Monday 30 January 2017 12:57, UK
Minnesota's Scandinavian heritage is personified every Sunday in the purple-clad Minnesota Vikings.
They have arguably the most recognisable fans in the land with the stands of the US Bank Stadium packed with Helga Hats and Viking horns every time the Vikes play at home.
Despite this support and the fact that they have maintained one of the best winning percentages in the NFL for five decades, the Vikings have had a rotten run of luck when it comes to the big games.
They have played in five NFC championship games since 1978 and lost all of them. Moreover, they have played in four Super Bowls since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and lost all of them, too. Each one of those Super Bowl appearances, in fact, happened in the 1970s. Their most recent appearance was 1976 when they suffered a 32-14 loss to Oakland Raiders at the Rose Bowl.
The city of Minneapolis hosted the Super Bowl in 1992 as Washington Redskins beat Buffalo Bills 37- 24, but fans of the Vikings have been waiting decades to see their own team get past the hurdle of the NFC championship game.
2015 marked the first time they had won the NFC North since 2009. Alas, the play-offs campaign was unsuccessful as they succumbed to a defeat to Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card round.
As of 2015, Minnesota holds the unwanted record of number of post-season losses at 28 overall. An 8-8 season in 2016 means that they must wait at least another year to put things right in Minneapolis.
