Minnesota Awarded Super Bowl LII

Finally, Minnesota has beaten New Orleans for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

In what's considered to be a pretty sizable upset, the NFL announced today that Minnesota will host Super Bowl LII in the new Vikings stadium in February 2018. The other two cities in the running were Indianapolis and New Orleans. New Orleans was widely considered the favorite to get the big game, partially because 2018 marks the 300th anniversary of the establishment of the city of New Orleans.

Despite the odds being stacked against them, the folks behind the Minnesota bid were very confident, as we told you earlier on Tuesday. The unwritten rule in the NFL is that if you build a new stadium, you'll get a Super Bowl at that stadium. There was little question that Minnesota would eventually get a Super Bowl, but most experts thought Minnesota would have to wait a couple more years.

The decision will probably leave most NFL beat writers crestfallen. After all, the Twin Cities are a desolate frozen wasteland and N'awlins is a bustling hub of booze and fun according to most impartial observers. But landing the Super Bowl should have a big positive effect for the Twin Cities both financially and philanthropically. There has been a lot of debate about whether or not hosting a Super Bowl actually has a positive long-term effect on a city. However, our old pal Arif has already outlined why the Minneapolis/St. Paul area should be in good shape.

The powers that be still have three and half years to figure out all the logistics. For now, we can celebrate the proud tradition of Minnesota hosting every 26th Super Bowl (the Metrodome hosted Super Bowl XXVI as well) and laugh at everyone that's already bitching about how cold it gets here.