BLOOMINGTON, Minn. –The bold intensity of Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen added a spark at the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee's "Show Us Your Bold" Rally on Friday night at Mall of America.
The rally was held to celebrate the first week of a 52-week countdown until Super Bowl LII occurs at U.S. Bank Stadium on Feb. 4, 2018.
Griffen met the fans' energy with his own and addressed the crowd before doing a Q&A session with KARE 11's Eric Perkins.
"It's fun," Griffen said of the atmosphere. "It shows that the fans still show high hopes for us – they're ready for this upcoming season and they're ready for Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium. It's going to be an awesome experience for the players and for the fans and the community in the great State of Minnesota.
"The 52 weeks that lead up to the Super Bowl are going to be amazing," Griffen added.
View images from the "Show Us Your Bold" Super Bowl LII rally held at the Mall of America Friday featuring Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen Friday.
Griffen was joined at the rally by Viktor the Viking, the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders and the Vikings SKOL Line, which gave a number of performances and involved the crowd in a round of the Vikings fight song in addition to the SKOL Chant.
Fans could enter a drawing for an Adrian Peterson signed football, test their accuracy skills at quarterback and have fun with props and poses at a #BoldNorth-themed photo booth. A *Madden *video game station was also set up, and Griffen played against one young fan who was voted to have the best touchdown celebration dance.
The rally was put on by the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee. Stephanie Hall, the committee's senior marketing manager, said it was rewarding to see the countdown to the big game get off to a great start.
"It was an amazing show of spirit by Minnesota," Hall said. "It was just great to see everybody so excited to host Super Bowl 52 in 52 weeks. It seems like a long time, but it's going to go by so quickly.
"We're so happy to have the Vikings involved," Hall continued. "To have the support of your home team is key."
Fans of all ages showed up at the rally sporting purple and gold gear, and cheers echoed through the rotunda when Griffen said the Vikings could be one of the teams in next year's Super Bowl.
"We can't do too much hoping and wishing – we have to go out there and execute," Griffen said. "We have to go out there and be disciplined. We have to go out there and do our job. We have to hold ourselves, as a team, to a different standard. That's the message I tried to get across [to the crowd] – we're going to raise our standard."
