And since then their culture has declined so precipitously that now they can't even find the End Zone.
Actually, the Vikings DID discover America.. and it STAYED discovered. As his recently translated journal makes clear, Columbus was inspired by Spanish Franciscan monks, who told him of lands far to the west. The Catholic Church had established a diocese of Vinland in North America, which it maintained contact with (or at least records of) throughout the 14th century. Only the plagues of the 15th century led the Catholic Church to “lose” Vinland. THe Franciscans told Columbus this, who probably presumed Vinland must be somehow related to Asia, since all the known lands at that time were actually one connected (Africa, Asia, and Europe) or thought to be connected (as the straits which separate Austalia from Asia were not yet discovered.)