Daily Norseman
***NOTE: As I was posting this, word came down that Adam Thielen is back. Take the level of excitement below and add a heavy dose of Mark McGwire’s late ’90s vitamin regimen***
The anticipation has reached a crescendo! Of course, it always does this time of year. With the preseason slate in the rearview, fans of all 32 NFL teams bend their minds into a pretzel to engage in scenarios/delusions where their team somehow manages to lift the Lombardi Trophy come February. Everyone is tied for 1st place on Labor Day, after all.
For maybe 40% of those fan bases, there’s a legitimate degree of realism tied to the optimism. It’s not…inconceivable. Fortunately, our Vikings are firmly situated in this group. We’re coming off a 14-win season, led by the reigning NFL Coach of the Year, with a consensus Top 10 (if not Top 5) roster, and, if not for the Cousins injury in 2023, could be aiming for a fourth consecutive playoff appearance. That resume alone justifies the enthusiasm. Add to this the excitement that comes with a highly touted, Top 10 selected, first-time starting QBOTF in J.J. McCarthy, and visions of a deep playoff run come as naturally as me adding an unnecessary final leg to an otherwise winning parlay. Think Patrick Mahomes in 2018. Jayden Daniels last year. Only…better? A Super Bowl appearance? Yes, stranger things have happened.
The euphoria is palpable. In June, a SB Nation poll here at the DN found 48% of Vikings fans were already pumped for the season, with another 20% planning to get on board the hype train by the start of training camp. A July survey from The Athletic echoed this sentiment, with positive vibes recorded for the team’s leadership, direction, and outlook (projected average of 10 wins vs. just 6.5 in 2024). Similarly, fans were excited about J.J. McCarthy’s prospects and the potential of the improved offensive line. On social media, the optimism seems out of place given Vikings fans’ muscle memory and their historical, passionate love affair with doom. Like Tom tiptoeing across the room to grab a piece of cake, knowing Jerry is somewhere waiting to drop an anvil on his head.
Yes, we’ve been here before. The question is: Where does the anticipation for the 2025 season rank historically? It’s a fun game to play while waiting out the tedious final days before the games count for real. For this exercise, let’s focus on the modern NFL era, starting from 1980 onwards.
Top 5 Contenders:
1988 Season (Joe Montana Who?)
Reason for optimism: While going 8-7 in a strike-shortened, chaotic 1987 season, Jerry Burns’s scrappy bunch flipped the switch in the playoffs and turned into conquering road warriors, convincingly defeating the 12-3 Saints and handing Joe Montana his first-ever home playoff loss. To this day, the 36-24 whooping of the 13-2 49ers stands as the most impressive Vikings postseason victory of the post-1980 era. Of course, we came up just short in the NFC Championship Game...
