‘Best fans in the world’: Vikings embrace home atmosphere in London

The Vikings are accustomed to hearing the raucous “Skol” chant at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sundays, but hearing 61,139 fans halfway across the world bring the noise at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London is a little different.

“To see how they showed up here, man, Skol nation was amazing,” linebacker Jonathan Greenard said. “I mean, people probably didn’t every know anything about Vikings ball, they say, ‘Help me get a jersey,’ and just start doing the chant at this point. And we’ll take that. We love it. The hospitality has been great here, the fans have been amazing, the support has been amazing.”

Sunday’s game, which was considered a home game for the Vikings, began with Jared Allen leading the crowd in the iconic chant. The home atmosphere was in full force from the opening kickoff in London, and 60 minutes later, the Vikings had put the finishing touches on a 23-17 victory over the New York Jets to improve to 5-0 on the season.

“It just shows the love that people have for this sport out here, and it’s super cool being halfway across the world and seeing people loving the same thing we do,” said safety Cam Bynum, who had an interception in the victory.

From head coach Kevin O’Connell to the players on the roster, the Vikings gave glowing reviews of their trip to London, and particularly the fans that made the environment so special. Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who’s in his first season with the Vikings and had a game-changing pick-6 in Sunday’s win, already recognizes how special this fan base is.

“I think it goes back to our, the Vikings, atmosphere at home. We kind of got that sense here with the ‘Skol’ chant, and it’s the best atmosphere,” Van Ginkel said. “And when you can get a crowd like that going and get them hyped, it’s exciting. And we have fans all over the world, and I’m thankful to be a Viking because we got the best fans in the world.”