EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Vikings fans are chattering about a pair of 2017 matchups against the Chicago Bears.
Minnesota's 2017 schedule was released Thursday evening, and included a pair of annual games against the Vikings division foe. But in the 24 hours after the schedule was announced, Twitter was abuzz with Minnesota's meetings with the Bears.
Spredfast, a social media management company, measured the popularity of tweets by followers of the @Vikings account that included the team name of Minnesota's 2017 opponents.
Chicago was the clear hot topic as @Vikings followers mentioned the Bears roughly 2,500 times.
Minnesota and Chicago's 2017 games are similar to 2016. The Vikings travel to Chicago for a Week 5 meeting on Monday Night Football, something Minnesota did in Week 8 of last season.
The teams then close out the regular season in Week 17 at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings picked up a 38-10 win over Chicago in Week 17 of the 2016 season.
Minnesota's Week 8 matchup against the Browns in London also had fans talking, as there were around 1,300 tweets referring the international tilt.
The Vikings will be the road team in the game played at Twickenham Stadium.
Minnesota last played in London during Week 4 of the 2013 season and earned a 34-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Minnesota was the home team in that game, which was played at Wembley Stadium.
A visit to Pittsburgh in Week 2, the Vikings first road trip of the regular season, was mentioned 918 times by fans.
Minnesota's trek to the nation's capital, a Week 10 visit at Washington, was referenced 805 times. The Vikings and Redskins also played at Washington in Week 10 in 2016.
The Vikings battle with the defending NFC champions was also a noteworthy game, as a Week 13 road trip to Atlanta was mentioned 789 times.
Minnesota's pair of matchups against Detroit was mentioned 719 times while a Week 14 trip to Carolina garnered 626 tweets.
Twitter also talked about a trio of home games against Baltimore (490 mentions), Cincinnati (391 mentions) and the Los Angeles Rams (239 mentions).
The Vikings games against Green Bay garnered 176 mentions while the season opener against New Orleans on Monday Night Football drew 133 tweets. A Week 3 home game against Tampa Bay rounded out the list with roughly 100 inclusions.
The Vikings full 2017 schedule can be found here.
