In multiple conversations with Vikings fans toward the end of the regular season, a variation on the same theme emerged: Was there any way that such a charmed and unexpectedly great regular season would ultimately be viewed as a disappointment?
RandBall: How will we remember the 2024 Vikings?
A frustrating end to the season is still fresh for players, coaches and fans. But when that starts to fade, the story of the season will be written.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 15, 2025 at 6:32PM
Once the Vikings defeated Green Bay to improve to 14-2, the answer seemed to be “no way!” But the framing of the season undeniably changed with two lopsided losses: One to the Lions that denied the Vikings home-field advantage and a first-round bye, then Monday’s loss to the Rams that abruptly ended their season.
Vikings fans who carried few expectations into the season — one in which rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy was lost for the year during the preseason and in which predictions said the Vikings would win about seven games — had no choice but to become emotionally invested as the wins piled up.
With the pain of it ending still fresh for fans, players and coaches, this question was on my mind as I recorded Wednesday’s “Daily Delivery” podcast: With a little passage of time to allow for the dulling of raw emotions, how will the 2024 Vikings ultimately be remembered?
The win-or-bust mentality that guides so much of our sports world now, in addition to the obvious fact that Vikings fans of all ages have never experienced a Super Bowl victory (and nobody under 50 even remembers the Vikings playing in a Super Bowl), can make it hard to appreciate relative success.
Where I landed in terms of both a comparison and an ultimate place in history is here: The 2024 Vikings will be remembered much like the 2019 “Bomba Squad” Twins.
That Twins team followed a 78-win season with a seemingly out-of-nowhere surge to 101 wins and an MLB record for home runs. But unfortunately for the Twins, that left them with just the third-best record in the American League. The playoff format at the time meant they were sent on the road to face the 103-win Yankees in the AL Division Series.
After 162 great games, the Twins were swept in three games by a combined score of 23-7. Just like that, it was over. The parallels for a 14-3 Vikings team (coming off a 7-10 season) being relegated to a wild card because the 15-2 Lions were just a little better, and then getting their doors blown off in the playoffs, are eerily similar.
But I would also say fans still have a lot of fond memories of that Twins season, with many calling it the most fun season they can recall. Vikings fans will probably be able to say the same about the 2024 season, too. For better or worse, all of it was unexpected.
Most of it, though, was pretty great.
There is another recent local sports team that had surprising success, flamed out early in the playoffs and still has our hearts. Will the 2024 Vikings be as fondly remembered as the 2019 Twins?
