The Vikings, with Dennis Green as coach, entered the 1998 NFL playoffs with a 15-1 record and were favored to win Super Bowl XXXIII but were stunned by Atlanta in overtime in the NFC championship game.

Although this season’s Vikings, with Mike Zimmer as coach, enter the playoffs with a 13-3 record, they are not favored to win the Super Bowl.

That’s a good thing, Ted Brown said.

“They don’t have the expectation that the Randy Moss team had hanging over their heads, so they should be a little more relaxed,” Brown said.

Brown played eight seasons for the Vikings, including 1981, when he rushed for 1,063 yards.

“There’s a ‘nobody thinks we can do it anyway’ because a home team has never hosted a Super Bowl,” Brown said. “So for old Case (quarterback Keenum) and (wideout Adam) Thielen and the boys, just relax and take a moment and ‘we’ll be all right,’ you know. Just relax, everybody take a chill pill, we’re going to do what we do.”

Another advantage the Vikings have is Zimmer as coach, Brown said. Brown played seven of his eight seasons for Bud Grant, the hall of fame coach.

“There seem to be a lot of similarities between Bud and Zim,” Brown said. “Zim seems to be a no-nonsense guy who’s good with the players — the players seem to like him, and that’s all you can ask.

“Zim’s got the calm, cool demeanor on the sidelines — you never see him get too excited. Bud never showed expression — maybe one time at the old (Metropolitan Stadium) Met I think he smiled the last 14 seconds of a game.”

Brown said he doesn’t expect the Vikings to have a letdown.

“Zim’s got the boys playing really, really well — I expect them to play well,” Brown said. “If somebody’s going to beat them, they’re going to have to beat them — they’re not going to just give away the game.

“The Vikings look pretty awesome, and they’ll probably go as far as the defense takes them — usually that’s what you need. They can play on the road and in weather. They’ve got to get some breaks here and there, and that’s what it’s all about.

“If they can play clean, without holding and different penalties at the wrong time, they can beat anybody and they’ve shown that.”

Brown, 60, who was born and raised in North Carolina but lives in Apple Valley, has retired after 20 years as a Ramsey County probation officer. His son J.T. Brown, a former Rosemount High and Minnesota Duluth hockey star, has a goal and an assist in 22 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning (29-8-3), who are favored to win the Stanley Cup.

“Very proud of him,” Ted said.

Zimmer’s estimated $5 million per season contract could see a big increase if the Vikings win the Super Bowl and if rumors that Jon Gruden will collect $10 million a season for returning to coach the Oakland Raiders are true.

A Vikings playoff victory next Sunday would be worth $27,000 apiece for players. Winning the NFC, an additional $49,000 per player. Winning the Super Bowl, an additional $107,000 per player; losing the Super Bowl, an additional $53,000 per player.

Robert O’Neill, the Navy Seal credited with killing Osama bin Laden, said Saturday on Fox News TV that he has given the Vikings a motivational team talk about grit. O’Neill, who sounded the Vikings Gjallarhorn before their 34-7 victory over Cincinnati last month, is a huge Vikings fan.

It’s tough to find an Adam Thielen Vikings jersey for sale at local sports outlets these days. Related Articles The Loop NFL Picks: Week 2

Vikings ready for first road trip amid coronavirus pandemic

Pioneer Press predictions: Then or now, Colts seem to have Vikings’ number

Vikings’ history of road losses vs. Colts doesn’t bode well

Former star RB Robert Smith a Fox analyst for first time at a Vikings game

“That doesn’t mean a lot to me,” the Pro Bowl Vikings wide receiver said of his new fame. “I’m just worried about my business, not anything else. (Fame) could change for the good and it could change for the bad — that’s why I try to stay out of that stuff.”

Vikings receiver Michael Floyd, who has caught 10 passes in his abbreviated season and has a $1.2 million salary, could have earned another $1.5 million had he had 40 receptions during the regular season.

Floyd, 27, the former Cretin-Derham Hall star and a free agent after the season, wants to remain a Viking. After the season, the 11-handicap golfer and former Arizona Cardinal plans to spend the winter in Scottsdale, where he has a home. He’s also a member at Oak Ridge Country Club in Hopkins.

The playoff-bound Vikings drew a total of 13 million TV viewers — 20th among the NFL’s 32 teams — during the regular season while the Packers, despite missing the playoffs, attracted 18.5 million, which was third-best in the NFL, according to AdAge and Nielsen ratings.

J.C. Hassenauer, the former East Ridge offensive lineman who’ll play his final game for Alabama in Monday night’s national championship against Georgia in Atlanta, projects as a Day Three pick for this spring’s NFL draft, according to Scott Wright’s reliable draftcountdown.com.

The Vikings, who will draft late in the first round, could end up with another Ohio State offensive lineman, Billy Price, considered a better prospect than ex-Buckeyes offensive lineman Pat Elflein, whom the Vikings took in the third-round last year.

The importance of NFL preseason games? In the regular season, the Cleveland Browns finished 0-16. The Browns were 4-0 in preseason. The Vikings (13-3 in regular season) were 2-2 in preseason.

By the way, Wild intrepid historian Roger Godin points out, the Brooklyn Tigers of the NFL finished 0-10 in 1944.

At best, before the sexual assault allegations against him, suspended Gophers senior Reggie Lynch could hope for an invitation to an NBA camp next summer, then perhaps an opportunity to play professionally in Europe. Merely a shot blocker, he has had no chance of being drafted by an NBA team.

While the Gophers are trying to recruit against Wisconsin in football, the Badgers’ 34-24 victory over Miami in the Orange Bowl on ESPN attracted 11.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. Minnesota didn’t qualify for any bowl game.

But although the Gophers went bowl-less, eight other Big Ten teams did, meaning Minnesota will enjoy a stipend of nearly $6.4 million from the overall conference pot.

Edina native Kieffer Bellows, who set a U.S. National Junior hockey record with nine goals during the world Junior championship, wore the same jersey number, 23, that his father, Brian, wore with the North Stars.

Former St. Paul Saints ace Mark Hamburger, 30, from Mounds View set an Australian Baseball League record with 16 strikeouts for Melbourne against Canberra last week but lost 2-0.

Fifteen years ago, when LeBron James was at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, the Timberwolves tried to get his team to play in their annual prep shootout at Target Center. But a price tag of $50,000 was prohibitive.

On Monday evening, James, now 33 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, will play at Target Center against the Wolves in front of an expected sellout crowd (18,978) .

Hall of Fame former Twins pitcher Bert Blyleven on how new Hall of Fame ex-Twins pitcher Jack Morris’ life will change: “People will want the “HOF” behind your signature, something he’ll proudly put on a baseball. That’s a nice honor — not too many guys get the opportunity to do that.”

Morris “HOF 2018” autographed baseballs are being offered by a national online memorabilia store for between $129 and $199.99. Before Morris’ hall of fame election, top price was $115.99.

Jim Thome (612 home runs) should be the next ex-Twin voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, with an announcement on Jan. 24.

Zach Goring has coached point guards Tyus Jones and younger brother Tre Jones at Apple Valley. Tyus, with the Timberwolves, starred at Duke. Tre, a senior at Apple Valley, has signed with Duke.

“They are very similar players,” Goring said. “I think Tyus (6-feet-1 1/2), at this point in high school, probably was the better shooter and scored a little bit more. But Tre (6-2 1/2) probably has the upper hand as a defensive player and rebounder.”

Tre received an honor for classroom excellence the other day.

Kid to watch: Eighth-grader Mitchell January, playing for Richfield High’s varsity basketball team. He’s the brother of Jessica January, who played for Richfield’s girls varsity as a seventh-grader, had a wonderful career at DePaul and is playing professionally in Romania.

Ex-Gophers volleyball players playing professionally in Europe: Hannah Tapp and Daly Santana in Italy; Paige Tapp in Germany, and Sarah Wilhite, Tori Dixon, Lauren Gibbemeyer and Erica Handley in France.

Goaltenders from Minnesota: Lakeville’s Jake Oettinger plays for the U.S. National Junior team. Andover’s Maddie Rooney is on the USA Olympic Under-18 women’s national team.

Sophomore goalie Mat Robson, who won his first collegiate game last week against West Point, is the only Canadian on the Gophers men’s hockey team.

Don’t print that

It worked with Adam Thielen. Maybe it will work with Brandon Zylstra.

Last week, Zylstra, 6-2, 215 pounds, signed with the Vikings as a reserve/futures free agent for 2018. In some ways, his story isn’t much different from that of the 6-2, 200-pound Thielen, whom the Vikings landed as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State Mankato four years ago.

Thielen, 27, a Detroit Lakes grad, has developed into a Pro Bowl wide receiver. Zylstra, 24, a New London-Spicer grad, hopes to get there.

“The story on Brandon is this,” Carson Walch said. “He went to Augustana College out of high school and wasn’t getting a shot to get on the field, so he transferred to Concordia-Moorhead, a Division III school. But he didn’t really do the research and he ends up in this option offense where they don’t throw the ball. He kind of flies under the radar.”

Walch, from Plainview-Elgin-Millville, is offensive coordinator-wide receivers coach for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. His brother, Travis, is a top assistant at the University of St. Thomas.

“Travis thought Brandon was the best receiver he’s seen in the (MIAC) since 2008,” Carson said.

Fast forward.

“Eventually pro day comes,” Carson said. “The Edmonton Eskimos had this scout that always looked at the MIAC. My brother said he was the only scout from all the CFL teams that looked at them.”

The scout asked Zylstra to attend an Eskimos tryout in Vero Beach, Fla. An eager Zylstra complied.

“He caught everything — he did not drop a ball the whole weekend,” Walch said. “We said come on up and we’ll see what you can do in the CFL.”

Right before Zylstra was going to sign with Edmonton, the Vikings offered him a practice roster tryout. But Edmonton convinced him to sign. When he finally got an opportunity to play for the Eskimos, Walch said, “he just tore it up, did everything for us.”

Just before last season’s Eskimos training camp, Walch and Zylstra met in Minneapolis.

“He told me about his aspirations — he said ‘Coach, I believe I can have a really good year this year and then I’m going to go to the NFL,’ ” Walch said. “He said ‘this is what I want to do. I think I can do it.”

Zylstra did it in Edmonton, leading the CFL in receiving yards (1,687 on 100 catches) last season.

“Over his first 22 games for Edmonton, I believe, he had more yards than anyone in CFL history, and we’re talking about a league that goes back to (1958),” Walch said. “So this is a kid from Spicer, Minnesota, that flies under the radar.

“There was a video on Facebook or something on Adam Thielen, and Zylstra comes into my office and says, ‘Coach, I just feel like that’s just a mirror image of what I’m trying to do.’ ”

Zylstra’s brother, Shane, a 6-4, 215-pound wide receiver, was offensive MVP of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference as a sophomore last season at Minnesota State Mankato, the school where Thielen starred.

“I know this about Brandon — the kid studies, he’s respectful, he works hard, he’s a pro,” Walch said. “He does everything right — he’s your prototypical kid that you want to coach in pro football. He deserves this.”

Sixteen NFL teams expressed interest in signing Zylstra.

“My big thing to him was ‘look, you’ve just got to go to a system that you believe is going to fit you, because that’s what the NFL is about,’ ” Walch said. “Not everyone’s going to excel in the NFL unless you’re in the right system. To do it in his home state will be special.”

Earning a 53-player roster spot next season would be worth $480,000, the NFL minimum, to Zylstra.

Another undrafted free agent, running back Zach Zenner from Eagan, can become a restricted free agent this winter after having earned $1.6 million over three years with the Detroit Lions. Zenner, 26, has medical school as an option.

As of Thursday, the cheapest ticket available for the Feb. 4 Super Bowl in Minneapolis was $6,900. Next cheapest was $11,000. Prices are expected to increase closer to game time.

Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is a 3-to-1 favorite to end up as head coach of the Chicago Bears, according to Bovada-Las Vegas.

Related Articles The Loop NFL Picks: Week 2

Vikings ready for first road trip amid coronavirus pandemic

Pioneer Press predictions: Then or now, Colts seem to have Vikings’ number

Vikings’ history of road losses vs. Colts doesn’t bode well

Former star RB Robert Smith a Fox analyst for first time at a Vikings game Despite their 13-3 season, no Vikings jerseys were among the NFL’s best sellers, No. 1 of which was Tom Brady’s No. 12. The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers’ No. 12 was No. 7 on the Fanatics list.

OVERHEARD

Former Vikings running back Ted Brown on Vikings coach Mike Zimmer: “He’s been through eight eye surgeries. C’mon — his players haven’t been through anything that he hasn’t been through. Plus, he’s been on a winning Super Bowl team (Dallas in 1995 as an assistant). That’s going to bode well for them.”