Viking Heat Wave

In Minnesota it can be cold in December, but the deep winter doesn't set in until after the Vikings have lost in the Super Bowl. Three times in the past five years, the Vikings have bulled their way into the big game, and each time they have gone home losers. This year they are driving through the softest part of their schedule toward one more crack at the title. Undefeated in eight games, the Vikings may have their best chance yet to live down their reputation as "the world's most famous second-best team."

The biggest reason for their success is the play of Quarterback Fran Tarkenton, 35, now in his 15th pro season. Hampered last year by a sore arm--he was treated in the off-season by Dodger Relief Pitcher Mike Marshall, a graduate student and expert in body mechanics at Michigan State--Tarkenton has already thrown for 15 touchdowns. He leads the league with a completion mark of better than 60%. Indeed, Tarkenton, who has never been seriously injured, should soon become the leading passer in N.F.L. history. Only ten more TD throws will break John Unitas' lifetime high of 290, and 39 more completions will top Unitas' total of 2,830. "It just kind of happened," says Tarkenton bashfully, "but it's an achievement that I'm proud of."

Despite his long tenure in the league, his enthusiasm for the game seems not to have diminished. "I love it," he says. "I'm a purist of the game itself." Tarkenton (6 ft., 190 lbs.) leads in other ways as well. When offensive coaches gather every week to plan strategy for the next game, he sits in, offering suggestions. On Sunday he calls his own signals in the huddle and is a master at dissecting a defense. Unlike many methodical quarterbacks, Tarkenton is a gambler. His desperate scrambles behind the line of scrimmage are the stuff of N.F.L. legend; he can demoralize a stubborn defense with long passes when all he needs is short yardage on third down.

Touchdown Producer. To be sure.

Tarkenton gets plenty of help. If Buffalo's O.J. Simpson were not monopolizing the headlines for running backs, the Vikings' Chuck Foreman might. Going into last weekend's game against the New Orleans Saints, Foreman was the leading pass catcher in pro football with 38 receptions, as well as the second-leading rusher (576 yds.) and the top touchdown producer (eleven) in his conference. When Foreman is not handling the ball, Tarkenton can also give it to two other solid young runners, Ed Marinaro and Brent McClanahan, or can look downfield for veteran Tight End Stu Voigt. Next to Foreman, Tarkenton's favorite target is Wide Receiver John Gilliam, who, after a brief spell in the World Football League, has returned to Minnesota with his sprinter's speed.

The Vikings' defense, long the team's trademark, is still a formidable force, anchored on Tackle Alan Page, 30, probably the quickest big man (6 ft. 4 in., 245 lbs.) in the game. Behind him, Minnesota's defensive secondary is almost pass proof. On the front line, though, age is a pervasive problem. Defensive Ends Carl Eller and Jim Marshall are 33 and 37 respectively. In Minnesota's last two Super Bowl defeats, they were outplayed by younger offensive linemen.

Age has, in fact, been a serious weakness for the Vikings in recent years. But this season, with good rookies like Autry Beamon at safety and Mark Mullaney at defensive end. Head Coach Bud Grant may finally have enough fresh bodies to keep his team strong in the playoffs. Even if he did not, Grant would keep pushing his players week after week. A terse disciplinarian with a penchant for rulemaking (he demands jackets and ties while on the road and has issued a ban on beards and flashy white tape on shoes), Grant, 48, even prohibits space heaters from the sideline at games, no matter how cold the day. "We're like a dog," he says. "Our hair just gets a little longer."

As the Vikings head into the coldest part of the season, though, the looming question is how well they can function in the heat. This year's Super Bowl will be played in Miami. For the moment, the team is not worried about that. Says Grant, whose string of coaching cliches gets steadily longer: "We only work from one week to the next."

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