The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots played inside. But as fans were heading to U.S. Bank Stadium at noon Sunday, the temperature in Minneapolis was minus-2 degrees, with a wind chill of negative 23 – by far the coldest Super Bowl on record – raising questions about whether the NFL’s marquee event would ever return to Minnesota.

While warmer climates tend to be more popular host cities, a flashy new stadium and amenities often play a bigger role than the weather in determining who will host the big game.

”The owners will do as they like. So that’s one of those decisions that’s just not up to the fan base,” said Mark Cobb, who has been to several Super Bowls in his work for the NFL Players Association. ”Wherever has the newest, prettiest stadium, that’s who gets the game.”

Cobb, of Washington, said everyone in Minnesota was nice, and he’d return to Minneapolis for a Super Bowl. But he said the weather felt ”like I was being punished. Minnesota is where they send you when you’re bad. But if you embrace it like the people who live here, instead of fighting it, it’s not so bad.”

The NFL has used the Super Bowl as a reward for municipalities that pump public money into new venues. Minnesota was awarded the game in 2014, two years after state lawmakers approved a financing package that had taxpayers paying nearly half the cost of the $1.1 billion stadium.

Other northern cities have reaped similar benefits. New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium got a Super Bowl in its fourth season, the only outdoor Super Bowl at a northern site to date (2014). Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis hosted in 2012 and Ford Field in Detroit hosted in 2006, both at the end of their fourth seasons. The only other Super Bowls held in the north were in suburban Detroit at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1982 and in Minneapolis at the Metrodome in 1992.

While warmer climates have held more Super Bowls, there is no rotation of pre-selected cities that get picked Authentic JK Scott Jersey , NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. He said it’s up to club owners to take the initial step of expressing an interest in hosting. The sites of the next four Super Bowls are already chosen: Atlanta in 2019, followed by South Florida, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles.

Atlanta has a stadium that opened in 2017. Hard Rock Stadium in South Florida and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa have been renovated in the past three years, and Los Angeles will have a new stadium by the time it hosts the game.

McCarthy said the weather in Minneapolis wasn’t a negative. Instead, he said it provided new experiences for fans, some of whom took advantage of the Minneapolis skyway system, a collection of enclosed – and heated – pedestrian bridges.

”We knew weather was going to be a factor and we embraced it,” he said.

Andrea Mokros, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, said the event was a ”huge success.” Visitor numbers were still being calculated, but Mokros said outdoor concerts and other events were well attended, even on the coldest nights during 10 days of festivities.

”The cold didn’t slow anyone down and in fact made it a more memorable experience,” she said. Mokros said the winter climate allowed the host committee to offer a different sort of fun for guests, such as snowmobiling or skijoring (cross-country skiing while being pulled by a dog). And she said she felt some pride when she saw celebrities donning winter hats and embracing the cold weather.

Paul Vaaler, a professor of management and law at the University of Minnesota law school and the Carlson School of Management, said while warmer tourist destinations are more likely to get Super Bowls, there is some strategy to spreading the game to different franchises: The promise of a Super Bowl can lead cities to build new stadiums and keep teams from leaving certain markets.

Because of that Authentic Oren Burks Jersey , he said, other northern cities are likely to host the Super Bowl before Minnesota gets another chance.

”That incentive to build a stadium and attract the Super Bowl is gone (for Minnesota), but it’s not gone in a place like Cincinnati, or a place like Denver” or other northern NFL cities that have stadiums that are more than 20 years old. ”For other northern climates, there will be pressure.”

Some fans said the weather was tolerable and there were plenty of experiences in Minneapolis to keep them entertained. Others said that even though Minnesotans were hospitable, they’d prefer a warmer location.

”The cold was just brutal,” said Philadelphia Eagles fan Terry Laufer of Carrollton, Virginia. His wife, Rhonda, said: ”I would never be able to bring children here. It would be too risky.” The pair said they’d return with their grandkids in September, when it’s warmer.

”You could have had the Arctic Circle and it would have been a great experience,” said Jody Haggerty of Milford, Pennsylvania. ”Minneapolis made it work. … It’s not about the location. It’s about the experience, the atmosphere and the game.”

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Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report.

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MILWAUKEE — A little more than five years after he received a $500 bonus after signing as a non-drafted free agent out of Baylor University, Nate Orf is finally in the big leagues.

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Orf’s contract Monday from Triple-A Colorado Springs, where he was batting .307 with six home runs and 38 RBIs. Those numbers landed him a spot in the Pacific Coast League’s All-Star team but also fueled a social media movement — #FreeNateOrf — amongst Brewers fans wanting the 28-year-old to get his shot.

“This is the day you put all the work in for,” Orf said. “I signed for $500. This is why I signed for $500 Authentic Marquez Valdes-Scantling Jersey , to grind out as long as I needed to have this day come.””

Orf made his debut Monday night in Milwaukee’s 6-5 victory over the Twins and will likely be in the lineup against Tuesday afternoon as the Brewers continue their three-game holiday series at Miller Park.

“He’s a good player. He’s a very good hitter,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He has earned this.”

The Brewers are hoping Orf can provide a spark at a position that’s been an offensive liability all season. Though Jonathan Villar has shown improvement after a dismal 2017 campaign, Brewers’ second basemen are seventh in the NL with a .676 OPS this season, ninth with a .252 average and .299 on-base percentage.

Orf will also see time at shortstop, where Orlando Arcia had struggled to get into a rhythm since opening day and was demoted to Triple-A for the second time this season over the weekend.

“I still firmly believe that Orlando Arcia is going to be a very, very good player in this league for a long time,” general manager David Stearns said. “We have continued to see the defensive contributions he makes on a daily basis but we need to do better offensively.

“At this stage of the year, Orlando was not the type of offensive player we needed. I think we all bear some responsibility for that. As an organization, we need to help Orlando get through this.”

Looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the Brewers will turn to Junior Guerra on Tuesday. The right-hander won for the first time since May 14 his last time out despite allowing four runs over six innings against the Reds.

He struck out six in that outing and has 20 over his last three starts.

Right-hander Jake Odorizzi takes the mound for Minnesota hoping to build some momentum after getting back on track with six shutout innings of the White Sox in his last outing.

Odorizzi had a 3.34 ERA and was averaging nearly a strikeout per inning over his first 11 starts but stumbled mightily at the end of May, kick off a five-stark skid that saw him post a 9.74 ERA over the five stars leading up to his appearance in Chicago.

Extra work in the video room revealed a slight flaw in his delivery and during a bullpen session ahead of his last start, he worked on getting back to his normal mechanics.

“Pitching through a (back) injury last year created bad habits,” Odorizzi told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It you do it for long enough, it creates an even worse habit, even when you’re healthy. Muscle memory takes over.”

Tuesday will mark Odorizzi’s third career start against the team that selected him in the first round (32nds overall) of the 2008 MLB Draft but the first time he’ll pitch at Miller Park.