Vikings – Minnesota’s Golden Years

When most fans of football think of the Minnesota Vikings, they often think of the recent teams that have always fielded potent offenses and competent defenses, but which have never seemed to be able to live up to their potential. The Vikings, however, have consistently been among the best in the NFL – as evidenced by their overall franchise winning percentage which is the fifth-best in the NFL. Perhaps the best years of the Vikings franchise began within eight years of the team’s 1961 entry into the NFL. During that period, which began in 1969, the Vikings would consistently dominate the NFL, appearing in four Super Bowls within an eight year period. Though they lost all of those games – and have, in fact, never won a Super Bowl title, the period between 1969 and 1977 can rightfully be thought of as the Age of the Vikings.

Philadelphia Eagles And The Greasy Years

Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have, in recent years, suffered through many disappointments and heartaches as they watch their team struggle to find its way into the elite echelon of professional football. The Eagles, first founded in 1933 when Bert Bell was allowed to buy into the National Football League, have – at times – seemed poised to surge past their competitors in the National Football Conference and win that Super Bowl trophy that has for so long eluded them. Their only two appearances to date – in 1980 and 2004 – both resulted in losses. In fact, their best years, some would argue, came during the era of Head Coach Earle “Greasy” Neale.

Houston Texans – A Brief History

Houston football fans were dealt a severe blow in 1997 when the owner of the city’s former team, the Oilers, announced that he was moving to Tennessee and taking his team with him. The departure of Bud Adams threatened to leave the city’s many professional football fans without a team to support for many years to come. In fact, the National Football League had made it clear that there were no imminent plans to offer new franchises to any city. Fortunately for Houston, the National Football League changed its mind shortly thereafter, and made Cleveland the thirty-first NFL franchise city. To even up the odd number of teams that would now be in the League, the NFL considered various proposals for another expansion team and ultimately settled on Houston – with the end result being the creation of the Houston Texans.