Super Bowl  IV
Chiefs vs. Vikings
January   11, 1970
                   I don't remember watching this  game, 
                   as I was just 4 years old . 
                   But I have seen the NFL Films  version several times and get
                   upset every time. The Vikings were favored by 2 touchdowns before
                   the game and for good reason. Unquestionably, the Purple were the
                   best team on paper in the NFL for the entire 1969 season. With a 12-2
                   record, the Vikes had amassed more points than any other team in
                   football- 379, for an average of 28 points per game! Their defense was
                   just as good- the "Purple-People-Eaters"- allowing an average of only
                   9 points per game, which made them the most feared team in the NFL! 

                   Unfortunately, the Super Bowl isn't decided by previous reputation- If it
                   was, the Vikes would have won this game for sure. Instead, the AFL's
                   Chiefs rocked all over the Vikes in this game right from the start. The
                   Chiefs scored field goals on their first 2 drives of game and took a 6-0
                   lead. Under the leadership of QB "Injun Joe" Kapp, the purple just
                   couldn't get going. Kapp, the fiery leader of the Vikings was never
                   known for being a "pretty quarterback, but in this game he was
                   downright ugly! Every time he went back to pass one the Chiefs front
                   four of Buck Buchanon, Jerry Mays, Aaron Brown or Curley Culp
                   would be in his face. Every time the Vikes tried to run, they were
                   stopped cold!  The Chiefs were dominating the game early, 
                  and had just taken a 9-0 lead on Stenrud's 3rd Field Goal
                  when disaster struck the Vikes. On the ensuing kick
                  off, Charlie West took the ball at the end zone and
                   raced out to about the 20 yard line, before he
                   fumbled the ball away to a Kansas City defender. The
                  "Purple People" stood their ground, throwing KC
                   for a few losses, but the Chiefs prevailed on a 3rd
                   and Goal from the 5 when RB Mike Garrett cut back to the end zone
                   on a misdirection play that fooled the tired and worn out Defense. The
                   Chiefs had built a 16-0 halftime lead behind Len Dawson's heads up
                   play. It didn't help the Vikes cause much that the Chiefs Defense made
                   them look like scared patsies, either.

                   It was obvious that Bud Grant had some words with his team at
                   halftime, because the Vikings came out in the 3rd quarter and were all
                   fired up. The Vikes took possession at their own 31 yard line and
                   marched 61 yards down the field in 10 plays! It was a great drive,
                   capped off by Dave Osborne's 4-yard vault into paydirt! Minnesota
                   had taken the momentum away from Kansas City with a mix of quick
                   passes and short runs. For the first time in the game, the Vikes looked
                   like the favorites!

                   The momentum swing was to be short lived as Chief
                  Quarterback Len Dawson called a surprise run play
                   on a 3rd and Seven, and caught the aggressive pass
                  rushing Vikings off guard. It was just one of many
                  "Vike Killer" plays that Dawson (12-17, 142 yards)
                   called, making him the game's MVP. On that same
                   drive, Lenny threw a short out to Otis Taylor that
                   turned into a 46-yard Touchdown pass and sent
                   Chief's coach Hank Stram into a "girlish frenzy." Of course the TD
                   could have been prevented had it not been for 2 missed tackles by
                   Viking defenders.

                   With the score 23-7, the Vikings tried to comeback but the Chiefs
                   defense would not allow it. Under constant harassment, Kapp could not
                   find enough time to throw. The frustrated QB ended 2 drives by
                   throwing interceptions to KC defenders. Even though the Vikes defense
                   held up the rest of the game, the Chiefs ran out valuable clock time.
                   With 5 minutes left, Kapp (16-25, 183 yards) was knocked out of the
                   game. His replacement, Gary Cuozzo promptly snuffed out any last
                   minute heroics by throwing an interception of his own.

                   In total KC's defense limited the Vikes renowned rushing game to just
                   67 yards and had 3 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries. Yikes! On a
                   positive note, the Super Bowl crowd of 80,562 at Tulane Stadium in
                   New Orleans set a new record, which was nice.

                   This game I remember pretty clear because it was hard to
                   forget how much I really thought the Vikes were gonna win.
                   Even though the Dolphins were defending
                   World Champs, and were playing in their third straight Super Bowl, I
                   honestly felt like we were gonna dominate their butts. How wrong I
                   was. An issue of Sports Illustrated that came out the week after this
                   Super Bowl best summed up this game: "CSZONKED!" The SI writer
                   for this game wrote, "Super Bowl VIII:I had all the excitement and
                   suspense of a master butcher quartering a steer" 

                   The Dolphins came out and handed to the  Vikes early on, scoring the       first two times  they had possession. There wasn't really  any doubt 
who played the role of the  butcher, as the Vikings were slaughtered early! What really bit was that the Vikings  didn't even get a chance to run their offense as the Dolphins scored on time consuming   drives of 62 and 56 yards. 

                   Larry Csonka capped the first drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. (For
                   the game, Csonka rushed 33 times for a Super Bowl-record 145
                   yards.) The Vikes responded with Nothing-Zero-Zip and punted after
                   3 plays only to see Miami score right again on their next drive. This
                   drive ate up even more clock and ended with Jim Kiick bursting one
                   yard through the middle for another touchdown! Things got even more
                   bleak when baldy, Garo Yepremian, nailed a 28-yard field goal in the
                   second period for a 17-0 Miami lead. 

                   There was, however, hope. Even though this game was simply a
                   flashback to Super Bowl IV against the Chiefs, the Vikes Offense
                   actually got rolling late in the first half. Fran Tarkenton moved the
                   Vikings from their own 20 all the way to the Dolphins 6. On a
                   second-and-2 situation, running back Oscar Reed had no room and
                   managed just 1-yard. He tried again on third down-no gain. It was
                   fourth down and 1 yard to go on the Miami 7-yard line with 1:18 left.
                   Decision time. I can remember my dad pleading with Bud Grant to kick
                   a field goal and get some points, any points on the board before
                   halftime. Instead the Vikes gambled. Reed got the ball again and went
                   over right tackle. As he hit the line he ran smack into future Hall of
                   Famer Nick Buoniconti, who jarred the ball loose and caused a fumble.
                   Naturally, the Dolphins recovered!

                   The Vikings were trailing 17-0 at the half, but at least we could find a
                   ray of hope in their 74-yard stalled drive. Even though they failed to
                   score, they had proved that they could move the ball on the Dolphins.
                   Coming out of the intermission, we clung to the hope that the second
                   half would be different. Just like Super Bowl IV, the Vikes got the ball
                   at halftime and we knew they would make a game of it. John Gilliam
                   fielded the kick at the half from the 1 yard line and sped all the way to
                   the Miami 34. It was just what the Vikings needed, the big break! Our
                   celebration was short lived as we soon learned that there was a flag on
                   the play-clipping against the Vikings. The damn Refs had to bring the
                   ball back 55 yards, all the way to the Vikes 11 yard line. Four plays
                   later, the Vikings punted. 

                   On the ensuing drive by Miami Griese connected with Hall of Famer
                   Paul Warfield for a 27-yard strike down to the Viking's 11 yard line. A
                   few plays later, Csonka thrashed into the endzone and gave Miami an
                   insurmountable 24-0 lead. 

                   The only cool thing about this Super Bowl for the Vikings was that Fran
                   Tarkenton did his scrambling thing, rushing for 17
                   yards and passing for
                   182. Sir Francis even scored a touchdown early in fourth quarter. With
                   17 points to make up and less than a quarter to do it, the Vikes
                   attempted an onside kick. They recovered the ball, but guess what?
                   The refs flagged the Vikings for being offside, so the play was nullified.
                   Minnesota kicked it deep and held the Dolphins on 4 plays. Miami's
                   punt was downed at the Vikings 3-yard line, but Tarkenton never
                   stopped fighting. The Hall of Fame quarterback took the Vikings all the
                   way down to the Miami 32 yard line. That was all the further the Vikes
                   would go, as Tark threw an interception to a Dolphin defender at the
                   goal line. Miami then ran out the clock by running the ball, consuming
                   the last six minutes of this Super Bowl! 

                   "We gave them our best shot and weren't good enough," Tark said.
                   "They played as nearly perfect a game as a team can play."

                   It seemed fitting that the vaunted Pittsburgh Defense "Steel Curtain:
                   would score first in this Big Game! After a scoreless first quarter, the
                   Vikings had the ball deep in their own territory. Fran Tarkenton
                   attempted a pitchout to halfback Dave Osborne, but the ball hit Chuck
                   Foreman and bounced back toward the end zone. Tark hurried back to
                   pounce on the ball but Dwight White jumped on him in the end zone for
                   a safety 7:49 into the second quarter.

                                    The Steelers weren't the only team playing BIG
                                    D on this day as the Vikings managed to stop
                                    Pittsburgh when it counted. The half ended with
                                    the Vikings trailing 2-0. Just like in the 2
                                    previous Super Bowls, the Vikings were going
                                    to be getting the ball at the half and everyone in
                                    our house was really counting on the Vikes to
                                    "snap out" of their offensive funk. We were
                                    certain that halftime adjustments would lead to
                   instant offense in the 3rd Quarter. 

                   With the defenses so dominant, it seemed the first lucky break could
                   determine the outcome of the game and that's exactly what happened!
                   The luck came for the Steelers on the kickoff of the second half.
                   Pittsburgh kicker, Roy Gerela slipped and botched his kick off so the
                   ball came off the tee like an onside kick. Not expecting this fluke, the
                   ball hit off Viking RB Bill "Boom Boom" Brown and right into the arms
                   of the Steelers Marv Kellum. Pittsburgh's ball at
                   the Viking 33 yard line.
                   With such great field position, the Steelers struggled to drive down to
                   the Viking's 9 yard line on the legs of Franco Harris. Taking advantage
                   of the gift kick, the Steelers scored on a 9-yard Harris blast. Leading
                   9-0 lead, the Steelers relied on their defense to hold the lead and it
                   worked. But the game wasn't clinched yet! Neither team could mount a
                   scoring drive, and the game clock had ticked fast into the Fourth
                   Quarter when the defense forced another break-this time for the
                   Vikings! 

                                             As Pittsburgh's Bobby Walden
                                             attempted to punt from his own 15,
                                             Matt Blair charged in and snuffed it
                                             back into the end zone. The
                                             Vikings' Terry Brown recovered the
                                             ball in the end zone for a
                   touchdown! Naturally, Fred Cox's kick hit the goal post but the Vikes
                   had closed the gap and now trailed the Steelers by just 3 points, 9-6. 

                   For the first time in history, the Vikings were in a great 
                    position to win a
                   Super Bowl! All they had to do was hold Pittsburgh, like they had been
                   doing all day, then get the ball and drive in for a well overdue offensive
                   touchdown. The formula was simple and we were all optimistic, but if
                   you know the Purple's history in the Super Bowl, you know that wishful
                   thinking is all a fan can have.
                              
                                      You can guess what happened next, the
                                      Steelers took the ensuing kickoff, marched 66
                                      yards in 11 plays, and put the Vikes away
                                      with a Terry Bradshaw 4-yard scoring pass to
                                      Larry Brown. Just like that, the Vikes were
                                      down 16-6 and with just 3:31 left in the game,
                                      the Vikes needed 2 scores to win. 

                   Tarkenton tried to bring the Vikings back, leading his team from his
                   own 9 to the 38. But his long pass down the middle intended for wide
                   receiver John Gilliam was intercepted by Pittsburgh's 
                  Mike Wagner. As
                   they say in show business, "Curtains." It was "Curtains" for the
                   Purple all day as the "Steel Curtain" had arrived in the NFL. Franco
                   Harris won the MVP, but someone should have changed their vote to
                   the Steeler Defense who permitted just 119 yards total offense,
                   including a Super Bowl low of 17 rushing yards.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                   I think this was the first of the Big Time modern-day Super Bowls as a
                   record crowd plus 81 million television viewers (the largest ever up to
                   that time), watched the Raiders win 32-14.

                   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."