Jauan Jennings flexes his arms in celebration for the Minnesota Vikings
Jauan Jennings #14 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints at Cesars Superdome on October 11, 2026 in New Orleans. | Cooper Neill/Getty Images
The Minnesota Vikings are the final undefeated team in this 2026 NFL season. At 6-0, no other team right now for this season has an “O” at the end of that.
The dream of ending the Miami Dolphins’ annual ritual lives on in this Vikings team.
For gay fans, maybe the most beautiful piece of that is the Vikings’ participation with this year’s Gay Bowl.
In 2002, Jim Buzinski and I decided we wanted to host some form of a national championship for LGBTQ flag football teams.
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On a dusty Hollywood High School field three teams held a “round robin” tournament to pick a champion: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.
L.A. won by such a wide margin on day one, the games on day two were just teams mixed up, players playing with people across cities.
By Gay Bowl III in Boston, the team Jim and I captained — Los Angeles — was dethroned by an upstart Washington team.
Now the Gay Bowl is over a hundred teams across various divisions of play, including a women’s division.
The celebratory event hosted by the Vikings at the Gay Bowl in Minneapolis this year was really cool. The Vikings opened their museum to the attendees, where everyone could stroll through the history of one of the great, historic franchises in the NFL.
In the museum, visitors can put their hand in the molds of various Vikings players to see how their hand measures up. There are other interactive experiences. And yes, that magical 1998 season that saw the Vikings go 15-1 with rookie wide receiver Randy Moss is everywhere.
Sigh.
The Vikings were founded in 1960. In the over five decades of the team, they’ve had some incredible seasons and individual moments.
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It’s great to see an NFL franchise so steeped in history and success support the LGBTQ community.
And now, as everyone wants some team to dethrone the Dolphins, everyone’s last great hope.
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