Trailer | The History of the Minnesota Vikings, a Dorktown docuseries 

The Vikings history is heartbreaking. Definition of close but no cigar.

We have patiently waiting for another installment of the best documentary series… ever. I said it.

The first time that I watched the history of the Seattle Mariners, I thought to myself, I really hope he does this with the Vikings one day. Partially so that other people can understand the trauma of being a Vikings fan, but mostly to help me process my own trauma of being a Vikings fan

The Vikings are an unbelievably tragic franchise, and even more unbelievably consistent in their tragedy. Made way to much sense for you guys to do a series on them eventually.

I wish I could give these guys an island, unlimited food, unlimited access to history of teams , 1 billion dollars and see a video for every team ever

“Always the bridesmaid, never the bride”. It said that in the NFL 2K2 booklet with Randy Moss on the cover. That still rings true even now.

as a vikings fan, we are the epitomy of sadness

You guys could legitimately make one of these for every team in North American sports and I'd eat them all up!

Oh my god Jon Bois spending hours sharing the deep pain the vikings have caused me this is amazing

1998 was my first real season watching football. I was 6 years old. I didn't understand that the good guys could lose. They never lost, not even when the Ravens returned the first two kickoffs for touchdowns. Coincidentally, the only game I missed that season was against the Buccaneers, and I held a grudge against Tony Dungy for years after that. Then the conference finals happened. I sobbed for 40 minutes straight and gave up on the Vikings forever.

Being a Vikings fan, i'm excited and frightened at the same time. This is how you make pain feel less sufferable

I said it during the Falcons series and I'll say it again here: the Vikings are an EXCELLENT subject for a Jon Bois deep dive. The heartbreak that fan base has experienced on a regular, clockwork-like basis is a perfect subject for this series.

The vikings. My home team. The heartbreak kings. The team that always makes you think "Why not us? Why not this year?" Buckle up boys we are going on a journey

As a native Minnesotan and die hard Vikings fan, the LAST PART being on my birthday seems like a divine gift

When I first saw the series about the Falcons, I immediately thought of the Vikings as a worthy sequel, especially considering their overlap in the 1998 NFC Championship Game. Glad that Jon and Alex are making it happen.

My first vivid memory of watching football was the Bears-Colts Super Bowl. I decided that I wouldn't be a Bears fan after that game, seeing everyone so sad the next day. And then AP showed up on the Vikings and wowed my impressionable young mind. Little did I know of the suffering that was to come

Someone finally talking about Minnesota sports is so refreshing… but also very painful lol thanks Jon and Alex

The flyover shot on all the charts felt like gazing out over the frozen wastes in an icehouse, or landing at MSP in the dead tundra. Bravo. We trust you to do this one right.

jon bois if you are reading this, there is no one in the world who's both a bigger fan of you and a bigger fan of the vikings i've literally been thinking about this documentary for years, i cannot tell you how excited i am, tysm

Oh my god. As a lifelong vikings fan I cannot wait for this. Seriously. It's about time that other fans hear our story.

The best part about these series is that Vikings fans get to celebrate their history while rival fans get to bask in the inevitable ending of failure

YES, YES, YES! This is the documentary Ive been waiting years for! Lifelong fan, even though im fairly young. Your style of documentary is what has been sorely lacking in conventional media. Regular sportscasters will never take a look at the stories behind a franchise like ours and just look at the unfortunate endings. Like your falcons documentary, i hope this shows fans just how fascinating this franchise is, was, and always will be

As a Minnesotan who doesn't watch football but finds Dorktown endlessly interesting and entertaining, I believe this will be a particularly interesting experience.

Watching the original Mariners History did so much for me. It made me ridiculously into statistics, love a sports team I've never heard of, and made me learn maybe way to much about how to read rules and abuse verbiage. I'm currently in college looking at going back for a secondary degree in statistics or law, completely unrelated fields to my current major, just because these videos taught me how much storytelling can be done through statistics and rules lawyering.

i cannot wait to be deeply emotionally invested in a [checks notes] minnesotan football team. thank you, dorktown, for the unparalleled statistical storytelling (which will likely result in me purchasing nfl merch. it’ll look great in the seattle mariners suitcase i legitimately own solely because of y’all.)

Vikings fan here, ready to relive the highs and the lows of my franchise!

Oh my god this is going to make me so emotional as a Vikings fan

As a lifelong Packers fan, the Vikings have an incredibly interesting history and deserve more respect, they've spent their entire existence right on the precipice of greatness but never quite able to reach it. I'm SO EXCITED for this!

As a Lions fan, the deep dive of the Minnesota Vikings' Legacy of Failure is gonna be truly spectacular

As a Packers fan, only Jon Bois can get me excited about something involving the Vikings. Can't wait for this!

Man, I am so psyched to see Jon Bois & Alex Rubenstein team up to do another Dorktown series! And the Minnesota Vikings are a great team do to a documentary of. You know, it’s a shame the Vikings haven’t won a Super Bowl yet. The Vikings have a great fan base, terrific players and coaches, and plenty of Hall of Famers. Hopefully, the team will finally get the Lombardi Trophy one of these days…

Great series! I'm hoping you expand into the NBA and NHL in the future. I'd personally die for "The History of the Vancouver Canucks".

These series are incredible, thank you Jon!

I like how yall just covered my favorite NFL teams as a kid. The Falcons and the Vikings. I'm now a Mariners fan thanks to yall. Cant wait for you to do the Trailblazers next lmaooo

To be here at the beginning of another Jon Bois and Alex Rubenstein documentary... it feels like standing at the threshold of a familiar dream. You know that when you walk through, you'll be amazed, you'll laugh, you may even cry. And yet, it all feels like home. I can't wait!

My dads from Minnesota but I grew up in Wisconsin. Being a Vikings fan in Wisconsin meant my fandom was something I had to fight for and defend against one of the historically greatest football teams fanbase constantly. and then well they would lose. and sometimes they would get so so close. but I never stopped fighting or believing and eventually it stopped being about how they win or lose. I love this team. I've seen some of the best players to ever do it wear the purple and the horns and I've experienced the highest highs to the lowest lows trying to follow along with their crazy ride. So excited to watch this because it really is a story that needs to be told and it means a lot to me. Sports are so silly sports are so awesome. I love yall cant wait.

I really hope that one day, we get one of these on the Buccaneers and Expos. Absolutely mad stories in both of those lovable underdog teams.

Oh man, this is about to be like the Falcons pain in steroids

Releasing them a week at a time is certifiable torture 😭 (but I'm glad they're here)

The Vikings are a perfect canvas for your style. I hope to one day witness The History of the Chargers and Bills at some point as well

Am I the only one who gets beyond excited anytime these guys drop a new video/series, regardless of what it’s about? These guys are the best at what they do, easily one of, if not THE top content creators on the platform and in the field AND they give it to us for free. Long form, in-depth content of this quality just isn’t available anywhere else... the rest of the sports media landscape should really start paying attention because this is how you do it -- this is how storytelling should be done.

I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR A LONG TIME!!!! LIVING IN MINNESOTA. TRUST ME. WE'VE ENDURED DECADES OF CRAZY HEARTBREAKING!!!!

I was literally thinking of how much I really really missed Dorktown!!! Thank you for bringing it back!!!❤❤

The Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Falcons docuseries are some of the best series I've seen on youtube, and I cannot wait for this one.

This will be a preseason of sadness and heartbreak before the actual one. Thanks Jon!! 💜💛

I've been asking for this since the Falcons series. Thank you Secret Base! I already know my teams heartbreaks, both the ones I was alive for and the ones before my birth. Can't wait. I know you'll knock it out of the park.

Whew! Ok... I can breathe again. You guys ARE indeed still making these series. Can't wait for this.

I have been wating so long for this. Thank you for staring about this series again. I loved the falcons series. Thanks for all the hard work

I’ve been playing Dorktown documentaries all week whilst I work. There’s just nothing like it. The universe knew I was in need, and the universe listened.

The Minnesota Vikings are *by far* the best NFL franchise never to win a championship. They're 7th overall in franchise win percentage, at .548. Even the worst franchise in the league, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by win percentage, have won a Super-Bowl. No team has been so blessed with talent and yet so cursed by fate. I'm super-hyped for this series, obviously.

Yes!! Cannot wait. You guys are my favorite sports RU-vid channel and I'm a Vikings fan through and through! Can't wait for all 7 parts!!

As a longtime vikings fan, seeing 7 parts brought a tear to my eye. There is so much pain, but I know you'll tell it so well.

This is like openhaimer for me. Love those docuseries

It's crazy to think us Minnesotans have a historically really good men's pro team, but it's so fitting that they never quite win a championship.

I was just thinking about how there hasn't been a Dorktown in a while. So glad to see that this is what you all have been working on. My dad was a Minnesota Vikings fan his whole life so I experienced what it was like to be a Vikings fan as I was growing up. It'll be interesting to know the history of the team he complained about all the time but never left.

As a Vikings fan I have been both awaiting and dreading this video. Thank you Jon for putting me out of my misery and tearing off this bandage. Cannot wait to see this and ANY video you come out with in the future!

I really hope Paul Allen gets his fair share of the spotlight in this. That man makes every single Vikings game come alive over my radio.

Les Steckel alone is gonna make this worth it. I cannot wait for this

Thank you Jon and Alex! I have been waiting years for this special, I cannot wait to see you tell the stories of all of the Purple greats: Bud Grant and Dennis Green (don’t forget Burnsy!); Fran, Daunte and even Kirk; Carter/Moss/Reed, AT/Steph and AT/JJ, Rashad; Kleinsasser, Rudolph; Matty B, Randle McDaniel, Hutch; Robert Smith, AP, Dalvin; Jim Marshall, Harry, the Williams’, Winfield, Rhodes, Kendricks, Jared, Danielle, THE LEGEND John Randle; and so so so many more! SKOL Nation!

Jon Bois talking about my favorite NFL franchise, while Oilfield Panorama plays in the background. This trailer gave me goosebumps and I can’t wait to watch this entire series.

I can't wait for this. The Vikes are the definition of Close...but never close enough.

“The Vikings. I don’t think failure is a strong enough word to describe your demons. Grab your liquor of choice. It’s time to go over some history” Whoops wrong video…

Yo I am psyched for this! The Falcons series was one of the best things I’ve watched on RU-vid in a while, and I can’t wait to see the full history of the Vikings now

I love how I know what they have planned for their storytelling, as the fields for the games shown in the trailer are all playoff years, can’t wait to watch all 31 years we made the playoffs just to blow them all

Not even an NFL fan and barely know the rules, let alone the strategems or tactics, but this is the most excited I've been in months!

CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS. Great series!

Been waiting for this, utterly stoked. Hell Yeah.

YES I LOVED THE FALCONS SERIES!!!

As a Bears fan born and raised in Wisconsin, I rooted for the Vikings out of self-preservation, the lesser of two evils. As I've gotten older I've wholeheartedly rooted for them out of a Midwestern pride that I still can't quite bring myself to feel for my home state Packers, or at least not without also feeling pain and betrayal. I know the major beats of the history of the Vikings, and some detailed snippets, but I can't wait to see the whole story from start to present.

I have been waiting for this series for 2 years. Simultaneously excited and dreading having to watch this.

Yes! Welcome back Jon! Can’t wait for this heartbreaker of a series…

I've been a Vikings fan since Two Minute Tommy was still playing drunk, and, as we all know, my heart has been broken more times than I can count. I don't care. They're still my team, through thick and thin. I was there when they were the worst 13 win team ever, I was there when they were the best 5 win team ever. I got to see the greatness of Cris Carter, I got to witness the meteoric rise of Randy Moss, the fierceness of John Randle, and the overwhelming power of Adrian Peterson, and now I get to watch Justin Jefferson break all of Jerry Rice's records. Suffice it to say, I'm excited for this series.

Finally, covering a team with a rich winning tradition. Can’t wait to become a huge fan!

I cannot stress enough how amazing you guys are.

I have been waiting for a Minnesota documentary from you for years, Jon. I have sent countless suggestions to SB nation for you to do a Twins one a-la Mariners, but this, wow. I am so happy. I'm going to be in an emotional roller-coaster. This is is going to be amazing.

Speaking as a Yankee fan, sbnation got me to get the feels with the mariners. It’s the only time I am actually relieved that the Yankees lost a game (the 1995 double). So I don’t know much about football, but I feel that there is so much weight on Kirk cousins not just because of the situation but the fact that the franchise has disappointed it’s die hard base. And the shots of players and coaches makes us feel we are going through a hall of fame, and the last single picture shoot is….BUD GRANT. The man who saved the Vikings and made it a NFL powerhouse-there is no one who represents the team quite like Bud.

god damnit this just means more focus on the saints blowing coverage

I live for these videos. Thank you for giving my life meaning for the next month and a half

As a Vikings fan, nothing makes me happier than being able to share the pain I experience with others, and so I cannot wait for this series.

I’m curious as to when we will be getting an NHL related Docuseries

Another sad franchise that never won anything

I was literally thinking about y’all doing something like this today and was researching the Vikings failure history Just for this trailer to drop an hour later!!! Thank you Secret Base

As a dedicated Vikings fan, I know all this history. I’ve read it a million times while wondering what could have been. And yet, I will be there at every single upload and watching the entire thing through when the supercut comes out. Jon is just that good of a storyteller

This might be the best content on RU-vid. No exaggeration, no hyperbole. Do I like the Minnisota Vikings. I don't know, maybe? Am I excited to watch a 7-part series about them. I can't properly express how excited I am.

YES!!! I LOVE THIS CHANNEL. I’m from Minnesota so I’m super excited.

I've been waiting for this.

Been waiting for more!!!!! HANDS DOWN best sports doc series

I'm so pumped!!!!!!!!!! Love watching these!

As a lifelong Packer fan, I enjoy all the Vikings' failures and this documentary is going to be really good. They have had some epic heart-breaking playoff losses but what amazes me about the Super Bowl losses is that they weren't even close. They went to four Super Bowls in eight years but it was like the team that dominated from September to December didn't show up in those four games. Especially their offense and their run defense. Super Bowl IV- Chiefs 23-Vikings 7. Five turnovers, including three interceptions in the fourth quarter. When they finally got a touchdown late in the third quarter to cut it to 16-7, they promptly let Otis Taylor take a short pass and turn it into a 46 yard touchdown that broke their spirit. They also gave up 151 yards rushing, which is the only time they gave up under 196 in their Super Bowl appearances. Super Bowl VIII- Dolphins 24-Vikings 7. Larry Csonka ran it down their throats for 145 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries and the Dolphins had 196 yards rushing overall. Bob Griese only had to throw the ball seven times the entire game. They didn't get on the scoreboard until early in the fourth quarter after trailing 24-0 and did nothing the rest of the game. Super Bowl IX- Steelers 16-Vikings 6. This was the closest they would ever get. Similar to the previous year, Franco Harris ran it down their throats for 158 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries and the Steelers had 249 rushing yards overall. To be fair, in the first half, they held the Steelers' offense scoreless but their offense not only did nothing but they gave the Steelers two points on a safety from a botched hand-off that went into the end zone. And their offense did nothing in the second half as they ended up with only 119 total yards (including a whole 17 yards rushing) and five turnovers for the whole game. Their only score came from a blocked punt that narrowed the lead to 9-6 early in the fourth quarter but the Steelers then had a nearly seven minute drive that resulted in a touchdown that clinched the game. Super Bowl XI- Raiders 32-Vikings 14. Like their previous three appearances, the Vikings didn't score a point in the first half. They didn't get on the scoreboard until late in the third quarter to cut the lead to 19-7 and they didn't score again until they got a garbage touchdown with 25 seconds left in the game. The Raiders stomped all over them with 429 total yards, including 266 rushing yards with 137 from Clarence Davis and 73 from Mark Van Eeghen. And the exclamation point was Willie Brown's pick-six and Bill King's famous radio call of it ('He's going all the way! Old Man Willie! Touchdown Raiders!'). And as far as I am concerned, the play that represents the Vikings the most in those Super Bowl losses was when Sammy White got nailed by Jack Tatum (although to be fair, it was amazing that White hung on to the ball!) Here is the hit: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1qqBaTlVVYo.html

Yes! I called this the *moment* I heard Jon say "But that.. is a story for another time." So excited for this one!

thank you for this 🙏🙏🙏 i can already say this is an amazing work

I don't think I've ever been more excited. This is incredible. Oh the pain and horror I'm about to re-live this August.

Absolutely love these series. Can't wait

Seeing this has really lightened my day. If there was another franchise in the NFL that needed a documentary it’s these guys.

God Damn my sense of timing is on point. Two days ago I thought to myself, man, I haven't seen a new Jon Bois thing in a while. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.

Can't tell you how excited I am for this! One of the best docu series I have ever watched. All stemming from the time when I stumbled across Secret Base 3 years ago after wanting to know what happened to the Bulls after the last dance. Can't wait to become a Vikings fan now.

Can’t wait for this series. Being from Atlanta the last hit home but this will help me know we’re not the only franchise that’s been through hell

Thanks! So excited!

OHHHH MY GOD NO UPLOADS IN 7EVER BIT YOU COME OUT WITH THIS I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those long documentaries are always a joy