"We believe that the experience of the Empirical team in both sports marketing and community websites made them the right fit to develop our fan site" explains Dannon Hulskotter, Director of Marketing & Business Development.

Together the Empirical team and Vikings Marketing Manager, Ben Maurer made the fundamental decision to ensure the Vikings network is one that embraces the fans as an integral part of the organization and as truly part of the team. As the network invites members to join, it demands "We want you on the Vikings roster!" Members, or as the site calls them, Teammates, are encouraged to start their own communities and events, write their own blog, and share their videos and photos.

Empirical built into the community all of the well-loved social networking tools found in the popular sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Flickr using their own in-house suite of tools, Vector Marketing Suite. From the simple tool of "Tackle" where members can get their friend's attention; to photo and video upload; event calendars and an area where members can create a unique profile; it's simple for fans to login and easily start making groups, discussing plays and mimicking in-stadium excitement.

www.wearevikingsfans.com