Super Lake Experience draws NFL Alumni to Prior Lake

Prior Lake American

Because winter lasts forever in Minnesota, residents of the land of 10,000 (frozen) lakes have learned to get creative for winter fun.

With many out-of-state visitors in town for the week of the Super Bowl, Rick Gardner wanted to show them how Minnesotans have a good time — and also raise some money for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare with the Children’s Miracle Network and Boys & Girls Club of the Twin Cities along the way.

Gardner is the organizer of the Minnesota Super Lake Experience, which took place in Prior Lake on Wednesday. The event included classic Minnesotan winter activities such as ice fishing and snowmobiling and combined them with football.

“I came up with the idea to romance Minnesota in the winter time,” Gardner said. “Most think of Super Bowls and it’s beaches and palm trees, but now that we’re lucky enough to get one here in Minnesota, we’re going to show them that there’s something to do. You give me a little bit of ice, a little bit of snow and we’re going to have a lot of fun.”

For $200, attendees of the event were able to ice fish and snowmobile with NFL alumni in ice houses (that spelled out 52 in roman numerals aerially), enjoy drinks and a fish lunch from Charlie’s On Prior, enter into a raffle for prizes, win gear and more. The alumni included former Minnesota Vikings players Darrin Nelson, Chuck Foreman, Carl Eller, Ron Yary, Paul Krause and more as well as players from the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers.

“We’ve got a handful of studs out here that are going to yuck it up with you all day and talk not only fishing stories, but maybe talk some Super Bowl stories with you, so you’re going to get a real feel for what that’s all about here on Super Bowl week,” Gardner said near the beginning of the event.

Gardner said he started organizing the event about three to four months ago. He works part-time at the U.S. Bank Stadium (home of Super Bowl 52) and oversees the alumni club there. As a result, he’s got quite a few football connections.

“He came to me with this idea and said, ‘What do you think?’” Chuck Foreman, a member of the Vikings Ring of Honor, said. “I said, ‘It’s fine, but I want to be a part of it.’ I get a lot of calls from people wanting to do a lot of things, but they never follow through. I was ignoring his phone calls for a minute because he was calling too much.”

The event provided an opportunity for Super Bowl visitors to learn that Minnesotans aren’t bonkers for being out in the snow in negative weather — they’re having a good time with what they’ve got, Foreman said.

“We just thought people should see what Minnesota is really about,” Foreman said. “We’re trying to tell them to embrace the cold and enjoy what it has to offer — ice fishing, snowmobiling, good food.”

As for the fundraiser, Gardner said he picked two causes that he’s had personal experience with.

“Everybody in the medical field does their thing, but when I see (Children’s Miracle Network), I see miraculous stories come from there,” Gardner said. “The Boys & Girls Club is really close to me because my mom worked with challenged teens and kids that may not have had a proper upbringing.”

The ice fishing equipment and proceeds were donated to the Boys & Girls Club of the Twin Cities so they can experience ice fishing for themselves, Gardner said.