1. The Vikes could have managed their electrolytes too, but Bud Grant was more concerned with making sure his players didn’t tire themselves out by having sex the night before the game (or maybe that was only in later SB losses).
2. The 69 Vikes, like the 68 Colts, were victims of the illusion that the NFL was still light-years ahead of the AFL. At least at the top, the AFL had caught up. Once Lombardi left and the Packers dynasty ended, the NFL was not that great. By contrast, the top teams in the AFL - Chiefs, Raiders and for that one year, Jets, had sharpened each other.
OK, here is the genesis of my theory ands why it has hounded me so long. I’ll set things up to give you some background, then get to the gist of how I came across this idea.
I have been a die hard Viking fan since a friend got me into it back when his Packers were kicking butt. His dad was a former player, and he grew up watching football, and got me interested in it.
As for the competition, I do not completely deny what you said, because if you look at the Vikings season they were blowing away teams all year, Earlier in the year they destroyed Cleveland by a score of 51 to 3. In the last game of the season the Vikings lost to Atlanta 10-3 because Grant rested most his players. Even with a loss the Vikings were guaranteed home filed advantage throughout the playoffs. Which almost cost them the game against the Rams, because the Rams were ready for them, and there Vikings eaked out a 3 point win in the final rally from behind.
I was young, only 13, but I remember thinking we should win, but was convinced by most people I knew who paid attention to expect a close game against the Chiefs. I knew they were good, and like most of the AFL, they were a pass happy team compared to the more traditional Vikings who usually played smash mouth football. After all, Kapp was not known for his arm, in reality he was more like Tim Tebow than Tarkenton. Yet the defense was superb, and most pass happy teams they played were humbled by the Vikings great secondary, and strong Defensive line who was known for getting to the QB for a lot of pressure.
My stepfather wasn’t much into football, so I was invited to watch the game at Arne’s house. (the friend I mentioned above) They had a cool color TV. As I said his father was a big Packer fan since the days he used to butt heads with them. As you know most players keep in touch. He was from Wisconsin and retired in Fondulac, just over the border in Wisconsin from Duluth.
Arne’s father was a former player for the Cardinals. He was with them at Chicago, but not sure if he was when they to St Louis. He retired in like 60 or shortly late I think. Anyway, His take was that the Vikings should win, but like everyone else, he also told me not to expect an easy game. He knew what kind of problems fast quick passing teams could do to a defense, and he was impressed with the Chiefs, but believed the Vikings Defensive secondary was too much for their receivers, and that Kapp could handle anything their defense tossed at him.
As the game went on he was shocked how bad the Vikings looked. He is the one who told me he thought it was a mistake for Bud to give most of his players off the last week of the season, he hated the idea, but understood Coaches liked it since injuries were extremely devastating to a team in the playoffs after a brutal Season. Remember, back the football was brutal. Players didn’t take a game off for many reasons. Some even played with broken limbs.
Anyway, he was shocked at how lethargic the Vikings looked. He even made a remark, “Come on, you guys look like your throwing the game”. I looked at him and he smiled and said I’m just joking kid. I was pretty devastated after the game.
A few years later I was watching the Super Bowl in the stockade while in Germany. Long story short, I went AWOL for a Month. Anyway, I lost my Months ration card for cigarettes to a Pittsburgh Steeler fan over a bet on the Super Bowl between the Vikings and the Steelers.
He was an older guy in his 40s, who got 8 Months for beaten up a guy pretty bad over a bet. He almost killed him, but for the fact the guy lived he was looking at life. Anyway, I had my ration card with me and gave it to him the second the game was over. He told me he lost money on that Viking Kansas game. He is the first one to ever mention the link between the loss and Gatorade.
He said it was a rumor going around that KC players were juiced one some new fangled concoction called Gatorade. He didn’t know much more, but did mention that it had made a bit of a splash, (his words) in the college scene. It was first time I heard of the conspiracy, as he referred to it. I guess a lot of gamblers lost big money on the Vikings. He said he never bet on a game the Chiefs were in after that.
Anyway, that is my story, and how it has bugged me all these years, and why I always find tidbits I add to what I know. Like the Georgia coach who in on record of admitting he believed gatorade is why his team lost to Florida in the “67” Orange Bowl. I read in Sports Illustrated back in the early “90”s about the connection between a Florida Official and Lamar Hunt. Sports Illustrated story readily admitted the Chiefs used Gatorade before any other NFL team knew of or heard of it. Yet afterwards everyone did.
I used to have like 25 years of Sports illustrated magazines in boxes. But when we moved to Idaho my wife persuaded me to leave them behind. I wish I still had them.
Anyway, Gatorade will not make a poor team beat a good team, but it can make the difference between two evenly matched teams, as the Chiefs and the Vikings were. Give water to a team on a Humid day after the team drove from the fridged fields of Minneapolis to New Orleans and expect them to play against a team drinking Gatorade, and yes, it can make a difference.
Plenty of players are on record for chalking up the benefits of Gatorade in a game. As I said, I have yet to meet an athlete who is willing to forgo the benefit of gatorade, or any other modern drink that does the same thing, just to drink water during competition.
I played Tennis in college, and I can tell you for certain there is a difference between water and gatorade.
Well, that is my story, and I am sticking to it.