The fans of the Minnesota Vikings must be some of the most loyal fans in professional sports.

It’s one thing to be a fan of teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Dallas Cowboys, teams littered in Lombardi Trophies. It’s easy to ride a bandwagon of success.

And it’s another thing to be a fan of teams such as the Detroit Lions or Cleveland Browns, teams that perennially struggle. They don’t have high expectations. There share lovable loser camaraderie.

But it’s an entirely separate kind of fan who sticks with a tease. The Minnesota Vikings break hearts again and again.

They have four Super Bowl losses and no wins. They have won three NFC Championship Games since the 1970 merger and lost five. Clearly the hardest of those losses came Sunday night against the New Orleans Saints. Minnesota outperformed in all the stats except the score. Erase any of the five turnovers and the Vikes probably would be going to the Super Bowl.

The Vikings can claim one NFL title. It came in 1969, the final year the NFL and AFL were separate leagues, with title holders of each facing each other in the Super Bowl. The Vikings didn’t represent their league well, losing their first Super Bowl. Stat keepers call it a league title, but fans don’t. They want the Lombardi Trophy.

In some cities, fans abandon teams after devastating losses. The prime example is when the Houston Oilers’ loss to the Buffalo Bills in The Comeback playoff game. It and a playoff loss the next year caused beleaguered fans to give up on the Oilers. The loss of fans frequently was cited as one of the reasons for the team moving. Did you notice in this year of AFL throwbacks that neither Nashville nor Houston donned Oilers jerseys?

The Vikings fans had their hearts broken once again Sunday night at the end of the first half, at the end of the second half and in overtime. Yet these fans remain the best in the NFL. They hold out hope for next year.

Skol, Vikings fans!