Welcome to Minnesota, Super Bowl Folks

[MineralMan]

Don't forget your parkas and ear warmers, though. The weather guy is indicating that high temperatures here next weekend will be in the near to below zero range. It's cold in Minnesota, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, you'll be able to avoid being outside in the cold most of the time, but there's lots too see and do around here if you feel up to wandering out of doors for a while. You can call Uber or take the light rail to get places, or use our unique skyway system in Minneapolis avoid being outdoors, but you might want to venture out, at least a little.

Minnesota has spend tons of time and oodles of money coming up with things for you to do and see. Were a friendly, home-towny state, so we've done things to give you the feel of Minnesota. Don't just go to the game, your hotel and a nearby restaurant. Venture out. You'll find guides in your hotel room and people will be making lots of suggestions.

But, you'll need a good parka, a hat that protects your delicate ears from frostbite, and a pair of bulky, well-insulated gloves or mittens to keep your fingers from turning black and falling off. You can find all of those things at the Mall of America, which hopes you'll visit on the light rail's Blue Line. Yes, they do.

So, Welcome. Spend some money here. We can use it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Easy for you to say, you're in St. Paul.

I live in Minneapolis, and although I don't work downtown any more I will have to go there next week and the whole damn city will be under siege starting on Monday. I wonder how much money the city and the state actually get out of all this commotion, considering the vast expense of security, crowd control, and parking the homeless people somewhere else so visitors won't see that we have them, not to mention the inconvenience to the people who live and work here and have to get around and park their cars and handle their daily business but can't for the better part of a week because of some stupid game owned and managed by rich people for the benefit of rich people, in a stadium owned by rich people but paid for by taxpayers who couldn't afford to go to the game if they wanted to.

What's different about this stadium (which is also a huge architectural blight) is that, unlike the stadia in most other cities, it's right fucking downtown, and therefore causes major gridlock every time there's any football game, let alone the StupidBowl. They should have put it out in Fridley or Ham Lake or some such far-flung 'burb where there would actually be room to build a parking lot and games could be held for those who enjoy them without bringing an entire city to its knees and disrupting the lives and work of the people who couldn't care less about fucking football. I hope everybody freezes their asses off.

[/]rant

[MineralMan]

3. I can't even imagine having to work in downtown MPLS during

all of this. What a disaster! I certainly won't be visiting the city during any of this. I mean, they've closed the 6th St. access to 94 eastbound. How the heck would I get home. I know a route, but it's a real PITA.

Frankly, I doubt that most of the out-of-towners will do any of the things the cities have set up for them. They'll go from hotel to stadium to bar and restaurant and manage to get hopelessly lost in the skyways. Venture outdoors? Not a chance. Worse, Twin Cities residents know better than to venture downtown if they don't have to during this fiasco.

St. Paul, in its innocence, thinks that people are going to ride the green line over to check out the "Ice Castle." Nah. They won't. They have never even heard of St. Paul. It's never mentioned in the national news broadcasts. Whey would they go there?

Me? I'm hunkering down at home for a couple of weeks. Once it all blows over, I might get over to the other side of the river at some point. Maybe after the snow is gone.

I just think the whole over-hyped thing is funny. Not for Minneapolis folks, of course, but, hey...who cares. I live in St. Paul.

[cwydro]

8. I cant imagine sitting on my ass in zero degrees

watching a bunch of overpaid dumbshits playing a violent game.

No thanks.

I feel for you having to deal with the mess that game must bring with it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. The stadium itself is covered, so the game will be played indoors.

The rich folks who can afford to go (especially the ones who have the special boxes with catered snacks and drinks) will be warm and comfortable - only the Packers still play outdoors in the winter. But to get to the thing, at some point people will have to go outside. Some of the foot of snow we got last week has melted a little but there are still big piles of it all over, and it's going to be cold next weekend - much colder than a lot of out-of-towners are used to.

[cwydro]

14. Thats good to know lol!

I couldn’t imagine people sitting outside to watch!

[former9thward]

25. "only the Packers still play outdoors in the winter"

I'm guessing you have never been or seen a Bears game at Soldier Field.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

27. I've never been to or seen any football game

at any stadium, except for the time some friends dragged me to a Vikings game at the old stadium. I don't think I've ever been so bored in my whole life except once when I had to sit through an accounting seminar. But I wasn't aware that any northern team other than the Packers, whose fans are completely daft, still played outside.

[former9thward]

28. The only regular season games I will consider going to in Chicago are in September.

After that forget it. Of course the Bears are usually out of it by then anyway...

[bluecollar2]

32. Or Candlestick Park

[Yavin4]

37. Speaking of the Bears. The all time greatest sign when this fan wanted to get rid of the coach.

?w=371&h=240

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

38. Subtle!

[parkerMcDavis]

40. Patriots in Gillette stadium

[Lotusflower70]

2. Something fun for me to do

https://www.instagram.com/p/BebHJ_WhyEW/?utm_source=ig_embed

[MineralMan]

5. That thing is sold out already.

Amazing. I know I'm just itching to slide across the river, 100' above it in zero weather. Yup. Sounds like a blast!

[MrsMatt]

7. Most of the tickets were probably sold to

residents of the 7 county metro area.

[MineralMan]

9. I'm sure that's true.

Good luck to them with that. There's no way I'm going to hang 100' above the River in early February. What could go wrong, after all?

I hope everyone is safe on that thing.

[Lotusflower70]

12. Lol

I know. I got tickets. There is talk of keeping it up after the Super Bowl.

[MineralMan]

22. Write a post about your experience, please.

I mean it.

[Lotusflower70]

23. Great idea

I am going to try and see if I can take my go pro cam.

[MineralMan]

24. I'm sure they'll be OK with that.

[dflprincess]

34. I wonder if they tell you what the wind chill will be

as you "zip" over the river?

[MineralMan]

39. Doubtful. But, hey, it's for people who just

wear light jackets when it's below zero anyhow. I'm guessing that the age group for this trends very millennial, somehow.

I would do it, if they paid me something in the mid four figures to "zip" across the river. Since that seems highly unlikely, I think I'll stay on my own side of the Mississippi until everyone goes home after the Stupor Bowl.

[asiliveandbreathe]

4. You are the Hostess with the mostess MM - can I wear my Patriots jersey..ya know

the Brady #12 jersey..?? - glad it is in a cold region - we like the snow..!! NOT! - Been in AZ for too long from Mass..I think we will stay right heah!!!

[MineralMan]

6. Minnesotan's don't care what you wear.

Nobody will see that jersey anyhow, unless you wear it over your parka.

[asiliveandbreathe]

11. Then I would look like a real football player..padding an' all..

Just a quick anecdote - in AZ - snowbirds in (lots from MN) - Pats Playing Vikings..small little snacky sports bar..I was incognito..had jacket over my shirt - just as soon as the Pats took the lead and never looked back - I took my jacket off..and cheered..that lady behind me - from MN, who had been hoopin' an' hollahrin' - was not nice...

But, on a MN Mall shopping trip - people were very friendly...I guess it is just football we all become rabid!!!!

[MineralMan]

17. Well, as soon as the Vikings lost that last playoff game,

Minnesotans just went silent about it. We're so used to our teams letting us down at the last minute that we expect it here. We've all moved on to the "Well, maybe next season, you know..." stage.

"Skol Vikings. You Betcha!"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. I read a comment by some local writer - don't remember who -

that said losing that game was kind of like if your girlfriend dumps you and tells you she's getting married to someone else, doesn't invite you to the wedding, and then holds the wedding in your back yard.

[MineralMan]

20. LOL!

Pretty much. We're just resigned to the whole thing. The Lynx is sort of embarrassing, though. They keep winning. But, our sports reporters just ignore all the women's teams anyhow, so nobody really knows about that.

I caught a few minutes of Mike Max on WCCO the other night. He was talking about what will go wrong for the Twins this year, and why they'll have another pitiful season. We sort of take all that for granted, I think.

[asiliveandbreathe]

21. Skol to you MM!!!....keep the faith....eom

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. If you really care about your team you don't wear a jersey.

You just paint your hairy, flabby chest with your team colors, get drunk and yell and pour your beer down the neck of the person sitting in front of you.

Go, team.

[MineralMan]

15. There should be a study. What happens to man-nipples when they get

frostbitten. Do they fall off?

[cwydro]

16. Lol!

Hell yeah!

[dflprincess]

35. Tom Brady's mother is from Browerville, MN and he still has relatives there

so the local news has accepted Brady as "one of our own". You'll be fine.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/01/26/welcome-to-bradytown-minn-second-home-to-patriots-qb-tom-brady/

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. The city will survive this. Detroit survived Superbowl XL.

Another cold place, we also moved the homeless to where they wouldn't be a blight on the beauty of the city. We also had the Coast Guard jamming the river with gunboats to keep those ruthless Canadians from invading.

Millions of drunken party animals from Pittsburgh came to consume all the beer in the area. Detroit is an easy car ride from Pittsburgh. Getting back home is a challenge, with all the hangovers, but it seems that the Pittsburgh people at least managed to get out of town. After that, who knows?

There were also five rich fans from Seattle, trying to weave their way through the mass of Steelers jerseys. They seemed lost.

Minneapolis, too, will get past this, and return to being the other half of Minneapolis/St Paul.

Cheers.

I will root for the Eagles, because they are not the Patriots.

[Ernesto]

26. I suvived 2 winters in Mpls. where 20F degrees was a warm winter day.

Then ran away, back to Sweet Home California!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. 20F *is* a warm winter day.

Especially after a couple of weeks below zero, like earlier this month.

[jalan48]

30. Sounds like a beautiful city.

[ProudLib72]

31. How many sunshine states are there?!

Florida is the for reals sunshine state. Colorado is nicknamed the sunshine state. Now you Minnesotans are trying to capitalize on our sunshine, too? Just how many rubes fall for that?

[MineralMan]

33. Well, in Minnesota, if Summer comes on a weekend,

We have a picnic.

[X_Digger]

36. Screw that, I left the cold for a reason!

Balmy 63 today.