Turnovers plagued 13-point favorite Vikings in Super Bowl IV against Chiefs

Minnesota's 38-7 loss to Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 21 was just the latest letdown; it extended the Vikings' Super Bowl drought to 42 years and counting.

Across the 57 years of the franchise, Vikings legends Paul Krause and Alan Page were among those who toiled in all of the Super Bowl defeats. They summed up the losses as "collective pain."

But the Purple People Eaters made it to four of the first 11 Super Bowls, and defensive end Carl Eller doesn't consider that a failure.

"We were a dominant team, and we were a significant part of that NFL history and beginning of the Super Bowl," Eller said. "... and the Vikings haven't been able to attain anything near that status since then."

SUPER BOWL IV, January 11, 1970

Kansas City Chiefs 23, Vikings 7

During the 1969 season, Minnesota scored the NFL's most points per game (27.1), allowed the fewest (9.5) and won 12 straight in a 12-2 regular season.

The Vikings needed two comebacks against the Los Angeles Rams in the Western Conference divisional game to earn the franchise's first playoff victory. In the championship game, Minnesota capitalized on three Cleveland turnovers to beat the Browns 27-7 to advance to their first Super Bowl.

While New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath nailed his guarantee of a victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III a year earlier, the entrant from the AFL was still considered to be from an inferior league.

The Vikings entered as 13-point favorites against the Kansas City Chiefs. It turned out to be the only Super Bowl Minnesota was favored in.

Minnesota then coughed up five turnovers — quarterback Joe Kapp had two interceptions and a fumble before being knocked out of the game — and the Vikings lost 23-7 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

"We should have beat Kansas City," Vikings Pro Bowl safety Paul Krause, who anchored a defensive secondary that led the league with 30 interceptions in 1969. "We also should have beat Pittsburgh and the Raiders (in later Super Bowls). If you look back, we made mental mistakes in a lot of those games."

One ingrained memory was Chiefs coach Hank Stram's colorful commentary captured by NFL Films. As he sauntered along the sideline, he gabbed with officials and yucked it up after repeated successes against the Vikings.

Despite the ending, a Pioneer Press sports headline read "The Year Of The Vikings" and summed up the season as a "great leap forward."

"We improved," Vikings coach Bud Grant said. "And that was our goal. We wanted to make the jump to the top level in 1969."