After years of planning and many millions in spending Authentic Da'Shawn Hand Jersey , there was one thing organizers of Super Bowl 52 couldn’t control – a Minnesota winter.
The
Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots played inside. But as fans
were heading to U.S. Bank Stadium at noon Sunday, the temperature in
Minneapolis was minus-2 degrees, with a wind chill of negative 23 – by
far the coldest Super Bowl on record – raising questions about whether
the NFL’s marquee event would ever return to Minnesota.
While
warmer climates tend to be more popular host cities, a flashy new
stadium and amenities often play a bigger role than the weather in
determining who will host the big game.
”The owners will
do as they like. So that’s one of those decisions that’s just not up to
the fan base,” said Mark Cobb, who has been to several Super Bowls in
his work for the NFL Players Association. ”Wherever has the newest,
prettiest stadium, that’s who gets the game.”
Cobb, of
Washington, said everyone in Minnesota was nice, and he’d return to
Minneapolis for a Super Bowl. But he said the weather felt ”like I was
being punished. Minnesota is where they send you when you’re bad. But if
you embrace it like the people who live here, instead of fighting it,
it’s not so bad.”
The NFL has used the Super Bowl as a
reward for municipalities that pump public money into new venues.
Minnesota was awarded the game in 2014, two years after state lawmakers
approved a financing package that had taxpayers paying nearly half the
cost of the $1.1 billion stadium.
Other northern cities
have reaped similar benefits. New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium got a Super
Bowl in its fourth season, the only outdoor Super Bowl at a northern
site to date (2014). Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis hosted in 2012 and
Ford Field in Detroit hosted in 2006, both at the end of their fourth
seasons. The only other Super Bowls held in the north were in suburban
Detroit at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1982 and in Minneapolis at the
Metrodome in 1992.
While warmer climates have held more Super Bowls, there is no rotation of pre-selected cities that get picked Authentic JK Scott Jersey ,
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. He said it’s up to club owners to
take the initial step of expressing an interest in hosting. The sites of
the next four Super Bowls are already chosen: Atlanta in 2019, followed
by South Florida, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.
Atlanta has a
stadium that opened in 2017. Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida and
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa have been renovated in the past three
years, and Los Angeles will have a new stadium by the time it hosts the
game.
McCarthy said the weather in Minneapolis wasn’t a
negative. Instead, he said it provided new experiences for fans, some of
whom took advantage of the Minneapolis skyway system, a collection of
enclosed – and heated – pedestrian bridges.
”We knew weather was going to be a factor and we embraced it,” he said.
Andrea
Mokros, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, said
the event was a ”huge success.” Visitor numbers were still being
calculated, but Mokros said outdoor concerts and other events were well
attended, even on the coldest nights during 10 days of festivities.
”The
cold didn’t slow anyone down and in fact made it a more memorable
experience,” she said. Mokros said the winter climate allowed the host
committee to offer a different sort of fun for guests, such as
snowmobiling or skijoring (cross-country skiing while being pulled by a
dog). And she said she felt some pride when she saw celebrities donning
winter hats and embracing the cold weather.
Paul Vaaler, a
professor of management and law at the University of Minnesota law
school and the Carlson School of Management, said while warmer tourist
destinations are more likely to get Super Bowls, there is some strategy
to spreading the game to different franchises: The promise of a Super
Bowl can lead cities to build new stadiums and keep teams from leaving
certain markets.
Because of that Authentic Oren Burks Jersey , he said, other northern cities are likely to host the Super Bowl before Minnesota gets another chance.
”That
incentive to build a stadium and attract the Super Bowl is gone (for
Minnesota), but it’s not gone in a place like Cincinnati, or a place
like Denver” or other northern NFL cities that have stadiums that are
more than 20 years old. ”For other northern climates, there will be
pressure.”
Some fans said the weather was tolerable and
there were plenty of experiences in Minneapolis to keep them
entertained. Others said that even though Minnesotans were hospitable,
they’d prefer a warmer location.
”The cold was just
brutal,” said Philadelphia Eagles fan Terry Laufer of Carrollton,
Virginia. His wife, Rhonda, said: ”I would never be able to bring
children here. It would be too risky.” The pair said they’d return with
their grandkids in September, when it’s warmer.
”You could
have had the Arctic Circle and it would have been a great experience,”
said Jody Haggerty of Milford, Pennsylvania. ”Minneapolis made it work. …
It’s not about the location. It’s about the experience, the atmosphere
and the game.”
—
Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report.
—
MILWAUKEE
— A little more than five years after he received a $500 bonus after
signing as a non-drafted free agent out of Baylor University, Nate Orf
is finally in the big leagues.
The Milwaukee Brewers
selected Orf’s contract Monday from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he
was batting .307 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. Those numbers landed
him a spot in the Pacific Coast League’s All-Star team but also fueled a
social media movement — #FreeNateOrf — amongst Brewers fans wanting the
28-year-old to get his shot.
“This is the day you put all the work in for,” Orf said. “I signed for $500. This is why I signed for $500 Authentic Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , to grind out as long as I needed to have this day come.””
Orf
made his debut Monday night in Milwaukee’s 6-5 victory over the Twins
and will likely be in the lineup against Tuesday afternoon as the
Brewers continue their three-game holiday series at Miller Park.
“He’s a good player. He’s a very good hitter,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He has earned this.”
The
Brewers are hoping Orf can provide a spark at a position that’s been an
offensive liability all season. Though Jonathan Villar has shown
improvement after a dismal 2017 campaign, Brewers’ second basemen are
seventh in the NL with a .676 OPS this season, ninth with a .252 average
and .299 on-base percentage.
Orf will also see time at
shortstop, where Orlando Arcia had struggled to get into a rhythm since
opening day and was demoted to Triple-A for the second time this season
over the weekend.
“I still firmly believe that Orlando
Arcia is going to be a very, very good player in this league for a long
time,” general manager David Stearns said. “We have continued to see the
defensive contributions he makes on a daily basis but we need to do
better offensively.
“At this stage of the year, Orlando
was not the type of offensive player we needed. I think we all bear some
responsibility for that. As an organization, we need to help Orlando
get through this.”
Looking to snap a three-game losing
streak, the Brewers will turn to Junior Guerra on Tuesday. The
right-hander won for the first time since May 14 his last time out
despite allowing four runs over six innings against the Reds.
He struck out six in that outing and has 20 over his last three starts.
Right-hander
Jake Odorizzi takes the mound for Minnesota hoping to build some
momentum after getting back on track with six shutout innings of the
White Sox in his last outing.
Odorizzi had a 3.34 ERA and
was averaging nearly a strikeout per inning over his first 11 starts but
stumbled mightily at the end of May, kick off a five-stark skid that
saw him post a 9.74 ERA over the five stars leading up to his appearance
in Chicago.
Extra work in the video room revealed a
slight flaw in his delivery and during a bullpen session ahead of his
last start, he worked on getting back to his normal mechanics.
“Pitching
through a (back) injury last year created bad habits,” Odorizzi told
the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It you do it for long enough, it creates an
even worse habit, even when you’re healthy. Muscle memory takes over.”
Tuesday
will mark Odorizzi’s third career start against the team that selected
him in the first round (32nds overall) of the 2008 MLB Draft but the
first time he’ll pitch at Miller Park.