MINNEAPOLIS — It was great having the Super Bowl here in Minneapolis and all, but you know what was totally awesome—kubbing it up for all the visitors in front of NFL Live on the Nicollet Mall!
That’s right, as part of Super Bowl LII’s festivities downtown, local kubb players were invited to show off our own sport in front of the crowds and cameras. In continued cooperation with the recent winter Loppet festivities, St. Paul Kubb Society, Chaska Kubb, and Minneapolis Kubb brought their lumber to the big time for what might be kubb’s biggest television audience ever.
The venue was amazing, the crowds were great, and of course the kubb was fantastic! About 30 players set up pitches on a portion of the mall that had been transformed into a ski course connected to the famous Birkebeiner Bridge. This previous weekend marked the first time the Birkie Bridge had been erected outside of its home of Hayward, Wisconsin. Many thanks to the Loppet Foundation for arranging to bring this iconic winter symbol to Minnesota!
A light wind and snow were in the air for our appearance. A number of passersby stopped to watch, and frequently small crowds gathered to cheer on a few throws. Kubb Society’s very own Stevie “The Professor” Dolan quickly attracted his own cheering section, with chants of “Stevie, Stevie” echoing off the nearby buildings as he stepped up for a shot.
Our friends from nearby Chaska, Minnesota brought along a contingent of players as well to help our ongoing efforts to spread this wonderful game as far and wide as possible. J.P. Larson recently reported that he had been contacted by a few people asking about purchasing one of his homemade kubb sets.
About midway through our frozen fun, and with the Bob Mould hammering away in the background, the NFL Live team put us in the national spotlight. Zooming in on a couple of baton tosses by Justin Kleinschmidt, kubb finally hit the big time! The announcers did a great job ahead of time—getting to know the terminology a bit, and hitting the pronunciation perfectly. The day was a great success.
There’s no denying that kubb is soon to be sweeping the land! Many thanks to Eric Goplin, Tim Motzko, The Loppet Foundation, and all the participants and all who stopped to watch, for their enthusiastic support and interest.
