The Vikings begin their 60th season Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Packers. Here is how they have started the previous six decades at home:
A look back at Vikings home openers at the start of decades
September 8, 2020 at 2:06AM
1961: The Vikings' first home opener took place at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington on Sept. 17, 1961. The team had lost all of its preseason games, but that didn't matter as the Vikings crushed the Bears 37-13 behind rookie quarterback Fran Tarkenton's four touchdown passes.
Star Tribune staff writer Robert T. Smith took his 9-year-old son Timothy to the first professional football game in Minnesota. When asked if he knew what Vikings were, Timothy told his father, "They're those guys who came from Norway and were always fighting a lot. They worshiped some false god named Odin or somethin'." The Vikings finished 3-11 in their inaugural season.
How'd the decade go?
Record: 52-67-7, .440 • Playoff record: 2-2 • Super Bowl appearances: 1
1970: One of the most anticipated home openers in Vikings history was Sept. 20, 1970, against the Kansas City Chiefs — a rematch of the previous season's Super Bowl, which Kansas City had won 23-7 just eight months prior. This game was personal for a lot of the Vikings players and coaches, and it showed in a 27-10 victory.
Bud Grant told Sid Hartman after the game, "They've been shoving it down our throats for eight months. What can you say when you get beat? It's sour grapes then. But today we proved that the defense of the 1960s can beat the offense of the 1970s."
The Vikings finished the 1970 season 12-2, one of the best teams in franchise history, but lost 17-14 to the 49ers at home in the first round of the playoffs.
How'd the decade go?
Record: 99-41-2, .704 • Playoff record: 7-8 • Super Bowl appearances: 3
1980: The Vikings' home opener against the Atlanta Falcons in 1980 was as up-and-down as the decade was for the franchise. They took a 21-6 lead before falling behind 23-21 and eventually winning 24-23 on a last-second field goal by Rick Danmeier. Tommy Kramer threw a career-high 395 yards and broke that mark in Week 15 when he threw for 456 yards against the Browns. The Vikings got into the playoffs at 9-7 under Bud Grant, but lost in the divisional round at Philadelphia.
How'd the decade go?
Record: 77-75 (. 507) • Playoffs: 4-5 • Super Bowl appearances: 0
1990: A decade later and Kramer was still playing, only this time for the Saints, whom the Vikings trounced 32-3 at the Metrodome to move to 1-1 on the season and win their 13th straight home opener. Kramer was the backup for New Orleans while Wade Wilson was the Vikings starter. Tribune columnist Dan Barreiro said it was bizarre to see not only Kramer, but Vikings backup Rich Gannon, get more support from the home crowd than Wilson.
"My confidence is fine," Wilson told reporters after the game. "I'm sick and tired of hearing about my confidence. My confidence isn't building or diminishing."
Gannon took over as starter in Week 4. The Vikings finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.
How'd the decade go?
Record: 95-65, .594 • Playoff record: 3-8 • Super Bowl appearances: 0
2000: A new decade brought a new quarterback as coach Dennis Green rebuilt the team around 1999 first-round draft pick Daunte Culpepper. In his first start, a come-from-behind 30-27 win over the Bears on Sept. 3, Culpepper set a franchise record with three rushing TDs, all in the second half.
Columnist Patrick Reusse wrote that he had watched a unique quarterback in football history: "Daunte Culpepper made his debut as the Vikings' starting quarterback Sunday and he demonstrated what all quarterbacks might look like in the future. The distant future. For now, Culpepper is one of a kind."
The Vikings finished 11-5 as Culpepper led the NFC with 33 touchdown passes. But the lasting memory from this season for most Vikings fans is a 41-0 loss in the NFC Championship Game to the New York Giants.
How'd the decade go?
Record: 84-76, .525 • Playoff record: 3-4 • Super Bowl appearances: 0
2010: Coming off one of the most heartbreaking losses in Vikings history, the 2009 NFC Championship Game against the Saints, the team brought everyone back, including quarterback Brett Favre, for an encore. Their home opening 14-10 loss to the Dolphins featured three Favre interceptions and dropped them to 0-2.
"He's a free-wheeler," coach Brad Childress told Tribune staff writer Judd Zulgad. "Typically he's shooting it, and you want him to keep shooting it."
Favre finished his final NFL season with 11 touchdowns against 19 interceptions as the Vikings went 6-10.
How'd the decade go?
81-77-2, .513 • Playoff record: 2-4 • Super Bowl appearances: 0
JEFF DAY
about the writer
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
