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Ultimate Standings: New stadium fuels rankings rise for Vikings

Courtesy Minnesota Vikings

This story is part of ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 12 Owners Issue. Subscribe today!

Minnesota Vikings

Overall: 86
Title track: 93
Ownership: 70
Coaching: 27
Players: 68
Fan relations: 96
Affordability: 71
Stadium experience: 95
Bang for the buck: 80
Change from last year: +17

Last season, the Vikings received a lot of attention because of Adrian Peterson's child-abuse case, but the team, including head coach Mike Zimmer, handled the situation well. Through it all, fan opinion of the roster actually rose 11 spots (up from 79 to 68 in the players category), and the owners secured a big coup for the franchise: The Wilf family helped the Twin Cities land the 2018 Super Bowl at the Vikings' new stadium, which is due to open in 2016.


What's good

Zimmer has been a head coach for just one full NFL season, but his reputation as a defensive strategist helped him land a No. 23 ranking (up 44 spots from last year). That's in the top 10 of all NFL coaches and just two spots behind the Green Bay Packers' Mike McCarthy, who has led his team to three NFC title games and a Super Bowl championship in 10 years (something that, so far, Vikings fans can only dream about). The presence of veteran offensive coordinator Norv Turner probably didn't hurt the Vikings' rankings either.


What's bad

The Vikings came in 95th in stadium experience because, at present, they don't have much of one. Until their new facility opens next year, they're playing at the University of Minnesota, a 50,000-seat stadium with few amenities. That also likely hurt the Vikings' fan relations ranking (they came in 96th), and a team that has been to the playoffs just three times since 2004 ranked 93rd in title track.


What's new

The Wilfs jumped 15 spots in the ownership rankings, likely because of the new $1.1 billion home downtown they're building for the team -- the facility's final steel beam just went into place in mid-September. U.S. Bank Stadium should help immensely with the aforementioned poor scores for game day experience, and the Vikings will build a new practice facility before the end of the decade.

Next: Cincinnati Bengals | Full rankings