I was 16 years old, living in New Jersey, and a huge Vikings fan. In 1985 my father surprised me with tickets to Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia to see the Vikings vs Eagles. My first time seeing the Vikings in person. I'll never forget seeing those purple uniforms take the field for the first time. To my dismay the Eagles totally dominated and took a 23 - 0 lead with about 5 minutes to go in the third quarter. I then became a witness to one of the greatest comebacks not only in Viking's history but in NFL history when the Vikings came back to win the game 28 - 23. That day I proudly wore my #10 Tarkenton jersey into hostile Philadelphia and even the rugged Eagles fans high fived me as I left the stadium. Even though my interest in the Vikings and the NFL in general has waned over the years that game 35 years ago will always hold special memories for me.
@@davidlucasmachado2831 First game I ever watched was the Vikings last SuperBowl vs the Raiders. I was 7 yrs old. My father says I instantly became a Vikings fan that day, and Fran Tarkenton became my favorite player even though he retired two years later. Painted my room purple and yellow at age 10. I Also grew up a Boston Red Sox fan in the heart of Yankee territory. I just never took to the home teams. The only local team I did like was the NHL's NY Rangers. As you can imagine being a Viking, Red Sox, and Ranger fan growing up my childhood was filled with heartache and disappointment. I mean I've been in front of the TV for Darren Nelson's goal line drop in 87', Gary Anderson's missed field goal in 98', Bill Buckner's through the legs in 86'. How much can a person take? By the time the Red Sox started winning World Series I wasn't really a fan anymore. Also funny is that when the Ranger's won the Stanley Cup in 94' I was out of the country in Wales visiting my girlfriend's parents. Never saw a single game all season. Just an amazing story of sports suffering and sorrow.
My how times have changed. Today these a*holes will throw F bombs & spit at you while you walk into & leave the stadium not caring you are with your wife & 7 yr old little girl. But NOT ONE of them has the guts to do that unless they're among their pack of drunk buddies.
1977 is my favorite Vikings year. They were clearly fading but they managed to go 9-5 and upset the Rams in the playoffs (the Mud Bowl is still fun to watch). They started the season with an OT loss to Dallas at home and ended the season with a loss at Dallas in the NFC championship game. Along the way there were several memorable games such as this, the victory over the Bengals in which Tarkenton broke his leg, an OT victory over the Bears in which the winning score was a fake field goal. Then there wa the Bears loss 10-7 in which Payton rushed for 275 yards. Good times!
I remember watching that game against the Rams in the mud and hoping they wouldn't blow it. They nearly did. Oh and the Saturday night ABC game against Detroit was awesome. It's the best I'd ever seen Bob Lee play.
@@jackkitchen737 Good call, that was a great game too. I do recall Bob Lee coming out throwing better than I had seen before and Eddie Payton had a couple great returns against them. I seem to remember the Vikings dominated for the most part. Dang I miss the old Vikings and NFL. Not to mention the old MNF team of Howard, Frank and Dandy Don. But it is great to have so much of it posted to RU-vid, folks who upload these type of things are very kind!
The loss to Dallas in the NFC champ game.... I think they loaded up a truck with snow in Minnesota and drove it down to Dallas for the Vikings to make them feel more at home. Of course they didn't allow the truck into the stadium but some of the Vikings fans there were able to sneak some snow in. Does anyone else remember that?
Well no. The RB's and WR's were the same as in 1969. Maybe not spectacular but more than capable. Joe Kapp was'nt there...THAT was the problem @@meyou-dv8ns
It's hard to say which was more memorable, this game or a 1965 meeting in which the Vikings fell behind the 49ers by scores of 21-0, 28-7, and 35-14, but made a fabulous comeback to pull it out 42-41. Both were very satisfying.
How about the Vikings huge upset of San Francisco in 87? May not of been a comeback but a monumental win for the franchise and one of the biggest playoffs upsets ever.
@@nymike06 The only game that Montana was pulled from in his entire career! Steve Young didn't do much better but did lead a couple of scoring drives. Anthony Carter couldn't be stopped that day!
@@robertnelson3018 Oh yeah! Carter was unstoppable all day long. Montana was ineffective. Young was somewhat decent after stepping in. Too bad the Vikings didn't beat Washington the following week. They would of beat Denver in the Super Bowl.
Had to listen to this game on the radio. Just moved back to Minnesota and the only TV we got was an NBC affiliate out of Alexandria. Ironic, since we'd gotten to see so many of their games on TV while living in Chicago.
@@DNSKansas I meant the 77 NFCCG Bob Lee was just bad that game and Kramer had led them to a few late comeback victories that season . The Vikings scored more with Kramer and when Dallas shut Foreman down Lee couldn't hit the ocean that day haha.
Kramer was given the starting role the following week and absolutely stunk. In a must win Saturday night game , Grant started the veteran Lee and he had a good game as well as in the Mud Bowl. Kramer was given his chance to take over and just didnt fo it.
The Vikings used to dominant the old central division aka, the black and blue division when they played outdoors.. The Vikings should've built a open air stadium oh well, at least they can host a super bowl every 10 years or so..
@@Zoyx - yep, it was a top heavy league, as it still is. Packers have very little competition in the North, the Bears and Vikings take turns being relevant every other season, and the Lions, well, those poor bastards. It's how the league has always been. It seems better now, but that's due to expanded playoffs.
This Vikings team was HUNGRY!! It showed in every play, whether successful or not. This highlight reel video should be mandatory viewing today for the current Vikings to experience, to see what a hungry & successful team looks like. There were very few Hall Of Fame guys on that team, but look how every player consistently made a strong contribution throughout the game. I saw this game live as a young kid, and it was normal to expect the Vikings to team together & play well most of the time. THIS is the missing ingredient for most NFL teams today, and when the entire team gets the hunger, you'll have a top team!
and we all will never forget those vikings abc monday night football games of the early 70s games. at the met or in there yard. eight oclock start time. school da next day. yes" the memorys are deep and satisfying. thanks fellas,,
I like how the narrator says, "If your memory is not frazzled with age" as a setup for talking about the 1970 playoff game between the 49ers and Vikings and then proceeds to get the score wrong. The final score was 17-14, not 14-10. How does that escape the editors?
The Vikings 1977 season was an off year by Vikings standards even though they won the NFC Central Division championship. They played like an aging and tiring team. Victories did not come easily as they had in the past.
This was the same QB Tommy Kramer who 10 years later, would beat the vaunted Joe Montana-led 49ers in the 1987 Divisional Playoff shocker at Candlestick Park - when he threw bombs to Anthony Carter.
That was an exciting game. Reggie Rutland's pick 6 was a game changer. Then off to DC where they lost the NFC champ game. A game they certainly could have won. If Darrin Nelson would have caught that ball he still might not have made it into the end zone. I think Sammy dropped a pass in the end zone in that game. A couple of breaks at the right time can turn a game around.
Kind of like how the Eagles beat themselves in Philly back in 1985, Bud's last year as coach. Late in the 3rd the Vikings were down 23-0 (if memory serves) and the Vikings scored 4 unanswered TDs. I wonder how many come from behind wins the Vikings had when Bud was coach.
It was a different game back then and players today (well most) take better care of themselves. Just think if Favre wouldn't have drank so much. Kramer was a great and underrated QB. If he'd won a SB I think he'd be talked about as one of the marquis players. I'm old enough to remember Fran playing but Two Minute Tommy is still my favorite Vikings QB because he was the starter when I was about 12 to 21 or so.
I was at that game with my Dad!! Yes I have the ticket stubs to prove it. It was Tommy Kramer's rookie season and after we all started chanting for Bud Grant to yank Bob Lee he finally did!! And Tommy lit it up right away. It was close to 30 below zero with the windchill. But we were literally sweating by the time the game was over. Bob Lee was terrible...lol. GREAT MEMORIES!!! 28-27 VIKINGS WIN!!!
I've been waiting for this one. I remember waiting for highlights during the 4PM hour (living in Akron, OH) trying to find out if my Vikings won. What a comeback.
I was there, 21 years old, in the end zone behind Tommy Kramer when he threw that bomb to win the game. Still remember it sailing improbably into the arms of the receiving and the Vikings amazing comeback. The other thing I remember is freezing my actual ass off. It stuck to the thick ice on the bleachers and doctors weren't able to reattach it.
Man you mean to tell me a EQUIPMENT manager manages to forget one players longsleeve undershirt and he doesn't have another or cant find one to wear from another player who is not playing ...??? Now players have endless supply of everything...! And those workers clearing the snow from the field, I guess no carhartt or timberland gear yet...or under armour cold gear back then ....especially in iceberg city Minnesota...! And those rolling flames that are being used must suck and make the field an ice skating ring when that ice turns to moisture and then back to ice...! Crazy to see how far the game and equipment used the players and grounds crews....but love the old stuff just like playing in the backyard in the snow....! And it looks like all those seats are filled...! Loyal dedication for the team and the game...!
I remember that. I was 10. The 49ers beat the Vikings by a score of 20-16 or something like that. I fell asleep in the 3rd quarter but it was a good game.
@@jackkitchen737 I was at that game with my Dad who got tickets from my Uncle. I had just turned 8 but I was either too cold or it was too noisy for widdle me so my Dad and I sat on a parked bus the whole 4th quarter!!! And my Dad was a Vikings fan!
@@jackkitchen737 My Dad lived a good part of his life in St Paul/Minneapolis and went to U of M back in the 50s. He wasn't a big time Vikes fan until Joe Kapp and his style of play got under his skin. Once I got old enough to start to watch football I also became a 49ers fan but was always loyal to the Vikes and my Dad. We had too long of a long history of back-and-forth with Niners-Vikes games over the years to describe here but those 76-77 games "planted the seed."
@@MrDanty64 I actually became a Vikings fan at the age of 6 because my dad was a Fran Tarkenton fan. I watched a boring game between 2 teams I forget at 1PM EST in November 1972. Then I watched a game at 4PM between the two best defenses in the NFC....Vikings at Rams. I watched this QB scramble and throw bombs for TDs all over the field, while the other team had Roman Gabriel scoring as well. Vikings won 45-41 and I was hooked for life. I watched as many Vikings games as I could from that point on.
After coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL, the ice and cold were no big deal for Bud Grant and in fact, he used the weather as a weapon for the Vikings...
The 1977 49ers started the season 0 and 5, then won 5 of their next six. This loss ended their playoff hopes and they lost the final two games to finish at 5 and 9. The first year of the DeBartolo and Thomas regime.
1977 was the lowest scoring season in years and one of the lowest in nfl history, so to come from behind 24-0 was in my opinion the greatest comeback ever in the nfl.
Disheartening loss for SF. Their GM would clear house at the end of 1977; Coach Meyer would get the ax, Delvin Williams got traded to Miami, Wilbur Jackson to Washington, Jim Plunkett to Oakland, and SF would trade a bunch of high draft picks to Buffalo for an older OJ Simpson. Not the best of times for the team by the bay.
Dan Brenner Yes, Monte Clark was respected by his players and well liked by the fans and media. Apparently, the new GM, Joe Thomas and he did not see eye-to-eye on football operations. Not an auspicious start for the new GM, who presided over a debacle in 49er lore; a bad 1977 and a worse 1978, before he left, leaving the team in a shambles for Coach Bill Walsh.
@@denisceballos9745 I rember growing up on the Niners and remembering how they barely played Plunkett and then somehow sent him to the Raiders, who STILL traded youknowwho, and then...
Bud Grant told Kramer during the week he would play him in the 4th quarter, he just didn't tell the rest of the team that. It came out after the game. Kramer started the next week and stunk, so Grant went back to Lee for the rest of the year.
