Fergus Falls Football Fans Won't Hide From Cold
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Football fans in the Twin Cities have been espousing the Bold North initiative, but fans in Otter Tail County may have upstaged them.
A group of Super Bowl viewers gathered to watch the big game atop 24 inches of solid ice.
The party was in Fergus Falls.
Dozens of people parked their ice houses outside and went into a 15,000 square foot tent that sits right on top of 24 inches of solid ice on Otter Tail Lake.
Otter Tail County is celebrating its 150th anniversary and what better way to celebrate than to throw a Super Bowl party in minus 20 degree temperatures on top of a lake?
"Not everyone can be in the Twin Cities. There's only so many people that can fit into that stadium," Otter Tail County communication director Nick Leonard said. "A lot of people like to be out here fishing, enjoying the outdoors, even in the cold climate. So we said let's give them a reason to watch the Super Bowl on Otter Tail Lake."
Otter Tail County has the most lakes of any county in the U.S. They say Super Bowl weekend has been a success and they hope to do the Super Bowl part on the lake every year.
WCCO's Reg Chapman reported that more people were in the big tent on the lake earlier in the day, but as temperatures dropped, the crowds thinned out.
New England fans probably left a little earlier than Philadelphia fans -- the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33.