Football is back, and I couldn’t be more excited! In case you’re new around here, I am a huge Minnesota Vikings fan. Naturally, when I’m not reading fantasy novels, I’m often engaging in content related to my favorite NFL team (both during the season and in the off-season). To celebrate the kickoff of the new season, I thought it would be fun to go through some of my favorite Minnesota Vikings content.

The Official Minnesota Vikings Podcast – I’m not much of a podcast listener, so it is rare for me to consistently listen to one, but the official Minnesota Vikings podcast is the exception. I listen to it every week, usually multiple times a week (since they put out more than one episode during the season). That consistency on my part is a testament to how much the podcast helps me feel connected not only to the team through player and coach interviews, but also to other fans, as the podcast hosts often react in ways we fans often feel. It’s definitely a great platform to feel connected to the team and process the games each week.

100 Vikings Fans Should Know Or Do Before You Die by Mark Craig – I found this book in a gift shop in a small Minnesota town several years ago, and it became the first edition of my Minnesota Vikings library. It was also my first encounter with Vikings history. With its short vignettes on various players, coaches, locations, and games, it’s a great collection of snapshots from Minnesota Vikings history and legacy. Definitely a fun read, and a must-have for Vikings fans of all ages.

NFL: History of the Minnesota Vikings – This documentary, released in 2010, is a comprehensive, engaging film covering the first 50 years of the franchise. The film does a fantastic job weaving in film from the past with interviews from players looking back at their time with the Vikings. And, on a personal note, I find it really cool that it essentially covers the entire time before I was interested in the team, as it ends with Brett Favre as our quarterback, which was about the time I started to embrace team fandom.

NFL 100: A Century Of Pro Football – Speaking of football history, while this massive book isn’t Vikings-specific, it is an incredible dive into NFL history over its first century. This was the official book released a few years ago during the NFL’s centennial year. It provides a decade-by-decade look at how the league evolved over time, weaving in sports writing of the day, tons of pictures, and infographics highlighting the major milestones of each decade. And it does feature more than a few prominent Minnesota Vikings, too.

The Voyage – This is a Minnesota Vikings-produced video series on their YouTube channel, covering behind the scenes footage of the team across the season. It’s a fun way to relive the highlights and get the players’ and coaches’ perspectives on how things went. The latest season in particular was extremely well-edited and well-produced, managing to capture the hype and heartbreaks of the epic 2022 season in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat, even though you know how it ends.

96 Questions with Brian Robison – Speaking of exceptional YouTube content, in my opinion, nothing the Vikings have put out on social media in recent history compares to this classic series. Back when Robison was still playing, each week, he’d go around the Vikings locker room and ask his teammates random fan-submitted questions, ranging from who’s the worst dancer on the team to having teammates give their best impersonation of another player on the team. Some of my favorite episodes involved getting players’ reactions to old middle school, high school, or college photos of their teammates. The Vikings did bring back Robison for a few episodes last year, but I do miss the weekly videos and the laughter they provided.  

50 Greatest Players in Minnesota Vikings History by Robert W. Cohen – Similar to the 100 Things book mentioned earlier, this collection of short biographies of various players is a great dive into Vikings history, but provides an even deeper look at the lives off the field of some of the Vikings’ most talented players. The book does great job highlighting several different positions in its list of excellent players and doesn’t just focus on the typical football “heroes” like the quarterbacks, receivers, etc. The only downside to the book is that it is somewhat out of date already, even though it’s only a couple of years old, but I suppose that’s the inevitable nature of the NFL.

History of Heartbreak: 100 Events That Tortured Minnesota Sports Fans by Dan Whenesota – I absolutely love this book, which lists out the most tragic moments of the Minnesota Vikings and other Minnesota professional sports teams over the years. While it does cover more than just the Vikings, the team does feature very prominently in the book. And while it is heartbreaking, you can’t help but laugh—perhaps to keep yourself from crying—as you read through the many, many misadventures of the Minnesota Vikings.

Netflix’s Quarterback – Netflix’s recent documentary series features Kirk Cousins in all the best ways. Maybe it’s my Minnesota bias, but Kirk really stood out in the series not only as a great player but as an upstanding guy. The series did a great job highlighting the Vikings this past season, our underrated quarterback in particular, and felt like a celebration of our team, in a way. It was neat to see our often overlooked team on a national stage through this series.

There you have it! My favorite pieces of Vikings content. I’m looking forward to another NFL season and hope you’ll forgive my football indulgence as I get excited for another few months of football. Skol Vikings!