Super Bowl LII takes place in Minneapolis, MN on Sunday, February 4th, 2018. I live in Chippewa Falls, about a two hour drive from Minneapolis, and the frenzy has extended all the way here. Particularly, the Eau Claire airport is being flooded with VIPs who would prefer to fly their private jets here and then drive for the last leg of the journey. Among the items of interest surrounding the big game, there is a wooden bridge set up on the street outside the stadium. It’s the Birkie Bridge, but many of you might be wondering just what exactly that is.
The Birkie Bridge is part of the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race. The race takes place in Northern Wisconsin just a few hours from where the Super Bowl will be held. It is a 50km (31 mile) event that attracts approximately 10,000 athletes from all over the world. The Birkebeiner (or “Birkie” for short) is essentially the Boston Marathon of cross-country ski racing. Olympic caliber athletes come and race the Birkie yearly, and the cash prize for victory is in the neighborhood of $$5000.
I’ve personally written a book about the American Birkebeiner entitled “Beyond Birkie Fever.” If you’re looking for more information about cross country ski racing, this is the most well-reviewed book available on the subject.
The Birkie Bridge that has been set up near the Super Bowl Venue represents the final hill that racers have to climb before finishing the event. The town where the Birkie takes place is very small with a population of only 2,300 people. As a result, the 10,000 skiers that come in essentially overrun the town. The Birkie finishes on Main St. Hayward and the race essentially shuts down one of the main roads throughout the day. A couple years ago, the race directors decided to build a temporary bridge for race day so that traffic could continue to flow even while the race was running.
In the early years of the Birkebeiner, the event finished in Cable, Wisconsin and the final hill was again a bridge known as “the International Bridge.” Over the years, the race eventually made the decision to race from Cable to Hayward permanent. The new Birkie Bridge at the end of the event on Main St. is meant to commemorate the International bridge of years past.
This year the Birkie Bridge has been set up at the Super Bowl simply to spread awareness of the American Birkebeiner which is certainly America’s greatest cross-country ski race.
If you want to learn more about the American Birkebeiner, there’s no better way than to pick up a copy of “Beyond Birkie Fever.” Read an excerpt below:
