Das Team » The Vikings fell one win short of landing on the NFL

Many of the feelings in Minnesota this week were a little colder and darker than the usual wintry conditions http://www.indianapoliscoltsteamonline.com/ben-banogu-jersey , even with Super Bowl 52 coming closer into view.



The Philadelphia Eagles will be here seeking their first Lombardi Trophy instead, trying to deny the New England Patriots a sixth Super Bowl title that would match the most of all time.

”It’s going to be hard to watch them come play in our stadium next week,” Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph said after the 38-7 loss to the Eagles in the NFC championship game .

This is Minnesota’s second Super Bowl, having hosted it at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome after the 1991-92 season, but it will also likely be its last. The NFL’s sporadic northern stops in the warm-weather-areas rotation are simply fulfillments of promises made to municipalities for pumping public money into new stadiums like the $1.1 billion project that produced U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016. New Jersey had the most recent one four years ago, the only northern Super Bowl played outside to date. Indianapolis hosted two seasons before that. The Detroit area has had two.

After finishing 13-3 in the regular season and winning their divisional round playoff game on a last-play touchdown pass , now known as the Minneapolis Miracle, the Vikings were on track to be the first team to play a Super Bowl on home turf until the Eagles ruined that goal. The Atlanta Falcons are next in line to try next year.

The Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 14 and the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 19 played in their local market, but neither of those games were actually held in their home stadium. The Vikings came by far the closest of any team.

Maureen Bausch, the chief executive officer of Minnesota’s Super Bowl host committee , was a little worried about the vibe while the Vikings were getting blown out last week. She checked the Facebook page for committee’s crew of volunteers in the fourth quarter and started to smile.

”I thought, `Oh my goodness, are we all going to be sad?”’ Bausch said. ”They’re the most amazing group. They were already posting on there, `You guys, this is too bad, but when we signed on, we signed on to represent Minnesota, and we are going to give the warmest possible welcome to the world no matter who plays. I was just so moved.”

Yes Parris Campbell Jersey , despite the disappointment in the air over the home team’s latest deflating loss on the cusp of a Super Bowl, a bitterness in some corners that was exacerbated by stories of Vikings-fan-harassing and full-beer-can-throwing rowdies in Philadelphia at the NFC championship game last weekend, this is still the place where the trite-but-true slogan ”Minnesota Nice” was spawned.

”Once people are starting to let their wounds heal with the loss, in true Minnesota fashion, everybody will be friendly and welcoming,” said Jeff Hahn, the owner of Day Block Brewing Company, a restaurant and brewpub located two blocks from U.S. Bank Stadium . ”We are definitely more laid back than perhaps one of the two teams coming into town, but I think everybody will find that the hospitality here is friendly and nice, and we live in a neat city. I think people will be impressed with how beautiful the city is, even if it’s cold out.”

Threats of signing up to drive for ride-sharing services so they can intentionally drop Eagles fans off in the wrong spots or cancelling Airbnb rentals to travelers from Pennsylvania have most likely been social media users blowing off steam.

The storm that dropped more than a foot of snow on the Twin Cities came the day after the NFC championship game letdown, giving the locals an immediate opportunity to change the subject. There’s enough time before kickoff and enough pride in the chance to show off on the biggest stage in sports that the public face of this Super Bowl site probably won’t be frowning by the time the Patriots, the Eagles and the rest of the celebrity, corporate and football circles descend on the area.

”Treat everyone like you would want to be treated, right?” said Kerry Rauschendorfer, a Minneapolis resident who’s one of the 10,000 volunteers on official duty during the week of the game.

He’ll be working shifts in the skyway system, tasked with helping visitors navigate the maze of more than 8 miles of enclosed footbridges that span almost every street in the downtown Minneapolis core and allow a person to spend an entire day of employment, entertainment and exercise without stepping outside. The grid includes an entrance into U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Patriots and Eagles will be staying at luxury hotels adjacent to the Mall of America Will Harris Jersey , the country’s largest entertainment and retail complex that sits in Bloomington on the suburban site where the Vikings once played before moving downtown and indoors. That’s another place where visitors can have fun and relax without a parka.

Winter around here , however, doesn’t automatically mean hibernation.

The Super Bowl committee’s theme is ”Bold North ” a reflection of the culture that bundles up and embraces the longest of the four seasons rather than running from it. At the NFL’s Super Bowl Live festivities along Nicollet Mall downtown, there’s a bridge for cross-country skiing, biking and tubing through 85 truckloads of snow. A few blocks away, a zip line is set up to take daredevils across a portion of the frozen Mississippi River. In the other twin FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Gregg Williams is the furthest thing from warm and fuzzy.Never has been. And, never will.That’s not how the New York Jets‘ defensive coordinator is wired.Williams has helped build stingy defenses all around the NFL for nearly 30 years with a mix of fiery passion, intimidating intensity and undeniable self-confidence. It rubs some — OK, many — the wrong way. But Williams has made a long, successful career of never, ever being Mr. Nice Guy.“My secrets get out,” the 60-year-old Williams said in his first news conference since being hired by coach Adam Gase in January.“And the reason I keep getting hired is culture,” he added, “and culture beats strategy any day of the week.”Williams motivates his players with his undying desire to win. He wants guys in his defense who reflect everything for which he stands.“It’s about how you find ways yourself to be tougher,” he said. “How you find ways to play harder, play smarter for longer than any opponent you go against. And, all the scheme is is a way to surround the ball, surround the formation and just find ball http://www.detroitlionsteamonline.com/austin-bryant-jersey , see ball, get ball.“But it comes from an attitude. It comes from a personal understanding of what it takes to play this game at this level at the highest level.”Williams’ arrival has been welcomed by the players, who rave about his “crazy” energy and no-holds-barred approach.“Between those whistles, it’s a dog-eat-dog mentality,” linebacker Jordan Jenkins said.“It’s aggressive, obviously,” safety Jamal Adams added. “We talk our noise and we fly around the ball. I know we’re going to compete every down, every play. That’s what it’s about.”Williams made an immediate impression on Adams, pulling no punches with the third-year safety who’s coming off his first career Pro Bowl selection.“You know,” he told Adams, “I’ve coached a lot better people than you before.”Adams, who appreciated that blunt assessment, was sold on Williams immediately.“I love him,” Adams said with a big grin. “It’s like an uncle, really. He’s coaching us hard, he wants the best out of us and you could run through a wall for a coach like that.”That’s nothing new for Williams, who has heard things like that throughout his journey in the NFL, from Houston and Tennessee to Buffalo, Washington Max Scharping Jersey , Jacksonville, New Orleans, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Cleveland and, now, New York.“Players can smell and feel and know whether you’re conning them, faster than coaches do because they see the personal side of it,” Williams said. “So, yeah, I push, prod. And attitude does come first and I tell them attitude is everything.“Pick a good one today.”Williams has been a polarizing figure at times, particularly during his time with the Saints from 2009-11 as the defensive coordinator under Sean Payton — a period that included a Super Bowl win in 2010. Williams was suspended by the NFL for the entire 2012 season for his role in the “Bountygate” scandal in New Orleans, where Saints defensive players were paid bonuses for injuring opposing team players.That mark on Williams’ resume became a topic of conversation again when he joined the Jets because Joe Vitt was hired as the team’s outside linebackers coach. The two were on the Saints’ staff during the controversy, and Vitt testified against Williams in the hearings, accusing Williams of lying in his testimony to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.Williams and Vitt are working together for the first time since. Oh, and Vitt just happens to be Gase’s father-in-law.“Not a question,” Williams snapped when asked about the dynamic now between he and Vitt. “Next question. Go ahead. He’s a great friend of mine, OK? And Brian Burns Jersey , he’ll always be a great friend. I don’t care what you’ve written. Go ahead. Somebody else.”Vitt, who was suspended for six games for his role in the scandal, was similarly evasive when asked about his relationship with Williams.“So this is a National Enquirer question, or what?” Vitt said. “I like Gregg. Me and him are friends. Next question.”The working relationship between Gase and Williams also bears watching as this season goes along, particularly because of their strong personalities and ultra-competitive tendencies.Gase has said Williams’ approach will only make him better, and the aggressive defense will do the same for quarterback Sam Darnold and the offense. Williams pointed out that Gase has worked with several of his good friends in coaching, and developed a mutual appreciation while playing against each other in the NFL.“Respect and trust is earned,” Williams said. “He has earned my respect, OK? And, he’s earning my trust now because we’re working together on the same thing. It’s been fun. And he’s a very good coach, has a really good mind and has a challenging mind on what conceptually we’re doing and how he goes about doing it. So, it’s fun.”And, as always, intense.“You know, it’s the honesty part of it,” Williams said. “Every day’s an interview, them to me and me to them. People ask me all the time how much longer am I going to do this? I love what I do. I’m a competition-aholic.“When I walk into a room and nobody will pay attention anymore, it’s time to do something else.”