Why the Vikings’ victory Sunday was seven months in the making

Mission accomplished, and here’s how they pulled it off:

The first item of business when a team receives a London game is to make sure every player and staff member has an updated passport. The Minneapolis passport agency visited team headquarters in the summer to handle any processing that was needed.

The Vikings brought 180 people to London on the football side (players, coaches, staff). That number is around 150 for normal road games, but the team brought practice squad players and additional doctors to London.

Paul Martin, director of team operations in his 20th season with the Vikings, made the advance trip in the spring. His itinerary included meetings with representatives from two hotels, a transportation company, a hospital, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, chefs that prepare meals for players and a shipping company that handled the team’s cargo. He also had regular updates with Virgin Airlines (the team flies Delta domestically).

The hospital visit was to create a plan in case of an acute injury. The Vikings experienced this scenario in their 2022 visit when safety Lewis Cine suffered a serious leg fracture that required surgery. The busing situation is especially tricky because, unlike in NFL cities, police escorts are not provided for the team. Trying to plan an ETA with London traffic is guesswork. Martin said he “still sweats bullets” because many travel issues are out of his control.

“You’re never comfortable,” he said.