The last time the Minnesota Vikings played in a Super Bowl, Bud Grant was the coach. Grant is the only coach that has ever taken the Vikings to a Super Bowl – he led the team to four.
The Pioneer Press reports after hearing the Super Bowl would return to Minnesota for the second time since Grant, 87, retired as the Vikings coach, he hopes he is around to see it.
Tuesday the NFL’s owners voted to approve Minnesota’s bid to host Super Bowl 52, in 2018.
The news created a lot of excitement and even some strange celebrations in Minnesota.
https://twitter.com/DiKARE/status/468841907784015873
The NFL rewarded Minnesota for building the new football stadium. According to the Bleacher Report, the $1 billion domed stadium with many amenities was the trump card for Minnesota.
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton released a statement after hearing the news.
“On behalf of all Minnesotans, I want to thank Co-Chairs Doug Baker, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, and Richard Davis, and the Minnesota Vikings, for their superb and successful efforts to bring the 2018 Super Bowl to Minnesota. Hosting the Super Bowl will provide a terrific opportunity to showcase Minnesota to the world. It will also bring major economic benefits to our state.”
Former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak told the Star Tribune he hopes the city will showcase winter.
“My hope is that we could pitch this as a northern Super Bowl that’s all about events like the City of Lake Loppet and the Winter Carnival and Crashed Ice and Pond Hockey Championship,” Rybak told the newspaper. “An entire winter that shows the world that we get up and out and enjoy our theater of seasons.”
The reaction from around the country was quite different. There was shock, anger and a lot of fear of the cold.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune called the announcement “the biggest upset since Joe Namath’s Jets stunned the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.”
Minneapolis is a relative neophyte in the big-event hosting game compared to New Orleans and Indianapolis. Before this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game in July, you have to back to the 2001 Final Four to find the last time it hosted a major sporting event.
Further, word in league circles was Minneapolis’ financial package had more holes than a Whiffle ball.
And the weather? The average high temperature in Minneapolis on Feb. 4 is 18 degrees. That’s Fahrenheit. The Arctic conditions require the city to link its downtown grid by 69 square blocks of enclosed skyways.
Shocker. Minnesota wins the bid for Super Bowl LII. Breaks New Orleans streak.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 20, 2014
New Orleans Loses 2018 Super Bowl Bid. Wow, I can't wait to go to Minnesota….said NOBODY EVER! #Saints #WhoDat
— daynise 🌟 (@daynise) May 21, 2014
Wait, wait, wait.. New Orleans was bidding for the Super Bowl for the city's 300th anniversary, and they gave it to *MINNESOTA*?? #hardfail
— He Who Prefers Democracy 🇺🇸🦅 (@marcbreaux) May 21, 2014
Who wants to go to Minnesota for the Super Bowl? smh In Feb would you rather spend 000s in Miami, San Diego or Minnesota?
— Tillman 40 (@Tillman_40) May 21, 2014
And then there was this…
What if.. just what if.. the Packers are playing in the Super Bowl here in Minnesota in 2018? Will the Wilfs still be smiling?
— Randy Meier (@RandyMeierFox9) May 20, 2014
Now that’s a frightening thought.
