The Minnesota Vikings are the owners of a remarkable victory in last weekend’s NFL divisional playoffs. Now, the team wants to own the nicknames that have been attached to it.
Stefon Diggs' stunning 61-yard touchdown catch and run on the final play of the game gave the Vikings a 29-24 victory against New Orleans, giving birth to the nicknames "Minneapolis Miracle" or "Minnesota Miracle." Monday, the Vikings filed for three trademarks for "Minneapolis Miracle" and one for "Minnesota Miracle," according to filings published Friday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Vikings want to own the rights to the nickname on more than 100 items, including cell phone straps, football helmets, charge cards, computer game software, DVDs, compact discs and videotapes, according to the filings.
Already, the team is selling a T-shirt with the slogan, "Minneapolis Miracle 1-14-18," ESPN reported. Diggs began selling shirts licensed by the NFL Players Association with his image and the words "Minneapolis Miracle," on Wednesday and already has sold more than 1,000 of them online, ESPN reported.
It’s not the first sports nickname that has had a trademark application. For example, former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Franco Harris trademarked the phrase “Franco’s Immaculate Reception,” after his last-second catch-and-run for a touchdown off a deflected pass that gave Pittsburgh a 13-7 victory against Oakland in the 1972 playoffs.
Riles & Co., the corporate entity of former NBA basketball coach Pat Riley, trademarked the phrase “Three-Peat” in 1989.
The Vikings play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in the NFC Championship game.
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