Vikings-Saints NFC Championship Game Historic for Both Teams

The Vikings-Saints showdown tomorrow will determine an NFC champion. But the Vikings-Saints clash will have an even greater historical impact. For New Orleans, their history has been filled with losing and misery until now, and they are in uncharted territory. But for Minnesota, although they have a greater winning tradition, they haven't had one like this in some time. No matter who wins the Vikings-Saints game, there will be new blood in the Super Bowl either way.

New Orleans' unlikely run is well known to NFL fans. The former 'Aints hadn't even won one playoff game in their history until a decade ago. Winning season were few and far between for the franchise, until Sean Peyton and Drew Brees came along.

The post-Katrina 2006 run to the NFC title game was one of the year's biggest stories in sports. However, New Orleans had two mediocre years afterwards, until exploding to a 13-0 start this year. Tomorrow, the Vikings-Saints title game will be the first time that New Orleans is playing for a Super Bowl in the Superdome, giving them a huge home field advantage.

Despite the home field, the Saints still don't have the experience of Brett Favre, or a track record of success like the Vikings. But although it would be new territory for the Saints to reach the Super Bowl, the modern day Vikings are also unfamiliar with getting this far.

Minnesota has reached the Super Bowl four times, which far surpasses New Orleans, Yet those Fran Tarkenton-led Vikings lost all four times, making them the original Buffalo Bills. The last time they even had a shot was 33 years ago, when they were throttled by the Raiders.

It's been three decades since Minnesota has even had a shot to avenge those four Super Bowl losses. The Vikings-Saints game is their fifth attempt to get back, with the last few being particularly painful. The heavily favored 1998 Vikings were upset by the Falcons at home, while the 2000 club were shut out 41-0 by the Giants.

Even Brett Favre is rusty at this late stage, as he hasn't reached the Super Bowl in 12 years. His last NFC title game had him throw an interception in overtime, in his final pass as a Green Bay Packer.

For both franchises, the Vikings-Saints championship game is a chance to overcome some ugly history, and get farther than ever before. In this entire NFL Final Four, only the Colts have recent championship experience, and even they've only gone all the way once.

No matter what, some relatively new blood is set to win it all this year, to say nothing of all the new blood in the conference title games. The Vikings-Saints showdown will make history no matter what, as one team can reach unknown heights, and the other can make a long awaited return to the top.

Sources

NOLA.com- "Minnesota Vikings fans bracing for the worst against New Orleans Saints"