hey everybody! Jon here. just wanna drop a reminder that this episode is livestreaming FRIDAY evening, September 8th, 9 eastern / 8 Minnesota time. we just wanted to make sure to get it all in before the Vikings kick off their '23 season on Sunday. this way our history of the team will be 100% completely up-to-date for uh ... i guess about 40 hours or so. aw dang it
you know something terrible is about to happen when someone's going to kick a game-winning field goal and they start talking about how good a kicker he is
I want 2 things to happen now: 1. A way for me to explore that graph 2. A 7 second video saying, "Congratulations to the Minnesota Vikings, winners of Super Bowl [whatever]," when it eventually happens.
I'd also pay for a video when the Lions win, like - Congratulations!! to the Detro-wait a second. Am I reading this right? The DETROIT LIONS?????? AW, DANG IT-
A badass is still a badass no matter how old they get. Bud Grant was and will forever be the spirit of the Minnesota Vikings. I’m a Steelers fan but after watching this series, I so badly want the Vikings to win it all at least once in my lifetime.
I can't believe we were all duped into thinking Jon and Alex had assembled a high quality 7-hour docuseries about the Minnesota Vikings, and they instead gave us a high quality _(checks calculator)_ 9-hour docuseries about the Minnesota Vikings. How can we ever trust these guys again?
I still can’t believe they gave us more content than we were expecting! How can we let these wanton hooligans provide the public with such a bargain? How?
The camera turn around when Bud Grant is walking out, with him in his short sleeved polo and the camera crew looking like troops in a Siberian outpost, was one of the most poetic things I've ever seen.
I watched this series with my parents who have been lifelong Vikings fans for the past 50 years. Hearing my parent’s reactions, especially my dad’s, to the many iconic moments throughout the Vikings’s history, from my dad declaring the Hail Mary pass a “complete push off” to us laughing our asses off at Jerry Burns’s passionate speech to being baffled at the call to take a knee to reliving the Minneapolis Miracle, has been a really special experience for me. I’ve grown a new appreciation for my hometown team and I got to do it with the people I love. So thank you Jon and thank you Alex. Keep doing what you’re doing. It really is something else.
As a Vikings fan, I've never felt all of my points of pain so laid bare. This was one of the most validating emotional experiences any sports fan can get. Honestly incredible. Thanks gang
As a non-Vikings fan who has nevertheless been helped by so many Vikings greats in my fantasy football leagues, may you win the next five Super Bowls because clearly the Vikings deserve it.
My Dad passed away in a car accident on June 18th, 2023, he loved his family, college basketball, and the Vikings, he was 10 when the Vikings started playing in 1960. I couldn't watch this when it came out, I'm sorry, it was too hard, I finally healed enough to watch it and I wanted to say Thank you! You are master story tellers, I would say honorary Vikings, it was beautiful, it made me cry, he would have loved every second of the 9+ hours of it.
For the nine plus hours of joy, comfort, and contemplation I've gotten from this series so far, and for the innumerable hours of re-watching to come. Thank you Jon and Alex for your thorough research, brilliant writing, and storytelling empathy.
I'm so ready for Teddy-Two-Gloves to begin the 2016 season. 2015 had a rough ending, but Teddy's future looks really really promising! I think he might even be the piece we need to get back to the Super Bowl!
He definitely seems like he's got more zip on the ball in training camp. Making those tight window throws we always wanted to see. This might be the year he makes the leap!
It's such a shame we never got to see Teddy try and be a Franchise QB. I don't know if he would have been, but he might have. At the very least, he would have been the game-manager-with-upside that the 2017 team needed, and then they wouldn't have broken the bank for the game-manager-without-upside (aka Kirk Cousins) in 2018. Don't get me wrong, Cousins is a fine QB. An absolutely textbook, shoulder-shurgging example of a "fine" QB. Cousins on a team-friendly contract could absolutely be part of a championship dynasty. But that's not what they got, is it?
The team did think it was on Blair, as a recent podcast from a person on that squad showed the team knew it was on Blair that they lost. Zimmer tried to say that it was a team loss had him shouted at from players in the locker room.
1:28:20 Man, this is brilliant writing. The whole thing leading up to "when you row, you don't face your destination" just hits. While you're moving steadily toward an unknown destination, you're constantly looking back at the memory of the albatross following you from a distance, reminding you of everything you've done.
Me before this documentary: Bud Grant? He’s one of those ancient white guys who coached forever, right? Me now: I would run through a brick wall for that man
i remember seeing this game while i was still in high school while not being a fan of either team. it didn't mean anything to me then, but after watching this series i understand now just how much it means for him to be there. thank you jon
What an amazing moment: watching Bud Grant march onto the field in the dead of winter one last time. SBN built that moment up perfectly in the script and the score. Brought a tear to my eye. Rest in peace, Bud. We miss you up North.
@mrguitarguygates oh yeah definitely not as painful, but the high of arguably one of the most improbable finish to an NFL game ever, taking place in the playoffs, to the very next week getting blown out is just gonna be such a whiplash of joy to sadness
I’m not a Vikings fan or a Falcons fan from the last series… but these are so freaking good. Please never stop making these. I will donate to a gofundme for these
Each and every one of these documentaries truly defines the statement of "How can yoy not be romantic about sports?" There's always so much love, care, and joy that goes both into each episode and each team and their city; it's absolutely incredible.
Congratulations to Jon Bois & Alex Rubinstein for doing great work on the History of the Minnesota Vikings. This was the latest masterpiece by these gentlemen...and it won't be the last.
This series has been a cathartic release for this lifelong Vikes fan. Christ. Its our story! Writ large and eloquently. I can't adequately express my gratitude to you guys.
This is the greatest series in all of UA-cam history and I hope it stays here forever. Like with the history of the Falcons, it's insane to think how much work this has to take. Jon, Alex and everyone that was involved, thank you. Thanks for everything.
As a Vikings fan who went into this series with trepidation at all the pain I was about to experience, I walk away loving this team even more than before. Thank you so much!
I’m gonna cry when Jon says “congratulations to the Atlanta Fal-, sorry the New England Patriots, winners of SB LI”, at least I’ll get to rewatch the Minneapolis miracle
Lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but I absolutely love these hours-long series about franchises like the Vikings and Falcons. Somehow its a deep-dive into another city's passion for its football team and the reasons why that fierce love exists. I think i'd wish for my desert island playlist to just be Jon and friends doing these series for every sports team in history.
28:25 to 29:25 is just phenomenal storytelling. One of the more unexpected and moving payoffs of this lovingly and creatively woven sports tapestry. "Where are you Bud?" Such layered writing -- we're at the point in the narrative where even non-Vikes fans are pining for the days of Bud Grant's heyday, and imagining the impact his actual physical presence might have for the franchise on that day. But he's 88 now, already turned down a coaching return. It's double digits below zero. No way he's here. "He's here." Watching Bud Grant walking astride the Vikings players felt almost supernatural -- I was compelled to stare, mouth agape, and do nothing else. It was as if I had seen Paul Bunyan and his giant ox strolling to the coin toss or Leif Eriksson himself donning the purple and gold and walking to the 50 yard line. By the end of this series, he felt like the folk hero of this uniquely American sports tale. The moment was monumental -- it takes a special kind of subject and a special type of storyteller to capture and magnify the moment the way it deserves. A testament to Bud Grant's entire life summed up in this entire sequence. It's bittersweet -- perhaps the farewell of more than one era (not to mention that this game is one the most vomit-inducing losses in the modern NFL): 1. the Vikings won't ever play at home outdoors again, and far more importantly; 2. it's a sort of swan song for Bud Grant and his era of coaching. Again, such awesome writing -- congratulations Secret Base (Dorktown team especially) on the whole series. It's unbelievable I can view this kind of elite content for free.
It really shows that life is so, so much crueler than any fiction could hope to be, because if it's a movie, they unquestionably win that game. Alas, reality's script is written in the moment.
@Prederick Well said. It's amazing how many narratives on and off the field came together in that moment, like the perfect conclusion to a classic sports story -- just for that moment to go wide left along with the kick that would have continued what should have been a spellbound run for the Vikings. I'm a Lions fan with no love lost or pity offered to the other conference teams (especially GB and Minnesota given their historical record of being miles ahead of Detroit for decades) but even then I felt the ache in my chest after the magic of Bud's appearance wore off and I realized how tragically this game is going to end for them.
Even the way Jon says "He's here." still manages to sound like Jon is surprised to look over and see him. This is a scripted moment that probably took at least a couple of takes to hit. And yet, even Jon, the one guy who you'd assume knows what's happening here, sounds surprised that Bud's out there, sans sleeves, willing the Vikings on.
@warpdrivefueledbyinsomnia8165 Another great point! That was something I was trying to acknowledge in my original comment -- Bud's appearance came completely out of left field. The Secret Base team are such proficient storytellers that you can't help but notice hints and prompts and foundation laid for every major event you'll hear about. Maybe Bud's character and life story should ensure that we really aren't that surprised when he's out in Arctic temperatures at 88, leading the team -- but it still was so surprising. That's part of what made the moment so moving.
alan hawkshaw’s “serengeti” always heightens the emotional impact of the scenes where it plays but i don’t think it’s ever been more powerful than it is there
If there's one thing about the early Vikings that helps everything make sense about the current Vikings, it's that there is a blood price for when things go right for this team. And given the season opener, 'Congratulations to the Detroit Lions, winner of Superbowl 58 or 59 or 60, this is their 1st Superbowl win' feels like the latest price in the works.
If Detroit wins a Superbowl before the Vikings that would just put a cap in this. Actually maybe that's what it will take for the Vikings to win one, everyone else in the division having one first...
Given their history of protracted irrelevance, Detroit winning a Superbowl before the Vikings is going to feel like the ultimate poke in the eye from the football gods.
This might sound astronomically illogical, but the one moment that made me a true Viking's fan was seeing Walsh miss the chip shot. Something about that happening and knowing they never won a superbowl made me even more committed for the ride to see their first SB win.
That was the first ever full Vikings game I remember watching in its entirety. Before then, I was a Vikings fan because my family and friends were. After that, I knew I would never leave the fandom
As a Vikings fan... this was a beautiful, heartbreaking gift! Would genuinely buy a copy of this whole thing! Thank you all for all your hard work! SKOL!!
As a long suffering Vikings fan since I was 8 years old in 1992, I cried during many of those games. Many of those moments. I cried again watching this series. Thank you Jon for giving this fan some catharsis, knowing that while our team may not ever win, there are those that know our story.
"Myths are an essential and beautiful component of the human experience... But Myths do not offer actionable information." Not only are y'all the best sports writers ever. Making me care about things I never knew I could love, but have absolute bangers like this!
Would love to see a behind the scenes video about the work that goes into making this series. You guys deserve to have people know just how much effort goes into these documentaries
I wish Jon and Alex and the rest of the team could cover every sports story. I don't really follow sports, outside of my college football team. But every single video that comes out of this channel is amazingly compelling and must-watch television. Can't wait to see the conclusion
2023: The Vikings come back from starting the season 0-3 to 4-4 as they take down the FINALLY bad Packers! ...Kirk Cousins gets injured. Season-ending. *Aw, dang it!*
Well hey, we got a backup in Josh Dobbs, hopefully he's good too. Okay, looking good, winning the first two ga- wait, what are you- No, wait- gahhhhhh, dang it.
39:04 As much as I love both Teddy Bridgewater and Jon Bois, I'm going to have to push back here and say that it was either Vinny Testaverde, Josh McCown, or Ryan Fitzpatrick who was the originator of this subversion of the journeyman moniker, although I could agree that he is probably the best player of those four on a rate basis. Put all four of them on the Mount Rushmore of fan favorites with decent talent, unshakeable wills, and heartwarming feel-good stories.
True, which is probably way he prefaced that he was speaking with some bias towards Bridgewater. But those other QBs deserve some respect. Love me some Fitzmagic.
It's very weird for an artist or a creator to make Something considered a "Masterpiece". Jon, Alex and Company now have 3 under their belt with these History of teams Series. There's nothing else to say but "Thank you" for delivering Everything you got on making these ones. The next one can't come any sooner.
Their Dave Stieb documentary series is still my favourite. It made me cry. Maybe cos out of all of these, the long term goal was actually finally achieved. For the mariners, falcons and vikings, they haven't won the world series/superbowl, but Dave Stieb got his no hitter eventually. And that moment in the documentary when he achieves it, is the most profound thing Jon and Alex have ever written, the "this is how baseball moves" quote. And maybe the whole series just hits harder because it's obviously so much more personal, being about one guy, instead of hundreds of guys who all played for the same team over the decades.
@@nonamelegend_vapor I hope, maybe just a little, it'll be hockey. I might be biased, 23 year long Blue Jackets fan and all, but I think the NHL has got some stories to tell.
I hadn’t cried this entire series. I came close, but I’m a Vikings fan, I know pain. I was prepared for heartbreak after heartbreak. What I don’t have much history of experiencing is the victory of a hard-fought, close, playoff game. I’m not married, and I don’t have children; I can look back at the Minneapolis Miracle and wholeheartedly say that I have never felt such an overwhelming rush of anxiousness, elation, and overall feeling of relief in any event throughout my life. It was such a feeling of “everything is finally going to be ok.” Whenever I watch a highlight, let alone a breakdown as good as this series has produced over and over again, it never fails to bring me to tears again. Bravo
The line about Vikings facing backwards to row forwards no matter the weather was PERFECT! A great way to bring home the meaning behind this history. That and the episode’s namesake (the bounce) are two brilliant analogies that sum up this anomaly of a franchise’s history! Great work guys!!
i'm a 49ers fan, AND i remember watching the Minneapolis Miracle live, and yet somehow watching it with full context in this documentary made me pull a Matthew McConnaghey from Interstellar kind of cry. You don't get that kind of effect unless the documentary is *that good*. Looking forward to the next Dorktowns.
It was the happiest Vikings moment of my entire life. Jumping and screaming and hugging my brother when it happened. He's 100% right when he said it made the loss to the Eagles fade quicker. We were sad at the moment but at least we've got that one memory in our pockets.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to the only sports team I have ever followed. I live in Wisconsin, surrounded by Packers fans, and it's only made me more of a die-hard. There's truly something special about this team, and I'm honored that non-Vikings fans like you see that.
This series man…. You have outdone yourselves, again. Watching Bud walk out onto the field on that frigid day in short sleeves, unaffected, brought a genuine tear to my eye. Bravissimo, Secret Base Team.
Waiting for a full 10hr long release to just have in my favorites. I’ve only lived through two of the last decades of hardship but hearing stories from my dad who through a good portion of it himself I still feel pride to be a fan and see where the team has gone and come from. This series you guys have done has solidified that. So thank you! Even if we haven’t won the big one
the transition at 1:31:50 sums up everything i love about these series. thanks jon, alex, and any other people who helped 19-year-old packers fan like the vikings for a good 9 hours. spectacular work.
The pit in my stomach when I learned about Bridgewater's injury back in 2016 through breaking news alerts, knowing how serious a dislocated knee is, is one of those sports related memories outside of the game that I'll never forget.
We’re in some sort of dark splinter universe-Teddy’s injury convinced me of that. In 2015 we came out of nowhere to be 11-5, and I honestly believe that if Walsh makes that field goal, we could’ve done something special in the playoffs. And even though Walsh missed the kick, we were all so excited about our coach and our defense and this gritty, likable young QB. And just like that-during some non-descript drop back during some garden-variety practice, Teddy’s knee explodes. We all knew right then-2016 was over. We fought valiantly against fate, somehow getting to 5-0, but we all knew.
I cannot express the sheer joy this series gave me. This may be the single best documentary series about football ever made and i do not say that lightly. It is beautiful, funny, sad, and amazing all wrapped up into one. I know it is not possible, but i wish such an in depth series could be made for each and every NFL franchise by you guys. Thank you so much for your hard work and giving us this.
Never seen a football game in my life (I'm not American obviously), but thanks to you guys now I have NFL app in my phone. Also thanks to you guys, now I wonder if I ever see the Mariners to be in the WS, and the Vikings to win the SB in my lifetime. But what if, what if they both happened in the same year? Wouldn't that be crazy?
I only started watching football around 2005 so I’m completely unaware of who Bud Grant was. But I distinctly remember an old man walking out to a standing ovation on the coldest day of the year in goddamn short sleeves and knew that this man was a legend.
Dorktown is the greatest series in modern sports media. They bat 1.000 every episode. I’ll revisit old series while waiting for what is next. There is nothing like the magic of these finely detailed tapestries. Thank you for all your hard work
I can think of no greater gift than to have a documentary like these to be made for my favorite sports team. Truly amazing work these guys create and hope to one day get a Phillies or Eagles one.
I've been watching Jon since the breaking madden years in 2014. His trailer he posted on twitter legit was the most exciting thing that happened to me this summer
If we were gonna have one made it would have been best after SB 52. one of the greatest, most unexpected, and most cathartic wins in football history. I think that would have been the moment to end a series like this on, but now we have the years after which don't tell as coherent a story sadly
Your charts & graphs are absolutely unreal! On top of your story telling and general other abilities, the visuals you present are unlike anything I've ever seen in 3+ decades of sports Fandom. So much appreciation for you all and your series/videos/ideas!
Thanks for being the best sports documentary makers out there and giving the Minnesota Vikings the amazing retrospective video they deserve. My Dad was a lifelong vikings fan and now I understand why he followed them religiously every season despite being repeatedly let down. :P
Jon Alex and everyone at secret base, this was an incredible series. Every detail is perfect. The stories, the commentary, the music is unmatched. Great job everyone, this is by far the best sports channel on UA-cam. Also, in terms of story telling ability the Toronto Maple Leafs would be a great team to deep dive. The horrible ownership by Harold Ballard, the game 7 heartbreaks, and the current core 4 drama.
All due respect, but if these guys do a series on any hockey team it would be the tough luck San Jose Sharks, who have never won a Stanley Cup despite being so good and so close for so long (the Leafs have won 13).
As a Vikings fan, unlikely football lover, and lifelong geek, this may just be the finest sports history series I've ever seen. I moved to the Twin Cities for my career. So, my memory really begins with episode 6. I love stories that combine heart and empathy with the context and data I need to truly understand. So, thank you for telling this story in the language I get, and so skillfully. You helped me connect with the past of something I love and affirm that yes, the Vikings are my team and not by chance. Because for me, the stories are what really matters.
hearing that a real human being at a real point in this universe has been inspired by a quote from margaret god damn thatcher is one of the most hilarious things i have ever heard
I knew very little about Bud before this series, just that he coached them in the era we went to the SB, but I would run through a wall for the man. RIP, hope you got your duck hunt in.
This was not only the best dorktown/secret base video I’ve ever seen, it was the best SPORTS video I’ve ever seen. Particularly the story of Bud Grant made me appreciate this team and that man a great deal more. Amazing job guys, it was so thought provoking and emotional it made me cry. Every filmmaker should want to do what you both have done here and that’s provoke feelings and emotions. God damn that was amazing.
As a lifelong (25 years) Vikings fan, it was so incredible to see your breakdowns on all of the greatest moments before I was born, seeing all of the legendary stories I have heard of from family, friends and strangers since I was a child. This was an absolutely incredible series. Thank you all so much.
I was at that Bengals game when Teddy stepped back into the huddle for the first time in the regular season. You should have heard the way the stadium erupted. It brought my brother and I to tears.
28:45 - 29:25 Just…wow The last walkout for Bud Grant in them short sleeves with AP, Teddy, and Griffen is a moment in history for the Vikings themselves, that group of 4 men WERE some of the best to ever do it for their team. One helluva moment that got me choked up
This was simply fantastic. The narration and storytelling- awesome. The graphics superb. 10 hours and worth every minute. Best graphic was showing the skyline on the last pass from playoff game from last year. The history, the heartbreak. We fans live with it every year. Thank you! Masterful series and I’m recommending to all my friends.
Unreal series. A+ work as always. I remember watching the Minneapolis Miracle in the basement of a friend's house. It was a party and a lot of the people were fans, but just as many weren't. People who were passively rooting for the Vikings but not much else after that. When the catch happened, all of the fans in the room went nuts (minus the Saints fans that were there). They were screaming & running out of the room. I remember looking at my cousin, who hasn't watched a football game in 20 years, start to cry because she could just feel the emotions of how big of a moment that was for Vikings fans. It was still one of the most surreal moments I've ever been a part of.
As an Eagles fan, I was hoping to enjoy the 2017 NFCCG beatdown they gave the Vikes, thinking you'd make it one of the sad emotional beats. It's true though, very few people remember that clobbering, but everyone remembers the Miracle over the Saints, it was incredibly memorable and I'm glad you made the choice to look back on the season and choose instead to appreciate the way the ball bounced. Keep up the good work fellas, looking forward to the history of the San Diego Chargers!
To me that nfcc was like part one of mpls alley oopin the eagles their first super bowl. It was time bc my boy was visiting from Cali (by way of Philly originally) and we saw 3 eagles off e Mississippi circling us bank stadium idk maybe a half year before the super bowl. We (obviously) said it's an omen...yup
no matter what it may always be the greatest single play in the history of the game, Foles may be the most legendary coming off the sidelines "hold my beer" player too
Once again I look back at the multiple times I have cried watching a series about a team I knew nothing about at the start of this journey. Thank you and your team for so much hard work, long hours of research and production, and true dedication to your craft.
Y'know, I never cared much about football for the first 19 years of my life, it seemed useless to me, the kid who was good at math, for people to go hit each other and get concussions just for a sport, thought it was ridiculous. But if I was in a room with a TV and a football game, as a Minnesotan born and raised, I would always root for the Purple and Gold. Since my 19th birthday a few things have happened, while I still haven't hit my 20th it's been a crazy year in my life. First, my sister convinced me to go to a Taylor Swift concert, which was a nice family experience during which I became a full blown Swiftie. The second thing that happened was that, as you might have guessed, Taylor started dating Travis Kelce. This brought my family together, just hours before writing this I watched the NFC and AFC championship games because I was actually interested with my dad not even knowing I was doing that. And the final thing that happened was the PWHL was created and it brought with it an opportunity to cheer for the only other purple team in Minnesota. My dad is one of the greatest men I know, not the nicest or the most upstanding man you'll ever meet, but I can assure you he will be one of the kindest. When the Minneapolis Miracle happened and Diggs ran the ball in my dad yelled in excitement louder than i've ever heard him yell in anger or otherwise. A painting in the hallway fell as he stomped around more excited than a kid on Christmas. It was in the moment I saw the first Minnesota PWHL home opener goal that I understood what had happened that day and the excitement that my dad felt. After watching over 9 hours about the history of this incredible team I have never in my life been prouder to be a Vikings fan. I guarantee there will be a day that I will reply to this comment about a story of me , my sister, and my dad sobbing together as the Vikings either toss another Super Bowl loss into the dredges of history or, by the grace of the universe, actually manage to win one. Whenever that happens, that moment between my father, my sister, and I will be in no small part thanks to this series. Thank you for helping bring a jock outside his prime, a Computer Engineering Major who was the worst player on his highschool soccer team, and an artsy girl with a knack for chemistry together to cheer for a team that seems unable to dislodge itself from our hearts. Skol.
Another total masterclass in crafting a narrative on sports. It still blows my ever aging mind that something of this quality could be made and just put up on a website for everyone to see without additional roadblocks and costs behind it. I can't wait for the next thing you guys make. Here's hoping its some obscure character or team from a sport I, as of this moment, don't care a thing about. If only so that I can get a taste of why I might should start watching or caring about them.
thanks to this series i became a Vikings fan even though i barely understand the concepts of football as a european, it was a thrill watching the drudgery of Vikes. i hope they can manage a SB appearance soon...
Oh god, that missed field goal from Walsh was heartbreaking. Once y'all started talking about how he's been perfect all season I just knew he was gonna miss it, and it still just hit me like a truck.
Vikings fans know better. These guys had a story to tell and the fact that Walsh hadn't missed a field goal at home all season helped them tell it, but Walsh had the yips that year. You know, the thing that makes a golfer dread a 3 foot putt more than a 10 foot putt? He was great from a distance, but his make % on XP's was abysmal that year.
I was rooting for the Seahawks in that game, and as soon as Minnesota lined up for that final kick, I began to chant "Gary Anderson" to myself, hoping to jinx or curse the Vikings. The football gods answered my silent prayer as perfectly as I could have asked for.
I have lived in the twin cities my entire life. I remember watching the Minneapolis miracle and being so overwhelmed with emotion that I ran into my mother’s back yard and collapsed into the snow. It was brutally cold as well and I remember just laying there crying tears of joy for a good 5 minutes.
52 years and counting as a Vikings fan, and reliving all those moments that I thought I would never want to see again...was amazing! Such great narration and detailed facts really made it seem like you feel our pain from a team that continues to piss me off year after year!!
As a young Vikings fan I didn’t experience the first majority of vikings history so learning about it all was cool but these last 2 episodes were the ones that I have lived and boy has it been emotional…kudos to you all for such a great series, I appreciate it beyond belief.
Asbo-fucking-lutely amazing series! I also wanna thank you, as someone who started to follow American football in 2014 and chose the vikings as my team because i chose the timberwolves in the NBA 2 years prior all because i'm Swedish and Minnesota is where a lot of swedes ended up in the late 1800s emigration. This series has helped me a lot to get a better overview of my teams cursed history, and made me a big fan of people I only knew the names of. Like Bud Grant and Alan Page. So again, thanks! Looking forward to more great works from you guys!
Glad to see we've got at least one fan back in the old country. Honestly, even though you nominally chose to be a Minnesota sports fan, this really confirms my feelings that Minnesota sports fandom isn't chosen- it chooses you.
I got so consumed into this, that when you got to the last play & didn't start talking about the future, I was so confused, only to realize that the future hasn't happened yet. Even as a Packers fan, this is the best thing that has been produced by Secret Base.
Another awe-inspiring series by Secret Base! Please never stop making these longer documentaries, they are some of the highest-quality, highest caliber sports/storytelling content on this entire website
My wife and I were so shook from Teddy's injury. It was devastating to see. Later he would join our respective favorite teams (Panthers and Broncos) and we loved getting to cheer for him wholeheartedly. Love Teddy.
I'll say this, I've always had a soft spot for Kirk Cousins, he played at Michigan State when my sister was there. Plus, he's got longevity. Half of the other QBs he was drafted with are out of the league, and his numbers are better than pretty much everyone except Russell Wilson. Besides that, another fantastic series. Just phenomenal. This is the best thing in sports docs by far. Can't wait to see what you cook up for next year.
My whole life, my parents have been watching football, yelling at the screen, getting super invested. My whole life, I've found it dull save for the game day nachos and inherent fun of being a child doing arbitrary tribalism (for the Seahawks, if you can believe it). Yet I was so engaged by this series. The charts, the additional context, the clear pathos and passion, you make it so beautiful and compelling. While I'd still never sit through a football game and frankly the emotional highs and lows dragging over years seem far too intense for me to handle on that time scale, I like having seen the bigger picture and the bigger story. Sports will never be my thing but I love stories. Thank you for illuminating this one. PS all my homies stan Bud Grant for life
God what a good series. I wish there was a SB equivalent documenting my native UK teams, but as it stands I care less about them than I am currently for a US football team I've spent 9 hours learning about.
hey everybody! Jon here. just wanna drop a reminder that this episode is livestreaming FRIDAY evening, September 8th, 9 eastern / 8 Minnesota time. we just wanted to make sure to get it all in before the Vikings kick off their '23 season on Sunday. this way our history of the team will be 100% completely up-to-date for uh ... i guess about 40 hours or so. aw dang it
hey jon. do you mind spoiling how long this episode is going to be?
@@1_1bmanOver/Under 1hr 32min
@@1_1bman yes
@@1_1bmanLast episodes of the Mariners and Falcons were pretty long so I think we can expect around 90 minutes
So I guess we doing weekly episodes to keep up to date?
"but he's not there... He's here"
GOD DAMN Jon knows how to write a scripts that gives me chills.
This whole series felt like nine hours of context for why Bud Grant is awesome.
RIP Bud, you giant goddamn legend
Teared up a bit on this morning’s walk when that hit
@@benjaminborhart3321same lmao
@@benjaminborhart3321yeah fr
you know something terrible is about to happen when someone's going to kick a game-winning field goal and they start talking about how good a kicker he is
All according to script
As soon as they got into range I kept saying "oh no..."
I want 2 things to happen now:
1. A way for me to explore that graph
2. A 7 second video saying, "Congratulations to the Minnesota Vikings, winners of Super Bowl [whatever]," when it eventually happens.
Congratulations! To the Minnesota Vikings for winning Super Bowl LX. This is their first Super Bowl win.
@@DDub04 as a fan 3 years seems unrealistic add a 0 at the end
@@DDub04More like Super Bowl CLX
I'd also pay for a video when the Lions win, like -
Congratulations!! to the Detro-wait a second. Am I reading this right? The DETROIT LIONS?????? AW, DANG IT-
I wish Bud could have hung on just a few more months to see this. I feel he would have loved it.
Rest in peace, the most Minnesota Viking of them all.
He's somewhere by a fireplace in Heaven, I hope, watching the docuseries on TV, bundled up, sipping a mug of hot chocolate.
@@vortex_masterI'm sure he is
@@thepizzagod420 Nope, he was agnostic
Nope, he’s in a duck blind with all his dogs over the years sitting with him.
@@vortex_masterI wonder what he thought of it
Bud Grant walking out there in the cold with no jacket is one of the hardest thing I've ever seen in my life
probably the most Absolute Unit an 88-year-old has ever been
A badass is still a badass no matter how old they get. Bud Grant was and will forever be the spirit of the Minnesota Vikings. I’m a Steelers fan but after watching this series, I so badly want the Vikings to win it all at least once in my lifetime.
I can't believe we were all duped into thinking Jon and Alex had assembled a high quality 7-hour docuseries about the Minnesota Vikings, and they instead gave us a high quality _(checks calculator)_ 9-hour docuseries about the Minnesota Vikings. How can we ever trust these guys again?
I still can’t believe they gave us more content than we were expecting! How can we let these wanton hooligans provide the public with such a bargain? How?
Ummm....I'll give em one more chance
They fooled us...again...and I dont care. I love this series
I'm glad we're past the 90's and 2000's. No more brutal missed FGs or losses in the NFC CG for our intrepid Vikings!
i choose to believe you.
No more serious injuries to young QBs
Or playoffs
nope. definitely won’t be any relentless continuation of those cruel curses 😅
Aww dangit.
The camera turn around when Bud Grant is walking out, with him in his short sleeved polo and the camera crew looking like troops in a Siberian outpost, was one of the most poetic things I've ever seen.
Jon: Only winning matters
Jon in every baseball doc: Wins matter less than the human appendix
Kirk Cousins to the Falcons definitely means you have to do an extra episode follow-up to both histories.
I want a combo supercut of the Falcons-Vikings championship game
I watched this series with my parents who have been lifelong Vikings fans for the past 50 years. Hearing my parent’s reactions, especially my dad’s, to the many iconic moments throughout the Vikings’s history, from my dad declaring the Hail Mary pass a “complete push off” to us laughing our asses off at Jerry Burns’s passionate speech to being baffled at the call to take a knee to reliving the Minneapolis Miracle, has been a really special experience for me. I’ve grown a new appreciation for my hometown team and I got to do it with the people I love.
So thank you Jon and thank you Alex. Keep doing what you’re doing. It really is something else.
How did they respond during the Caepernick/Kendricks part?
Outstanding!
As a Vikings fan, I've never felt all of my points of pain so laid bare. This was one of the most validating emotional experiences any sports fan can get. Honestly incredible. Thanks gang
As a non-Vikings fan who has nevertheless been helped by so many Vikings greats in my fantasy football leagues, may you win the next five Super Bowls because clearly the Vikings deserve it.
I can only offer you that kindness because as a Browns fan I know my team will never win in my lifetime. LOL
@@blah2blah65 Yeah but you guys have the cavaliers championships
As a saints fan, ditto
My Dad passed away in a car accident on June 18th, 2023, he loved his family, college basketball, and the Vikings, he was 10 when the Vikings started playing in 1960. I couldn't watch this when it came out, I'm sorry, it was too hard, I finally healed enough to watch it and I wanted to say Thank you! You are master story tellers, I would say honorary Vikings, it was beautiful, it made me cry, he would have loved every second of the 9+ hours of it.
For the nine plus hours of joy, comfort, and contemplation I've gotten from this series so far, and for the innumerable hours of re-watching to come. Thank you Jon and Alex for your thorough research, brilliant writing, and storytelling empathy.
We get it, you want to brag about how you can afford to financially support UA-camrs who don’t need your support because they’re already rich.
@@Rountree1985 such a weird comment lol
I'm so ready for Teddy-Two-Gloves to begin the 2016 season. 2015 had a rough ending, but Teddy's future looks really really promising! I think he might even be the piece we need to get back to the Super Bowl!
He definitely seems like he's got more zip on the ball in training camp. Making those tight window throws we always wanted to see. This might be the year he makes the leap!
I know, I'm getting tired of those Blair Walsh "Laces Out" mashups. This year it's gonna-
...ah, dang it
Ahhh dang it
It's such a shame we never got to see Teddy try and be a Franchise QB. I don't know if he would have been, but he might have. At the very least, he would have been the game-manager-with-upside that the 2017 team needed, and then they wouldn't have broken the bank for the game-manager-without-upside (aka Kirk Cousins) in 2018.
Don't get me wrong, Cousins is a fine QB. An absolutely textbook, shoulder-shurgging example of a "fine" QB. Cousins on a team-friendly contract could absolutely be part of a championship dynasty. But that's not what they got, is it?
Jared Allen deserved to be mentioned in this, he was a fan favorite during those dark times
I'm a little surprised they didn't cover the shock and AWWE d-line, but there was just so much going on i don't blame them
They definitely should've included his one-handed sack.
@@sampiehl8855and his Chase of that ESPN pundit too.
Sorry, bro. When you spend your life on twitter, Colin Kaepernick is far more important to the history of the Vikings than Jared Allen :)
Jon and Alex can do what essentially no one else can: Get non-sports fans to care about sports. You guys are amazing. Thank you for all your work.
let's be real. Jon and Alex don't tell stories about sports, they tell them about people.
you're goddamn right, I was on the edge of my seat when they were talking about the 2018 divisional game
theyre good at getting math nerds into sports, theres a few people like foolish baseball that catch that group too.
I don't even like football but I'm crying like everybody else
I wanted to learn when the Vikings won the superbowl but felt it was better not to ruin the surprise. aw dang it.
Seeing everyone try to take the blame for the 2015 seahawks loss was really endearing. No one on the team wanted to put it on Blair, besides himself
The team did think it was on Blair, as a recent podcast from a person on that squad showed the team knew it was on Blair that they lost. Zimmer tried to say that it was a team loss had him shouted at from players in the locker room.
Which is ludicrous, since he's the only one that scored any points that day.
How the fuck is it on Blair the laces were backwards
1:28:20 Man, this is brilliant writing. The whole thing leading up to "when you row, you don't face your destination" just hits. While you're moving steadily toward an unknown destination, you're constantly looking back at the memory of the albatross following you from a distance, reminding you of everything you've done.
When I saw Bud come onto the field at 28:58 I literally saluted my screen to pay my respects to the man
This entire series was a love letter to Bud Grant. And I have not one qualm
Me before this documentary: Bud Grant? He’s one of those ancient white guys who coached forever, right?
Me now: I would run through a brick wall for that man
When the "Bud Grant 1927-2023" came on the screen, I lifted my glass in tribute.
i remember seeing this game while i was still in high school while not being a fan of either team. it didn't mean anything to me then, but after watching this series i understand now just how much it means for him to be there. thank you jon
I know how this damn game ended and yet every time I see him walking out there I wish so badly it will end differently just for him. N
What an amazing moment: watching Bud Grant march onto the field in the dead of winter one last time.
SBN built that moment up perfectly in the script and the score.
Brought a tear to my eye.
Rest in peace, Bud. We miss you up North.
The emotional roller coaster from the Minneapolis Miracle....to the very next game, will be legendary
wasn't that painful tbh. 09 and 98 were way worse. 38-7 was more like 41-donut.
@mrguitarguygates oh yeah definitely not as painful, but the high of arguably one of the most improbable finish to an NFL game ever, taking place in the playoffs, to the very next week getting blown out is just gonna be such a whiplash of joy to sadness
I sleep much easier after my team (not the Vikings) gets its ass kicked than when it loses off one of two plays. Eagles were just the better team.
Joe Buck somehow actually became a brilliant sportscaster for like, three words
Minnesota Massacre
I’m not a Vikings fan or a Falcons fan from the last series… but these are so freaking good. Please never stop making these. I will donate to a gofundme for these
Each and every one of these documentaries truly defines the statement of "How can yoy not be romantic about sports?" There's always so much love, care, and joy that goes both into each episode and each team and their city; it's absolutely incredible.
Congratulations to Jon Bois & Alex Rubinstein for doing great work on the History of the Minnesota Vikings. This was the latest masterpiece by these gentlemen...and it won't be the last.
That was good
This series has been a cathartic release for this lifelong Vikes fan. Christ. Its our story! Writ large and eloquently. I can't adequately express my gratitude to you guys.
And then 2023 started, and we need catharsis all over again 🤣. This is the team you love to hate to love.
as a minnesotan, this is the best thing sports related i have ever seen. thank you jon and alex for making this absolutely wonderful series.
How is it in little Somalia these days?
This is the greatest series in all of UA-cam history and I hope it stays here forever. Like with the history of the Falcons, it's insane to think how much work this has to take. Jon, Alex and everyone that was involved, thank you. Thanks for everything.
As a Vikings fan who went into this series with trepidation at all the pain I was about to experience, I walk away loving this team even more than before. Thank you so much!
when you got to that moment of "Bud's not there. He's HERE."..man, that reveal made my jaw drop and start crying. fuck.
I’m gonna cry when Jon says “congratulations to the Atlanta Fal-, sorry the New England Patriots, winners of SB LI”, at least I’ll get to rewatch the Minneapolis miracle
Have fun getting swept by your favorite rival.
@@someperson3883 Tables turn this year.
@@atl4sports How about you worry about the battle of 2 brain cells fighting for 3rd place before you come for the big dog
@@someperson3883The Aints ain't winning shit, you threaten nobody
He didn’t want to twist the knife. I respect it.
Teddy's knee injury was one of the most crushing things ever
I thought it was funny lol
Lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but I absolutely love these hours-long series about franchises like the Vikings and Falcons. Somehow its a deep-dive into another city's passion for its football team and the reasons why that fierce love exists. I think i'd wish for my desert island playlist to just be Jon and friends doing these series for every sports team in history.
28:25 to 29:25 is just phenomenal storytelling. One of the more unexpected and moving payoffs of this lovingly and creatively woven sports tapestry. "Where are you Bud?" Such layered writing -- we're at the point in the narrative where even non-Vikes fans are pining for the days of Bud Grant's heyday, and imagining the impact his actual physical presence might have for the franchise on that day. But he's 88 now, already turned down a coaching return. It's double digits below zero. No way he's here.
"He's here." Watching Bud Grant walking astride the Vikings players felt almost supernatural -- I was compelled to stare, mouth agape, and do nothing else. It was as if I had seen Paul Bunyan and his giant ox strolling to the coin toss or Leif Eriksson himself donning the purple and gold and walking to the 50 yard line. By the end of this series, he felt like the folk hero of this uniquely American sports tale.
The moment was monumental -- it takes a special kind of subject and a special type of storyteller to capture and magnify the moment the way it deserves. A testament to Bud Grant's entire life summed up in this entire sequence. It's bittersweet -- perhaps the farewell of more than one era (not to mention that this game is one the most vomit-inducing losses in the modern NFL):
1. the Vikings won't ever play at home outdoors again, and far more importantly;
2. it's a sort of swan song for Bud Grant and his era of coaching.
Again, such awesome writing -- congratulations Secret Base (Dorktown team especially) on the whole series. It's unbelievable I can view this kind of elite content for free.
It really shows that life is so, so much crueler than any fiction could hope to be, because if it's a movie, they unquestionably win that game.
Alas, reality's script is written in the moment.
@Prederick Well said. It's amazing how many narratives on and off the field came together in that moment, like the perfect conclusion to a classic sports story -- just for that moment to go wide left along with the kick that would have continued what should have been a spellbound run for the Vikings. I'm a Lions fan with no love lost or pity offered to the other conference teams (especially GB and Minnesota given their historical record of being miles ahead of Detroit for decades) but even then I felt the ache in my chest after the magic of Bud's appearance wore off and I realized how tragically this game is going to end for them.
Even the way Jon says "He's here." still manages to sound like Jon is surprised to look over and see him. This is a scripted moment that probably took at least a couple of takes to hit. And yet, even Jon, the one guy who you'd assume knows what's happening here, sounds surprised that Bud's out there, sans sleeves, willing the Vikings on.
@warpdrivefueledbyinsomnia8165 Another great point! That was something I was trying to acknowledge in my original comment -- Bud's appearance came completely out of left field. The Secret Base team are such proficient storytellers that you can't help but notice hints and prompts and foundation laid for every major event you'll hear about. Maybe Bud's character and life story should ensure that we really aren't that surprised when he's out in Arctic temperatures at 88, leading the team -- but it still was so surprising. That's part of what made the moment so moving.
alan hawkshaw’s “serengeti” always heightens the emotional impact of the scenes where it plays but i don’t think it’s ever been more powerful than it is there
If there's one thing about the early Vikings that helps everything make sense about the current Vikings, it's that there is a blood price for when things go right for this team. And given the season opener, 'Congratulations to the Detroit Lions, winner of Superbowl 58 or 59 or 60, this is their 1st Superbowl win' feels like the latest price in the works.
If Detroit wins a Superbowl before the Vikings that would just put a cap in this. Actually maybe that's what it will take for the Vikings to win one, everyone else in the division having one first...
Aw, Dang it!
Given their history of protracted irrelevance, Detroit winning a Superbowl before the Vikings is going to feel like the ultimate poke in the eye from the football gods.
This might sound astronomically illogical, but the one moment that made me a true Viking's fan was seeing Walsh miss the chip shot. Something about that happening and knowing they never won a superbowl made me even more committed for the ride to see their first SB win.
That was the first ever full Vikings game I remember watching in its entirety. Before then, I was a Vikings fan because my family and friends were. After that, I knew I would never leave the fandom
You are not the only illogical Fan of a Team. I became a Falcons Fan because of 28-3
As a Vikings fan... this was a beautiful, heartbreaking gift!
Would genuinely buy a copy of this whole thing!
Thank you all for all your hard work!
SKOL!!
As a long suffering Vikings fan since I was 8 years old in 1992, I cried during many of those games. Many of those moments.
I cried again watching this series. Thank you Jon for giving this fan some catharsis, knowing that while our team may not ever win, there are those that know our story.
"Myths are an essential and beautiful component of the human experience... But Myths do not offer actionable information."
Not only are y'all the best sports writers ever. Making me care about things I never knew I could love, but have absolute bangers like this!
Bud Grant entrance gave me chills… no pun intended
Would love to see a behind the scenes video about the work that goes into making this series. You guys deserve to have people know just how much effort goes into these documentaries
I wish Jon and Alex and the rest of the team could cover every sports story. I don't really follow sports, outside of my college football team. But every single video that comes out of this channel is amazingly compelling and must-watch television. Can't wait to see the conclusion
This series was overwhelmingly incredible. As a lifelong Vikings fan, just...thank you.
2023: The Vikings come back from starting the season 0-3 to 4-4 as they take down the FINALLY bad Packers!
...Kirk Cousins gets injured. Season-ending.
*Aw, dang it!*
As the Packers make the Divisional Round
Well hey, we got a backup in Josh Dobbs, hopefully he's good too.
Okay, looking good, winning the first two ga- wait, what are you-
No, wait- gahhhhhh, dang it.
Well, hopefully this McCarthy kid will be good and last season will be a blessing in disguise
@chrisjacobsen and now JJ has a torn meniscus and will miss the entire season… aw dang it
@@jackdaniel2457 and Addison got carted off the field and that's never a good sign
At last the final episode! What a journey it has been! I can already tell this is going to be a masterpiece.
It makes me excited for the next Dorktown doc they put out. It's always worth the wait.
39:04 As much as I love both Teddy Bridgewater and Jon Bois, I'm going to have to push back here and say that it was either Vinny Testaverde, Josh McCown, or Ryan Fitzpatrick who was the originator of this subversion of the journeyman moniker, although I could agree that he is probably the best player of those four on a rate basis. Put all four of them on the Mount Rushmore of fan favorites with decent talent, unshakeable wills, and heartwarming feel-good stories.
True, which is probably way he prefaced that he was speaking with some bias towards Bridgewater. But those other QBs deserve some respect. Love me some Fitzmagic.
Brad Johnson too.
It's very weird for an artist or a creator to make Something considered a "Masterpiece". Jon, Alex and Company now have 3 under their belt with these History of teams Series. There's nothing else to say but "Thank you" for delivering Everything you got on making these ones. The next one can't come any sooner.
They also have the smaller one on MJ's bobcats too. And the fighting in the age of loneliness - which is basically a history of MMA
Let us not forget the brilliance of 17776/20020.
Their Dave Stieb documentary series is still my favourite. It made me cry. Maybe cos out of all of these, the long term goal was actually finally achieved. For the mariners, falcons and vikings, they haven't won the world series/superbowl, but Dave Stieb got his no hitter eventually. And that moment in the documentary when he achieves it, is the most profound thing Jon and Alex have ever written, the "this is how baseball moves" quote. And maybe the whole series just hits harder because it's obviously so much more personal, being about one guy, instead of hundreds of guys who all played for the same team over the decades.
I'm having fun guessing which team will be next haha. My guess is either the Indiana Pacers or my Texas Rangers
@@nonamelegend_vapor I hope, maybe just a little, it'll be hockey. I might be biased, 23 year long Blue Jackets fan and all, but I think the NHL has got some stories to tell.
I hadn’t cried this entire series. I came close, but I’m a Vikings fan, I know pain. I was prepared for heartbreak after heartbreak. What I don’t have much history of experiencing is the victory of a hard-fought, close, playoff game. I’m not married, and I don’t have children; I can look back at the Minneapolis Miracle and wholeheartedly say that I have never felt such an overwhelming rush of anxiousness, elation, and overall feeling of relief in any event throughout my life. It was such a feeling of “everything is finally going to be ok.” Whenever I watch a highlight, let alone a breakdown as good as this series has produced over and over again, it never fails to bring me to tears again.
Bravo
The line about Vikings facing backwards to row forwards no matter the weather was PERFECT! A great way to bring home the meaning behind this history. That and the episode’s namesake (the bounce) are two brilliant analogies that sum up this anomaly of a franchise’s history!
Great work guys!!
came here to say this. An incredible piece of writing
i'm a 49ers fan, AND i remember watching the Minneapolis Miracle live, and yet somehow watching it with full context in this documentary made me pull a Matthew McConnaghey from Interstellar kind of cry. You don't get that kind of effect unless the documentary is *that good*. Looking forward to the next Dorktowns.
It was the happiest Vikings moment of my entire life. Jumping and screaming and hugging my brother when it happened.
He's 100% right when he said it made the loss to the Eagles fade quicker. We were sad at the moment but at least we've got that one memory in our pockets.
Matthew maconahey from interstellar kind of cry 😭😭😭
That's the power of good storytelling. That's the good of powerful stories.
Thank you for this beautiful tribute to the only sports team I have ever followed. I live in Wisconsin, surrounded by Packers fans, and it's only made me more of a die-hard. There's truly something special about this team, and I'm honored that non-Vikings fans like you see that.
This series man…. You have outdone yourselves, again. Watching Bud walk out onto the field on that frigid day in short sleeves, unaffected, brought a genuine tear to my eye.
Bravissimo, Secret Base Team.
Waiting for a full 10hr long release to just have in my favorites. I’ve only lived through two of the last decades of hardship but hearing stories from my dad who through a good portion of it himself I still feel pride to be a fan and see where the team has gone and come from. This series you guys have done has solidified that. So thank you! Even if we haven’t won the big one
the transition at 1:31:50 sums up everything i love about these series. thanks jon, alex, and any other people who helped 19-year-old packers fan like the vikings for a good 9 hours. spectacular work.
The pit in my stomach when I learned about Bridgewater's injury back in 2016 through breaking news alerts, knowing how serious a dislocated knee is, is one of those sports related memories outside of the game that I'll never forget.
We’re in some sort of dark splinter universe-Teddy’s injury convinced me of that.
In 2015 we came out of nowhere to be 11-5, and I honestly believe that if Walsh makes that field goal, we could’ve done something special in the playoffs.
And even though Walsh missed the kick, we were all so excited about our coach and our defense and this gritty, likable young QB. And just like that-during some non-descript drop back during some garden-variety practice, Teddy’s knee explodes. We all knew right then-2016 was over. We fought valiantly against fate, somehow getting to 5-0, but we all knew.
I cannot express the sheer joy this series gave me. This may be the single best documentary series about football ever made and i do not say that lightly. It is beautiful, funny, sad, and amazing all wrapped up into one. I know it is not possible, but i wish such an in depth series could be made for each and every NFL franchise by you guys.
Thank you so much for your hard work and giving us this.
Never seen a football game in my life (I'm not American obviously), but thanks to you guys now I have NFL app in my phone. Also thanks to you guys, now I wonder if I ever see the Mariners to be in the WS, and the Vikings to win the SB in my lifetime. But what if, what if they both happened in the same year? Wouldn't that be crazy?
I only started watching football around 2005 so I’m completely unaware of who Bud Grant was. But I distinctly remember an old man walking out to a standing ovation on the coldest day of the year in goddamn short sleeves and knew that this man was a legend.
Dorktown is the greatest series in modern sports media. They bat 1.000 every episode.
I’ll revisit old series while waiting for what is next. There is nothing like the magic of these finely detailed tapestries. Thank you for all your hard work
I can think of no greater gift than to have a documentary like these to be made for my favorite sports team. Truly amazing work these guys create and hope to one day get a Phillies or Eagles one.
I've been watching Jon since the breaking madden years in 2014. His trailer he posted on twitter legit was the most exciting thing that happened to me this summer
It's weirdly surreal seeing the documentary finally hitting the years that I grew up and witnessed
If we were gonna have one made it would have been best after SB 52. one of the greatest, most unexpected, and most cathartic wins in football history. I think that would have been the moment to end a series like this on, but now we have the years after which don't tell as coherent a story sadly
I would kill for an SB documentary for a Philly team
Your charts & graphs are absolutely unreal! On top of your story telling and general other abilities, the visuals you present are unlike anything I've ever seen in 3+ decades of sports Fandom. So much appreciation for you all and your series/videos/ideas!
Thanks for being the best sports documentary makers out there and giving the Minnesota Vikings the amazing retrospective video they deserve. My Dad was a lifelong vikings fan and now I understand why he followed them religiously every season despite being repeatedly let down. :P
Jon Alex and everyone at secret base, this was an incredible series. Every detail is perfect. The stories, the commentary, the music is unmatched. Great job everyone, this is by far the best sports channel on UA-cam. Also, in terms of story telling ability the Toronto Maple Leafs would be a great team to deep dive. The horrible ownership by Harold Ballard, the game 7 heartbreaks, and the current core 4 drama.
All due respect, but if these guys do a series on any hockey team it would be the tough luck San Jose Sharks, who have never won a Stanley Cup despite being so good and so close for so long (the Leafs have won 13).
@@JewJiutsuSharks : Vikings :: Canucks : Falcons. But nobody on SB staff really seems to be enough into hockey to make that happen
As a Vikings fan, unlikely football lover, and lifelong geek, this may just be the finest sports history series I've ever seen.
I moved to the Twin Cities for my career. So, my memory really begins with episode 6.
I love stories that combine heart and empathy with the context and data I need to truly understand. So, thank you for telling this story in the language I get, and so skillfully.
You helped me connect with the past of something I love and affirm that yes, the Vikings are my team and not by chance. Because for me, the stories are what really matters.
hearing that a real human being at a real point in this universe has been inspired by a quote from margaret god damn thatcher is one of the most hilarious things i have ever heard
I knew very little about Bud before this series, just that he coached them in the era we went to the SB, but I would run through a wall for the man. RIP, hope you got your duck hunt in.
DIGGS!
SIDELINE!
TOUCHDOWN!
UNBELIEVABLE!
VIKINGS WIN IT!
Best call of Joe Buck's career.
Mitchell.
Mitchell.
Mitchell.
Down to the 25.
I also like the ‘the pass is CAUGHT’
ALTUVE!! HAS JUST SENT THE ASTROS TO THE WORLD SERIES! or WE WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT! are better imo
@@nickscope27those were baseball though
see you tomorrow night was his dad's call, homage sure but not even his @@nickscope27
This was not only the best dorktown/secret base video I’ve ever seen, it was the best SPORTS video I’ve ever seen. Particularly the story of Bud Grant made me appreciate this team and that man a great deal more. Amazing job guys, it was so thought provoking and emotional it made me cry. Every filmmaker should want to do what you both have done here and that’s provoke feelings and emotions. God damn that was amazing.
As a lifelong (25 years) Vikings fan, it was so incredible to see your breakdowns on all of the greatest moments before I was born, seeing all of the legendary stories I have heard of from family, friends and strangers since I was a child. This was an absolutely incredible series. Thank you all so much.
I was at that Bengals game when Teddy stepped back into the huddle for the first time in the regular season. You should have heard the way the stadium erupted. It brought my brother and I to tears.
Vikings fans i sincerely hope some day you get to rewatch this series after a Super Bowl win
Thanks, I'm 33 so I'll probably have to have my kids do it
28:45 - 29:25
Just…wow
The last walkout for Bud Grant in them short sleeves with AP, Teddy, and Griffen is a moment in history for the Vikings themselves, that group of 4 men WERE some of the best to ever do it for their team. One helluva moment that got me choked up
I will never forget the Minneapolis Miracle. Still brings chills to me all these years later
Amounted to nothing get over it
This was simply fantastic. The narration and storytelling- awesome. The graphics superb. 10 hours and worth every minute.
Best graphic was showing the skyline on the last pass from playoff game from last year. The history, the heartbreak. We fans live with it every year.
Thank you! Masterful series and I’m recommending to all my friends.
Unreal series. A+ work as always. I remember watching the Minneapolis Miracle in the basement of a friend's house. It was a party and a lot of the people were fans, but just as many weren't. People who were passively rooting for the Vikings but not much else after that.
When the catch happened, all of the fans in the room went nuts (minus the Saints fans that were there). They were screaming & running out of the room. I remember looking at my cousin, who hasn't watched a football game in 20 years, start to cry because she could just feel the emotions of how big of a moment that was for Vikings fans. It was still one of the most surreal moments I've ever been a part of.
As an Eagles fan, I was hoping to enjoy the 2017 NFCCG beatdown they gave the Vikes, thinking you'd make it one of the sad emotional beats. It's true though, very few people remember that clobbering, but everyone remembers the Miracle over the Saints, it was incredibly memorable and I'm glad you made the choice to look back on the season and choose instead to appreciate the way the ball bounced. Keep up the good work fellas, looking forward to the history of the San Diego Chargers!
To me that nfcc was like part one of mpls alley oopin the eagles their first super bowl. It was time bc my boy was visiting from Cali (by way of Philly originally) and we saw 3 eagles off e Mississippi circling us bank stadium idk maybe a half year before the super bowl. We (obviously) said it's an omen...yup
no matter what it may always be the greatest single play in the history of the game, Foles may be the most legendary coming off the sidelines "hold my beer" player too
@@Superbuick26no it wasn’t. It amounts to nothing since they got demolished next week so it’s not the greatest play.
Actually said "wow" out loud at one point. Congratulations on a captivating series any accolades are very well earned
Once again I look back at the multiple times I have cried watching a series about a team I knew nothing about at the start of this journey. Thank you and your team for so much hard work, long hours of research and production, and true dedication to your craft.
Thank you, Secret Base. This lifelong Vikings fan appreciates this incredible journey you took us on.
Y'know, I never cared much about football for the first 19 years of my life, it seemed useless to me, the kid who was good at math, for people to go hit each other and get concussions just for a sport, thought it was ridiculous. But if I was in a room with a TV and a football game, as a Minnesotan born and raised, I would always root for the Purple and Gold.
Since my 19th birthday a few things have happened, while I still haven't hit my 20th it's been a crazy year in my life. First, my sister convinced me to go to a Taylor Swift concert, which was a nice family experience during which I became a full blown Swiftie. The second thing that happened was that, as you might have guessed, Taylor started dating Travis Kelce. This brought my family together, just hours before writing this I watched the NFC and AFC championship games because I was actually interested with my dad not even knowing I was doing that. And the final thing that happened was the PWHL was created and it brought with it an opportunity to cheer for the only other purple team in Minnesota.
My dad is one of the greatest men I know, not the nicest or the most upstanding man you'll ever meet, but I can assure you he will be one of the kindest. When the Minneapolis Miracle happened and Diggs ran the ball in my dad yelled in excitement louder than i've ever heard him yell in anger or otherwise. A painting in the hallway fell as he stomped around more excited than a kid on Christmas. It was in the moment I saw the first Minnesota PWHL home opener goal that I understood what had happened that day and the excitement that my dad felt.
After watching over 9 hours about the history of this incredible team I have never in my life been prouder to be a Vikings fan. I guarantee there will be a day that I will reply to this comment about a story of me , my sister, and my dad sobbing together as the Vikings either toss another Super Bowl loss into the dredges of history or, by the grace of the universe, actually manage to win one. Whenever that happens, that moment between my father, my sister, and I will be in no small part thanks to this series. Thank you for helping bring a jock outside his prime, a Computer Engineering Major who was the worst player on his highschool soccer team, and an artsy girl with a knack for chemistry together to cheer for a team that seems unable to dislodge itself from our hearts. Skol.
Another total masterclass in crafting a narrative on sports. It still blows my ever aging mind that something of this quality could be made and just put up on a website for everyone to see without additional roadblocks and costs behind it.
I can't wait for the next thing you guys make. Here's hoping its some obscure character or team from a sport I, as of this moment, don't care a thing about. If only so that I can get a taste of why I might should start watching or caring about them.
I’m high and the opening extended sail-team success analogy is blowing my mind Bravo Jon!
Jon while high is great
As a Minnesota Vikings fan I'd just like to say thank you to Alex and Jon. It's been a pleasure watching.
I didn’t have Sam Darnold as the Vikings new savior on my bingo card
thanks to this series i became a Vikings fan
even though i barely understand the concepts of football as a european, it was a thrill watching the drudgery of Vikes. i hope they can manage a SB appearance soon...
Buddy I think you really learned the wrong lesson here
@@future_elevator_musicno no, they got it exactly right. The drudgery is the point
Then all non Viking fans wish you an adventurous travel across the seas with your fellow Vikings! What moment got you to say “hey I’ll root for them?”
Oh god, that missed field goal from Walsh was heartbreaking. Once y'all started talking about how he's been perfect all season I just knew he was gonna miss it, and it still just hit me like a truck.
Vikings fans know better. These guys had a story to tell and the fact that Walsh hadn't missed a field goal at home all season helped them tell it, but Walsh had the yips that year. You know, the thing that makes a golfer dread a 3 foot putt more than a 10 foot putt? He was great from a distance, but his make % on XP's was abysmal that year.
I was rooting for the Seahawks in that game, and as soon as Minnesota lined up for that final kick, I began to chant "Gary Anderson" to myself, hoping to jinx or curse the Vikings. The football gods answered my silent prayer as perfectly as I could have asked for.
I have lived in the twin cities my entire life. I remember watching the Minneapolis miracle and being so overwhelmed with emotion that I ran into my mother’s back yard and collapsed into the snow. It was brutally cold as well and I remember just laying there crying tears of joy for a good 5 minutes.
52 years and counting as a Vikings fan, and reliving all those moments that I thought I would never want to see again...was amazing! Such great narration and detailed facts really made it seem like you feel our pain from a team that continues to piss me off year after year!!
As a young Vikings fan I didn’t experience the first majority of vikings history so learning about it all was cool but these last 2 episodes were the ones that I have lived and boy has it been emotional…kudos to you all for such a great series, I appreciate it beyond belief.
Asbo-fucking-lutely amazing series!
I also wanna thank you, as someone who started to follow American football in 2014 and chose the vikings as my team because i chose the timberwolves in the NBA 2 years prior all because i'm Swedish and Minnesota is where a lot of swedes ended up in the late 1800s emigration. This series has helped me a lot to get a better overview of my teams cursed history, and made me a big fan of people I only knew the names of. Like Bud Grant and Alan Page. So again, thanks!
Looking forward to more great works from you guys!
Glad to see we've got at least one fan back in the old country. Honestly, even though you nominally chose to be a Minnesota sports fan, this really confirms my feelings that Minnesota sports fandom isn't chosen- it chooses you.
Man thanks for this series. Nothing is worse than knowing whats coming and this may have been your best one with the cold chart
Can’t wait to get emotionally devastated one more time god bless you both
I got so consumed into this, that when you got to the last play & didn't start talking about the future, I was so confused, only to realize that the future hasn't happened yet.
Even as a Packers fan, this is the best thing that has been produced by Secret Base.
Another awe-inspiring series by Secret Base! Please never stop making these longer documentaries, they are some of the highest-quality, highest caliber sports/storytelling content on this entire website
Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of Super Bowl LVIII, this is their 4th Super Bowl win.
Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of Super Bowl LIX. This is their 5th Super Bowl win.
My wife and I were so shook from Teddy's injury. It was devastating to see.
Later he would join our respective favorite teams (Panthers and Broncos) and we loved getting to cheer for him wholeheartedly. Love Teddy.
I'll say this, I've always had a soft spot for Kirk Cousins, he played at Michigan State when my sister was there. Plus, he's got longevity. Half of the other QBs he was drafted with are out of the league, and his numbers are better than pretty much everyone except Russell Wilson.
Besides that, another fantastic series. Just phenomenal. This is the best thing in sports docs by far. Can't wait to see what you cook up for next year.
My whole life, my parents have been watching football, yelling at the screen, getting super invested. My whole life, I've found it dull save for the game day nachos and inherent fun of being a child doing arbitrary tribalism (for the Seahawks, if you can believe it). Yet I was so engaged by this series. The charts, the additional context, the clear pathos and passion, you make it so beautiful and compelling. While I'd still never sit through a football game and frankly the emotional highs and lows dragging over years seem far too intense for me to handle on that time scale, I like having seen the bigger picture and the bigger story. Sports will never be my thing but I love stories. Thank you for illuminating this one. PS all my homies stan Bud Grant for life
God what a good series. I wish there was a SB equivalent documenting my native UK teams, but as it stands I care less about them than I am currently for a US football team I've spent 9 hours learning about.