A case for the Minnesota Vikings, the worst Super Bowl contender ever | Tom Kludt

The doubters are plentiful, but in a season filled with improbable wins, maybe, just maybe, the stars are finally aligning for the star-crossed franchise

The default expectation for the Minnesota Vikings is that, somehow and to varying degrees, the season will end in disappointment.

That fatalism has been nurtured over several decades of playoff pratfalls. The Vikings appeared in four Super Bowls during the 1970s, lost each one and haven't been back since. In the last 25 years, they have made it to four NFC championship games, two of which ended in humiliating blowouts and two that rank among the most heartbreaking postseason losses ever. It is a franchise congenitally disposed to choking, with a litany of agonizing miscues recognized by their shorthand: Roger Staubach's Hail Mary; Darrin Nelson's drop; Gary Anderson's miss; Brett Favre's pick; Blair Walsh's shank.