Okay, so I’ve been diving deep into NFL history lately, and I stumbled upon the 2001 Minnesota Vikings. I wanted to get a really good handle on who was on that team, you know, really feel like I knew that squad. So, I decided to compile the roster myself. Not just copy and paste it, but really put it together from scratch. Here’s how I did it.
First, I needed a starting point. I couldn’t just magically know the entire roster, right? I needed some kind of base to work from.
Gathering Initial Data
My first step was to just…look for already existing rosters, there are some good ones out there for sure. Not gonna lie, I poked around a few different sports sites, you know, the usual suspects when you’re digging for sports info. I was just looking for a basic list – players’ names, positions, that kind of stuff.
The problem? Some sites had, like, most of the roster, but not everyone. Or they’d have different info, like one site saying a guy played one position, and another site saying something else. Total mess. So, I knew I couldn’t just rely on one source.
Cross-Referencing and Verification
This is where it got kinda tedious, but also kinda fun, like detective work. I took all those different lists I found and started comparing them. If three out of four sites said a guy was a linebacker, I’d tentatively put him down as a linebacker. But I’d also make a note, like, “Check this guy out, some sources disagree.”
Here’s where things get tricky, I wanted to be sure. So, for those players with conflicting info, or the guys who only showed up on one list, I had to do some extra digging. I can use what I have to confirm on the sites, which can be a really long process.
Building My Own Roster
After all that digging and cross-referencing, I finally started putting together my roster. I just used a simple spreadsheet, nothing fancy. Columns for name, position, jersey number (if I could find it), and any notes about conflicting info.
- Name: Pretty straightforward.
- Position: This is where I had to make some judgment calls based on my research.
- Number: Surprisingly hard to find for some players!
- Notes: This is where I kept track of any doubts or discrepancies.
Slowly but surely, the roster started to take shape. It wasn’t just a list of names anymore; it felt like I was actually piecing together the team, figuring out who played where, and who might have been a backup or a special teams guy.
The Final Product (Well, Sort Of…)
I’m still not 100% sure I have every single player who might have been on the practice squad or briefly signed during the season. That kind of info is REALLY hard to track down. But, I’ve got a solid roster that I feel pretty confident about. I at least know all of the main guys.
The whole process was way more involved than I thought it would be. But it also made me appreciate how much information is out there, and how much work it takes to make sure it’s accurate. Plus, I feel like I actually know the 2001 Vikings roster now, not just in a superficial way, but because I put in the time to learn it from a few different places.
