- Super Bowl IV Vikings vs. Chiefs
January 11, 1970, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA - Super Bowl VIII Vikings vs. Dolphins
January 13, 1974, Rice Stadium, Houston, TX - Super Bowl IX Vikings vs. Steelers
January 12, 1975, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA - Super Bowl XI Vikings vs. Raiders
January 9, 1997, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
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Saturday, 07/05/2008
Super Bowl XI: Mickey Mouse Football- Vikes Upstaged by Disney Raiders vs. Vikings-January 9, 1977
By Mookie Another year, another tear for the Vikings as the Raiders became the 3rd team to win their first NFL championship against the Purple. The thing I remember most about this Super Bowl wasn't that Sammy White caught the ball even though his helmet was knocked off, but it was the halftime show, a Disney ensemble singing "It's a Small World After All." I knew the Vikings were in trouble when I read before the game that Fran Tarkenton had predicted a victory for Minnesota, "I want the whole world to know that the Minnesota Vikings are going to win the Super Bowl this time."
The game started out like it was the Vikes to win as they received 2 big breaks early on. The first came when the Raiders marched the length of the field, only to have Errol Mann fail on a 29-yard field goal attempt. The second came not long after. The Vikes had just held the Raiders on a critical possession deep in Raider territory. Just as the announcer was bragging about how Ray Guy had never had a punt blocked, Fred McNeill stormed through and snuffed it out. McNeil scooped up the ball and carried it to the Oakland three before Guy hauled him down. It was a golden opportunity for the Vikings: First and Goal and a possible quick 7-0 lead. Chuck Foreman slammed into the right side on for a yard on first down and then IT happened.
Disaster struck and the opportunity was squandered when Brent McClanahan fumbled the ball away to the Raiders. The turnover was the worse thing that could have ever happened to the Vikings, and in my opinion is the purple's worst nightmare. The Raiders drove down the field and scored a field goal. The momentum swing was so obvious that the Black and Silver would soon dominate the game. On the Vikings next possession, the Raiders held. When they got the ball back they drove down again, this time scoring on a Ken Stabler to Dave Casper touchdown and a 10-0 lead. Again, the Raiders held the Vikes. Again the Raiders drove down the field and scored when Pete Banaszak punched over the endzone. The kick failed but the Raiders had built a 16-0 halftime lead. For the Vikings it had been another horrendous first half in the Super Bowl. In their four appearances they had yielded 51 points in the opening half. What's worse, is the Vikings hadn't scored a point themselves. Super Bowl records will show that Vikings only made 4 first downs and 86 yards in the first half to the Raiders 16 first downs and 288 yards.
I was crying my eyes out and it was only halftime. I think it was the troop of "Up With People that was singing Walt Disney's "It's a Small World Afterall during the halftime show when the taunting started. I'll never forget that memorable halftime show, because it started a constant taunting from my uncle Warren- a Dallas Cowboys fan. He was calling me and the Vikings "losers for life" and other assorted digs that I just could stand to hear at such a delicate time. I snapped and took off to our family's horse barn to destroy some hay bales. I cried and cried and thought all hope was over. I was so angry, and vowed to never care about football again, but just as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I thought that maybe the Vikings could come back? I returned back to our house to see if the Vikes could stage a miracle. I should have stayed outside in the cold, because I returned to see the Raiders had increased their lead to 19-0 and my uncle started taunting me again.
Luckily I had something to cheer about as the Vikes responded with a 12-play, 58-yard drive late in the period. When Fran Tarkenton hit Rookie of the Year Sammy White, for an 8-yard pass, the Vikes were only down 19-7. The touchdown seemed to bring the entire Minnesota team to life. The defense held the Raiders in check and Tarkenton got the ball back at his own 22. Down by 12, the Vikings still had more than enough time. Tark quickly drove Minnesota to the Raider's 35 yard line. Under a heavy rush Fran "The Scrambling Man went out of the pocket and lofted a floater to Chuck Foreman. But the Raider's Willie Hall responded alertly and picked off the pass, returning it to the Vikings 46. It just wasn't meant to happen, Super Bowls and Purple equals heartache. Ken Stabler drove the Raiders down to the Viking 2, tossing a 48-yard bomb to Fred Biletnikoff. From Pete Banaszak scored his second TD and the Raiders led 26-7.
Again, Tarkenton wouldn't quit. The Vikes drove to their own 47, where Fran tried a long sideline to Sammy White. As we all know this is the scene where the game turned "Butt Ugly" as the intended pass was picked off again. This "Killer" pick is now and NFL Films classic shot as it is the one where Raider cornerback "Old Man" Willie Brown ran a Super Bowl-record 75-yards for TD interception return. Mann missed his second extra point of the game and the score was 32-7. Bob Lee replaced Tarkenton and spared the Vikings the humiliation of losing by a Super Bowl record 25 points. In the game's final minutes, Lee directed an 86-yard, 9-play scoring drive. The touchdown came on a 13-yard pass from Lee to Tight End Stu Voight. Final Score 32-14. The Score shouldn't have been as close as it was at because Oakland gained a record-breaking 429 yards, including running back Clarence Davis's 137 rushing yards and Fred Biletnikoff's 4 key receptions, which earned him the game's most valuable player trophy. "They totally dominated," Tarkenton said, "We have no excuses."
Scoring Summary:
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