Minnesota Vikings pay tribute to Harambe (Video)

Before the Minnesota Vikings beat the Tennessee Titans, they called upon the spirit of the beloved Harambe to will them to victory.

The Minnesota Vikings had to handle plenty of adversity before they took the field. During the preseason, their quarterback Teddy Bridgewater got hurt. They scrambled to find a replacement, and found Sam Bradford, but they started Shaun Hill for Week 1. That’s largely because Bradford just arrived, and needed to get accustomed to the Vikings’ system, but one doesn’t learn much from watching Hill play.

Even though they were playing the Tennessee Titans, the Vikings needed all the help they could get. While the pregame huddle usually consists of someone yelling for motivation, the team was understandably in a more somber mood.

While in the huddle, they decided to call on a fallen legend for inspiration. Considering it’s Minnesota, you might think that means Prince, but they used Harambe to will them to victory:

If you don’t know who Harambe is – and if that’s the case, what rock have you lived under? – he was a gorilla who had to get put down by the Cincinnati Zoo when a kid climbed into his playing area. While the emotional outpouring for Harambe was real, he soon became an Internet meme. A lot of people commemorate him by saying “D**ks out for Harambe”, while there was even a “leaked sex tape” involving him.

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Obviously, the Vikings want to set an example for the children, so they replaced “d**ks” with “spoons” during their huddle. For a quarterback tandem that consists of Shaun Hill and Sam Bradford, they need all the motivation they can get, and few people can inspire grown men to victory quite like Harambe.

Considering it worked for them this time, they should really keep the tradition going throughout the season. It might just result in another NFC North title.