60 free Minnesota Vikings trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
51 free Minnesota Vikings trivia questions with answers. The Minnesota Vikings have the best winning percentage of any NFL team that has never won a Super Bowl, which tells you everything about being a fan: brilliant defenses, four trips to the big game, a 15-1 season that ended on a missed kick, and a walk-off playoff touchdown that still does not feel real. This quiz covers the whole story from the 1961 expansion season at the Met to U.S. Bank Stadium. The early questions suit anyone who has ever done the Skol chant: who the Purple People Eaters were, who caught the Minneapolis Miracle, which running back ran for 2,097 yards. The later ones are for people who know Bud Grant's Grey Cups, Ole Haugsrud's ten percent, and how many sacks John Randle got as an undrafted rookie. Every answer has been checked against the published record and carries a linked source, so you can settle a tailgate argument on the spot.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In what year did the Vikings play their first NFL season?
1961
The ownership group had first agreed to join the AFL, then switched to become the NFL's 14th franchise under league pressure.
Q 02Which four Super Bowls did the Vikings play in, losing all of them?
IV, VIII, IX, XI
They lost to the Chiefs, Dolphins, Steelers and Raiders; the last was in January 1977 at the Rose Bowl.
Q 03Which team beat the heavily favoured Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV?
Kansas City Chiefs
It was the first major pro championship for a Kansas City team, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
Q 04Which team beat the Vikings 32-14 in Super Bowl XI in January 1977?
Oakland Raiders
It was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on January 9, 1977, and gave the Raiders their first title.
Q 05Which four linemen made up the core of the 'Purple People Eaters' defense?
Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and Gary Larsen
Their motto was 'Meet at the quarterback', and Doug Sutherland replaced Larsen in 1974.
Q 06What was the Purple People Eaters' motto?
'Meet at the quarterback'
Jim Marshall said the players actually preferred to call themselves 'The Purple Gang'.
Q 07Who was the Vikings' first head coach, hired in January 1961?
Norm Van Brocklin
He was an Eagles quarterback at the time; Grant was a candidate too but stayed in the CFL until 1967.
Q 08Before coaching the Vikings, Bud Grant won how many Grey Cups with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?
Four
He also won the 1950 NBA Finals as a player with the Minneapolis Lakers before playing for the Eagles.
Q 09How many seasons did Bud Grant coach the Vikings across his two stints?
18
He led them to 11 division titles and four Super Bowls, and came back for one final year in 1985.
Q 10Fran Tarkenton played college football for which school?
Georgia
He was twice first-team All-SEC before the Vikings took him in the third round of the 1961 draft.
Q 11Which team did the Vikings trade Fran Tarkenton to in 1967, before getting him back in 1972?
New York Giants
He returned for his last seven seasons and retired holding the career records for passing yards, touchdowns and completions.
Q 12In which season did Fran Tarkenton win the NFL MVP award?
1975
The Vikings went 12-2 that year and lost the divisional playoff to Dallas on Roger Staubach's Hail Mary.
Q 13The 1975 Vikings were knocked out of the playoffs by which famous play?
The Hail Mary
Roger Staubach's desperation pass to Drew Pearson gave the play its name and Dallas a 17-14 win.
Q 21In which years did the Vikings play at the Metrodome?
1982-2013
They beat the Lions 14-13 in the final game there on December 29, 2013.
Q 22In which section of Minneapolis is U.S. Bank Stadium?
Downtown East
It replaced the Metrodome on essentially the same site.
Q 23Which cartoonist designed the Vikings' horned helmet and purple-and-gold uniforms?
Karl Hubenthal
He drew for the Los Angeles Examiner; one primary logo is a blond Norseman, the other a white horn.
Q 24Why was Ole Haugsrud given a share of the Vikings' ownership?
Q 14Which Vikings receiver caught Tommy Kramer's 'Miracle at the Met' heave against Cleveland in 1980?
Ahmad Rashad
He had been born Bobby Moore and changed his name in 1973; the catch clinched the Central Division.
Q 15Which Vikings safety set the NFL career record with 81 interceptions?
Paul Krause
He led the league with 12 picks as a rookie in Washington before joining Minnesota, and made the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Q 16Which player did the Vikings take first overall in the 1968 draft?
Ron Yary
The USC tackle had won the Outland Trophy and went into the Hall of Fame in 2001.
Q 17Which Vikings running back was the 1973 Offensive Rookie of the Year and started three Super Bowls?
Chuck Foreman
He was drafted 12th overall out of Miami and made the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons.
Q 18Where did the Vikings play their home games from 1961 to 1981?
Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington
The Twins shared it for the same 21 seasons; the site is now the Mall of America.
Q 19What opened in 1992 on the site of the old Met, the team's first home?
The Mall of America
The mall opened a decade after the Vikings moved indoors to the Metrodome.
Q 20The Metrodome's fabric roof was held up by what?
Air pressure
Heavy snow deflated it four times, most famously in December 2010, and it was the only venue to host a Super Bowl, World Series, All-Star Game and Final Four.
A 1920s deal gave him 10% of any future Minnesota team
When he sold his Duluth Eskimos back to the NFL in the 1920s, the agreement included that promise; his high school team was also called the Vikings.
Q 25On what date was the team officially named the Minnesota Vikings?
September 27, 1960
The name was chosen to reflect Minnesota's Scandinavian-American culture.
Q 26The 1989 Herschel Walker trade sent the running back to Minnesota from which team?
Dallas Cowboys
Jimmy Johnson planned all along to cut the players he received and keep the draft picks, which built Dallas's 1990s dynasty.
Q 27What was the Vikings' record in the 1998 regular season?
15-1
Their only loss was 27-24 to Tampa Bay in Week 9, and they scored a then-record 556 points.
Q 28Which kicker, perfect all season in 1998, missed a 38-yard field goal late in the NFC Championship Game?
Gary Anderson
He was the first NFL kicker to convert every field goal and extra point in a regular season; the Falcons tied it and won 30-27 in overtime.
Q 29How many touchdown catches did Randy Moss make as a rookie in 1998, still the rookie record?
17
He fell to the 21st pick because of legal worries; he set the overall single-season record of 23 with New England in 2007.
Q 30Which college did Randy Moss play for?
Marshall
He was a unanimous All-American with the Thundering Herd in 1997.