Vienna Vikings
 | |
| Founded | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Based in |  Vienna, Austria |
| Home stadium | Generali Arena Vienna (ELF) Football-Zentrum Ravelin (AFL) |
| Head coach | Chris Calaycay |
| League | European League of Football Austrian Football League |
| Division | East Division |
| Colors | Purple, gold, white |
| Mascot(s) | Loki (White Wolve) |
| League titles | ELF: 2022 AFL: 1994, 1996, 1999–2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012–2014, 2017, 2020 Eurobowl: 2004–2007, 2013 |
| Website | viennavikings |
The Vienna Vikings is a professional American football club based in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1983, the Vikings are known as one of Europe's most dominant clubs, having won the Eurobowl title five times (2004–2007 and 2013), as well as being the runner-up five times (2001, 2003, 2008, 2010 and 2012). In the national championship, the Vikings hold the record of 15 Austrian Bowl victories. Since the 2022 season, they’ve been members of the European League of Football. The second team is still part of the Austrian Football League (AFL).
History
The Vikings were founded in 1983. Three years later, the Vikings made it to the Austrian Bowl, the Austrian championship game, where they fell short against the Graz Giants. In 1994, the Vikings won their first national championship and repeated the victory two years later. In 1999, the Vikings played their eighth Austrian Bowl, all of them against the Giants, and gained their third title. It was also their first of five consecutive Austrian Bowl wins. Until 2007 the Vikings made it always to the Austrian Bowl and collected two more national titles becoming the team with the record number of 10 Austrian Bowl wins. From 2012 to 2017 the Vikings won four more national titles.
After also competing in the European Football League for many years, the club took part in a new European competition from 2014 to 2018 the BIG6 European Football League.[1]
Naming rights
- 1983–1998: Vienna Vikings
- 1999–2005: Chrysler Vikings
- 2006–2007: Dodge Vikings Vienna
- 2008–2014: Raiffeisen Vikings Vienna
- 2015–2016: Vienna Vikings
- 2017– Dacia Vienna Vikings
Notable persons
- George Paton (American football executive) - Defensive back 1993
- Mark Helfrich - Quarterback 1997
- Bernhard Seikovits - Vikings youth and senior
- Bernhard Raimann - Vikings youth
- Stacy Collins - DC 1999–2001
- Tony Hunt - RB 2011
- Thomas Smythe - Head coach 1994-2006
European League of Football
On September 25, 2021 the Vienna Vikings announced their that their first team will compete in the 2022 European League of Football season together with their league rival Tyrolean Raiders[2][3][4][5][6] The coaching staff of the former AFL team will continue coaching the ELF team. The franchise, now being a private corporation as a GesmbH, is owned by the Voluntary association. Together with its rivals Raiders Tirol the Vikings play in the Central Conference of the ELF. The participation allows the signing of up to 6 European foreign players and 4 US-American, Canadian, Mexican or Japanese players.
At the start of the 2022 season, business lawyer and long-time Austrian Football League quarterback Robin Lumsden joined as co-owner and investor.[7] On February 17, 2022 the organisations announced that all home games in the ELF season will be played at the Generali Arena Vienna.[8] In the regular season the team with quarterback Jackson Erdmann won ten out of twelve games and secured the top spot in the Central Division. Due to soccer club Austria Wien withdrawing the consent for the use of the Generali Arena, the semi final had to be played at the football center Ravelin in front of 900 spectators, with Viking winning 39-12 versus Barcelona Dragons. The Championship Game was played in the Austrian city of Klagenfurt. The Vikings won the championship 27-15 against the Hamburg Sea Devils.
For the 2023 season, the team signed quarterback Chris Helbig from the Potsdam Royals. Most home games were played at Hohe Warte Stadium, only the opener took place at Generali Arena. The team had a perfect 12-0 record in the regular season. The semi final versus Stuttgart Surge was played at Generali Arena in front of 10,108 audience. However, the Vikings lost with 33-40.
For the 2024 season, the Vikings presented a new, different logo for the ELF team. Four games were played at Wiener Neustadt Arena, the other games were again held at Generali Arena. The Vikings with their new quarterback Ben Holmes won all regular season games again. The semi final was held at Generali Arena in front of 10,981. The Vikings won 47-31 versus the Paris Musketeers. In their second championship game, played at Arena Auf Schalke in Gelsenkirchen, the Vikings faced the defending champions. In front of a 41,364 crowd, the Vikings never really found their feet in the game, and lost 20-51.
Roster
Staff
Season-by-season
| Season | Head coach | Regular season | Postseason | Result | Ø Attendance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | GP | Won | Lost | Win % | ||||
| 2022 | Chris Calaycay | 12 | 10 | 2 | .833 | 1st (Central) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Won Championship Game | 3,085 |
| 2023 | Chris Calaycay | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st (Eastern) | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost semifinal | 4,910 |
| 2024 | Chris Calaycay | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1.000 | 1st (Eastern) | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost Championship Game | 6,168 |
| 2025 | Chris Calaycay | (East) | ||||||||||
| Sum | 36 | 34 | 2 | .943 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4,721 | ||||
Honours
- European League of Football
- Champions: 2022
- Eurobowl
- Champions: (5) 2004–2007, 2013
- Runners-up: (5) 2001, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2012
- Austrian Bowl
- Champions: (15) 1994, 1996, 1999–2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012–2014, 2017, 2020
- Runners-up: (14) 1986, 1988, 1991, 1995, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021–2023
References
- ^ "BIG6 European Football League starts 2014". www.eurobowl.com. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ "ELF: Dacia Vienna Vikings become the league's newest member". 25 September 2021.
- ^ "PR: Ninth Team, Fourth Nation: Vienna Vikings Will Start in the European League of Football for the 2022 Season". 25 September 2021.
- ^ "Vienna Vikings ab 2022 Teil der European League of Football". 30 September 2021.
- ^ https://news.in-24.com/sports/news/168498.html [dead link]
- ^ "Der Krampf ums Eierlaberl: Warum sich Football in Europa schwertut". Der Standard (in German). October 4, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
- ^ "Vienna Vikings present new investors with interesting background". May 12, 2022.
- ^ "Vikings sorgen für internationale Spiele in der Generali Arena". Kurier (in German). February 17, 2022.