The Vikings' hilarious pre-match tribute to Harambe

The Minnesota Vikings have used slain Cincinnati Zoo gorilla Harambe as motivation ahead of their first game of the NFL season against the Tennessee Titans.

Video taken in the tunnel before their Week 1 match captured Vikings' players yelling "spoons out for Harambe" as they performed some kind of tribute dance.

The official Twitter account of the Vikings even shared the video with the hashtag #SpoonsOutForHarambe.

The tribute seemed to pay off for Minnesota as they went on to beat the Titans 25-16 (highlights below).

Check out the bizarre incident in the video above.

Many Vikings fans took to social media to credit Harambe for their team's victory.