty, even if they never won a Super Bowl. Only 10 franchises in NFL history have appeared in more Super Bowls than the Vikings, and they reached all four within a nine-year period.

Page was one of 11 players to play in all four contests, along with Bobby Bryant, Fred Cox, Carl Eller, Wally Hilgenberg, Paul Krause, Jim Marshall, Mick Tingelhoff, Ed White, Roy Winston and Ron Yary.

Page said the accomplishment of four Super Bowl appearances, with that kind of player continuity, speaks for itself.

In each of the Vikings' Super Bowl appearances, they played teams that had similar or greater talent. In their first Super Bowl against the Chiefs in 1970, they faced a great quarterback in Len Dawson and a superb defense led by former Gophers linebacker Bobby Bell. At that time, the Chiefs had the highest payroll in football.

Then they faced the Dolphins in 1974, quarterbacked by the great Bob Griese, with running backs Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. The 1972 Dolphins are the only NFL team in history to go undefeated.

In 1975 they faced the Steelers, a dynasty that featured nine future Hall of Famers who played together for eight consecutive years in Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, and Mike Webster.

Their last Super Bowl opponent was the 1977 Oakland Raiders, who went 16-1 and were voted to be the greatest team in the history of the NFL in a 2012 NFL.com mock tournament.

Page said that while they faced great opponents, he didn't think all of the teams were particularly better. Some of the losses, he said, were just because the Vikings didn't play their best game.

Who did he think were the best teams the Vikings faced in the Super Bowl?

"I think Miami, they were very good, and Kansas City," he said.

When it came to judging the greatness of Vikings teams he played on, Page had a hard time narrowing it down.

"Oh boy, you know that's pretty hard to say. I mean '69 was great, but '70 wasn't too bad and '71 was not bad either," he said. "I'd say one of those three."

While the hype surrounding the Super Bowl is much greater today, Page said the difference in the environment even back in the '70s was monumental compared to a regular-season game.

Did players like it?

"Well I certainly didn't," Page said with a laugh. "You know when you're a player, you're there on business. I mean I understood and understand that everything that surrounds the game is a key part of that, but when you're trying to focus on the game itself, it is difficult to have all of those distractions.

"Admittedly everybody is distracted, the distractions are on both teams. It's certainly not a reason to not play well or not perform well. But it just makes for a difficult week or two weeks."

Page, who said he is working on projects including another children's book with his daughter, Kamie, and spending time with his wife, Diane, was asked what he takes away from those Super Bowl seasons.

"I am proud just to have been a part of it," he said. "To have shared the field with the likes of Jim Marshall and Carl Eller and Gary Larson and Doug Sutherland and Paul Dickson."

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