Vikings’ Voted Best NFL Team Name by Listeners of Travis & Jason Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ Podcast
The Vikings were left standing as winners of “best team name,” as voted on by NFL fans across the league and listeners of *New Heights, *a weekly podcast hosted by brothers Jason and Travis Kelce.
A bracket that started with all 16 NFC teams versus the AFC’s 16 ultimately pitted the Vikings and Steelers against each other. Minnesota earned 60.6 percent of the 36,919 total votes.
“The Vikings are pretty electric. I’ll give them that,” Jason Kelce said of the win. “And the Purple, it looks nice.”
Added Travis: “You play in Minnesota, that is a fun place to play in. It’s a beautiful stadium, and their crowd … gets into it.”
Previously, the Vikings defeated the Eagles to become the favorite NFC team in a race that came down to the wire. Nearly 77,000 votes poured in, and Minnesota ultimately took 51.8 percent of them to Philadelphia’s 48.2.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who on Sunday helped Kansas City win Super Bowl LVIII, commented on Minnesota’s team name.
“I think Vikings are pirates,” Travis said during the Feb. 5 *New Heights *episode. “They’re the Scandinavian version.”
He then added, “Or Slovakian.”
Older brother Jason to the rescue.
“Definitely not Slovakian,” the Eagles center corrected. “That’s the Baltic region. … Not even close to the Scandinavian countries.”
What *is *the history of the Vikings name we know and love?
The nickname dates back before Minnesota’s inaugural 1961 season, when Los Angeles Rams Public Relations Director Bert Rose was named the team’s first general manager. In one of his first moves with the franchise in 1960, Rose recommended “Vikings” to the Board of Directors. The name was selected because it represented both an aggressive person with the will to win and the Nordic tradition in the northern Midwest.
The bracket’s final four teams were the Bills, Steelers, Eagles and Vikings.
“Couldn’t be more proud of the four teams left in our competition and what their names signify to their regions and the people that reside in them,” Jason posted at the time.
Teams initially were listed by division. The Vikings beat out the Packers, Lions and Buccaneers – the latter of which was deemed “the all-pirate matchup” by Jason – to make it to the final four. The Steelers moved past the Colts, Jaguars and Titans.
